Knight
Defender
Mid-April 1295,
the northwest coast of Scotland
“Unhand me.” She
pushed against the massive chest and writhed in the arms cradling her body.
He gathered her closer, mashing her cheek
against him.
For an instant, his blazing gray eyes held
her spellbound as tightly as his strength gripped her body. Unable to look
away, she shivered, but not with cold. The odor of damp wool and man nearly
drowned her. All sound faded away save her own harsh breathing.
“Ho, ho!” His chuckle was impossible to
miss. “So you are no dying, are you then? Well liars and deceivers must suffer
the consequences of their actions.”
She refused to be intimidated. She forced
her head away from him. “Is rudeness the customary greeting for your guests,
Baron MacKai? I’ve a mind to refuse to wed you. Then King Edward will decline
to pay you rent for docking his ships in your excuse for a harbor.
“You think you could resist me?” More
chuckles shook his chest.
“It would be a small matter to deny an oaf
such as you.”
Flames of some inner fire shone in his
unyielding stare. She was unfamiliar with fear, but what else twisted in her
belly and skittered just beneath her skin? She wanted to deny his effect on her
but in all honesty could not.
“I could make you beg.” He growled low, like
some big cat poised to pounce.
“Never.” She could be honest with herself
about her body’s betrayal, but she’d plenty of reason not to give the churl any
hint of her weakness.
His forward motion halted, his head dipped
then stopped a finger’s width from her face. His gaze bored into hers.
Her breath froze at the frenzy of emotions
she saw there. ‘Anger, threat, resentment, and something she could not
identify. She refused to care. Her fingers itched to slap him, and she raised
her hand.
“I wouldna, if I were you.” He anchored her
hand beneath a brawny arm and started walking again.
“You’ll regret insulting me.”
His brows rose. “We’ll see about that. For
now, I need you safely stowed away.”
“Stowed away!” He made her sound like
bothersome chattel, useful for only one purpose. She squirmed and finally
released her outer hand from his hold to beat her fist against his chest.
“Beast! You will treat me with the courtesy and respect due a lord’s daughter.”
He made no response other than to quicken
his pace.
She hit him harder. “You and your entire
cowardly clan will rue this day.”
He stopped abruptly and shifted his grip.
Her feet fell downward but found no purchase on solid ground. She hung
suspended from the large hands thrust under her armpits. The heels of those
palms pressed against her breasts, and heat flooded her body at the intimate
touch.
“You, you …” He and every other MacKai
disgusted her beyond words. Raising her head to berate him further, she
stilled. Once more, the gleam in those stony eyes compelled her attention. The
downward tip at the outer corner of his lids gave him a slumberous appearance
belied by glints of indecipherable emotion. Those deceptive lids narrowed. She
longed to hide but could not look away.
“Listen to me.”
His quiet words slid over her skin, causing
a rise of goosebumps.
“You are naught but a troublesome woman. You
have no power or authority here, so if you value your overly pampered English
hide, you’ll no insult clan MacKai. Do you understand?”
She swallowed and nodded.
“Excellent.”
He tossed her over his shoulder, secured her
legs against him with an arm, and continued walking.
“How dare…”
One of those huge palms smacked her rump.
“Oooo! I’ll make you regret you ever touched
me.”
A second smack was followed by an order for
silence.
Since her backside began to throb, Jessamyn
subsided in favor of plotting retribution. She’d start with boiling in oil
followed by a sound beating and end with banishment.
She was deciding whether or not to add tar
and feathers when she heard the creak of leather hinges. They crossed a
doorway, and she went flying through the air to land in a heap, face down on a
feather bed.
“Dry clothing will be brought. Dinna imagine
I care for your comfort. I simply canna be bothered to find another woman if
you catch an ague and die.”
She struggled to right herself, sputtering
and pulling her hair from her face. The brute deserved the sharp side of her
tongue. She gathered breath as she turned to speak, just to see the coward
disappear and the door bang shut behind him.
He was not getting away that easily. She
leapt from the bed, ran for the door, and nearly jerked her arms from her
shoulders when the wooden barrier refused to budge at her angry pull.
Dumbfounded, she could only stare.
He’d barred the door? Boiling oil and
banishment are too good for him. I must see him drawn and quartered.
Knight Defender Conflict,
His, Hers, Theirs
Baron Raeb MacKai is done
allowing himself and everyone he loves to live in poverty and despair. His
betrothal to a wealthy English heiress will solve a decade of problems. He will
do everything necessary to defend his home and his country, but can he defend
his heart?
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About
Rue Allyn
When not writing, loving her
spouse, or attending meetings, Rue travels the world and surfs the internet in
search of background material and inspiration for her next heart melting
romance. She loves to hear from readers, and you may contact her at contact@RueAllyn.com. She can't wait to hear from you.
Ruth, Thank you very much for hosting me and Knight Defender on this Medieval Monday.
ReplyDeleteRue, It's my pleasure!
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