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Hatred made the outlaw William Blackridge untamable, until Rockland's warrior woman claimed his heart.
New Concepts Publishing
New Concepts Publishing
Excerpt from The Mad Knight's Bride by Kate Hill
By midday the ship was ready to sail from Rockland. Ezekiel and Elaine decided that James should be left behind with some of the warriors to protect the village, while the others sailed to Ravenhill to join Wyborn's army.
"He'll probably kill you on sight," Ezekiel said of the Viking chieftain as he and William loaded supplies onto the ship.
William smiled. "No doubt he'll try."
Ezekiel shook his head with disgust. "You really are insane, aren't you?"
"Isn't it a bit dangerous to tell a madman he's mad?" William said.
"He's more malicious than he is mad," Elaine sneered, leading two horses toward the ship.
William winked roguishly at her and she turned away with an irritated expression on her lovely features.
A short time later, William stood beside Elaine on deck, gazing at the villagers who were waving from the shoreline as the ship sailed off.
"Well, it has begun." Ezekiel joined them on the bow, folding his arms across his chest. "There's still work to be done."
"I'll help you," William said.
"No," Elaine shook her head at Ezekiel, "he won't."
William narrowed his eyes at her in question. She grasped his wrist and tugged him to the cabin below.
"You look terrible," she said. "When's the last time you slept?"
He lifted an eyebrow. "How long have I been gone from Rockland?"
"Come up when you're rested."
She walked to the door, but he held it closed.
"Step aside," she ordered.
"You haven't addressed me once since I arrived."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you can't even bring yourself to say my name."
She shot him a fiery look. "The thought of it makes me sick."
He smiled humorlessly. "I award you points for honesty."
"You want honesty? Here's honesty. I've never been better since you left Rockland. Until you showed up this morning, I haven't thought of you once!"
"Shout a little louder, Elaine. They couldn't hear you on deck."
"Out of my way!" She shoved him hard in the chest, and he grasped her firmly, pinning her against the door, his lips inches from hers. The feeling of her body so close to his made his pulse race. He longed to kiss her tenderly but their tempers were well beyond that. He brushed his cheek roughly against hers and snarled, "You miss this, don't you, my lady?"
It seemed like forever that he’d dreamed of holding her again like this, with her soft breasts pressed intimately against his chest. Only in the dreams there hadn’t been such rage between them. He gripped her upper arms firmly but not harshly.
"Don't call me that," she snarled, trying to force him to release her. Though a strong woman, she couldn’t overpower him.
"You prefer my concubine?"
As soon as he'd spoken the word he regretted it. Her gaze met his but without the hatred he'd anticipated. Anger shone in her eyes, but also sorrow. His hands loosened on her. Perhaps it was best that they fought. She deserved better than him. She belonged with a good man who wasn't constantly running from the law and battling for his sanity. Suddenly he wanted to see hatred in her eyes, wanted to know she was safe from him.
"I'm sorry for you," she whispered. "The way you live, the way you are. You push away everyone who could possibly care for you. It wasn't always that way. Not when you were Gabriel."
"Gabriel," he scoffed. "Your angel. No man could be all of that."
"You were." She touched his cheek.
“Maybe I had started to become a bit of the man you wanted me to be, then when you found out who I really was, it was as if nothing I had done as Gabriel mattered to you.” His words dripped with contempt, though whether or not it was directed at her for turning on him or at himself for caring so much about what she thought, he wasn’t sure.
Drawing a sharp breath, she stared into his eyes with a guilty expression.
He jerked away and reached for the doorknob. "I'm going up."
Before he could open the door, she locked her arms around his neck. Her lips brushed his earlobe and she whispered. "I've missed you so much."
He knew for her sake he should walk away, but he hadn't the strength. For months he'd dreamed of such a moment and now it was happening. She was accepting him, not as Gabriel, but as William. She didn't hate him.
"God, I've missed you," he said, holding her so tightly that their hearts beat in unison. He closed his eyes and rested his cheek against the top of her head.
"You loved me once," she said.
He stepped slightly aside only to place his fingertip beneath her chin and tilt her face to his. "I love you still. Before I met you, I had no idea what love was."
She smiled slightly, took his hand, and walked to the bed.
Stretching out on his back, he pulled her into his arms. He suddenly realized how tired he was. His eyes stung and every muscle in his body ached, but he'd never felt better. Elaine was in his arms.
"They're coming," he said.
She placed her hand over his where it rested on her hip and replied, "But they won't come tonight, so rest."
He closed his eyes, tugging her nearer.
"You didn't have to come back," she said. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, my lady," he murmured before succumbing to sleep.
* * *
William awoke ravenous and more refreshed than he'd been in months. He ate the food and washed in the water Elaine had left in the cabin, then climbed on deck. Squinting against the sunlight gleaming off the water, he searched for Elaine who stood at the bow talking with Ezekiel. At William's approach, Ezekiel joined a small group of men at the opposite end of the ship.
"Good morning." Elaine smiled, placing one hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun as she looked up at him.
"Morning?" he said. "I've been sleeping since yesterday afternoon?"
"You needed it. You look much better, even though I'll have to get used to you with that short hair. The henna will fade, I imagine?"
He laughed. "Is it that bad?"
"I don't mind the hair so much, but your beautiful beard..." She briefly stroked his smooth jaw.
"I miss it too, but it's safer this way. At least for now."
She gazed at the sea and he studied her carefully.
"Where should we go from here, Elaine? The two of us, I mean,” he said softly so that only she could hear.
"I care about you. I can't help that," she said, "but everything can't go back to being as it was. Not now. Maybe not ever."
"I've done terrible things. I can't change that, but I can change how I live from now on. I won't bother you with excuses for my actions. There are none. At least none that make any sense."
She turned her intense gaze to him. "Try me."
He shook his head, not wanting her to be disgusted by his weaknesses, or even worse, to feel sympathy, if she was able to feel such an emotion for him at all.
"All I can tell you is this, Elaine, I will prove myself to you."
"I'm not asking you to."
"I'm asking. I have crimes to pay for. Penance to serve. I'm a warrior, Elaine. I have to fight, but now it can be for a just cause, as it always should have been. And I can heal."
She shook her head, clasping her hands tightly in front of her. "I want to believe you, but what made you realize all this?"
"You did. And the people of Rockland. You showed me a life I never imagined, at least not for me."
"Why not for you? Will you tell me something about who you really are? We've shared so much but I still don't know you."
He took a step closer to her so their bodies touched. They stood side by side, gazing out to sea.
"Just know that I love you, Elaine, and until I met you, I hadn’t felt loved by anyone in a very long time."
She drew a breath and seemed about to speak.
"You don't have to love me," he said. "I know I haven't been the most loveable sort of man. Right now it's enough that you don't hate me."
"I don't hate you," she said quickly, looking up at him. "Not at all."
A smile flickered across his lips. "That's far more than I expected."
"I'm concerned about Ravenhill. Wyborn will try to kill you. I don't know them very well, only from that one day this past winter. If he wants you dead, we won't be able to protect you."
He laughed. "Protect me? I should be flattered. No one has ever worried about my safety before, but I assure you I need no protection. I'm almost looking forward to meeting Wyborn again. He's a great fighter and the strongest man I've ever met."
"He's tall as you, but he looks like an ox."
"That's a Viking for you." William couldn't keep the annoyed clip from his voice.
"I see you've had dealings with Vikings before?"
"Yes. Dealings."
"Where?"
"My village when I was very young."
"Your village." She turned to him, curious. "Where are you from?"
"Aubrey in Northumbria. It was destroyed."
"I'm sorry."
"It was long ago. I scarcely remember," he lied.
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