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Category:
Romance
ISBN-10: 1543054347
Type: Fiction
Pages: 293
Copyright: February 28, 2017
ISBN-13: 9781543054347
Price: $4.99 (eBook)
In the year 1306, the King's guard is exiled for a crime they witnessed. In direct defiance, the guardsmen return to their beloved Scotland and hide amongst their enemies. All are destined for the hangman's noose or the executioner's ax if found. They survive as soldiers of fortune. If you're lucky enough to run across them in the bonny hills, and are in a predicament, they just might give aid.
Our stories continue in UNBREAKABLE HEART
Love cannot resist an unbreakable heart…
After losing the love of his life, Liam of Clan Kincaid is sent in service for what his uncle considers betrayal. He regrets the harsh words he had with his uncle, and so Liam gives himself to the battle-weary king, Robert the Bruce, and vows to mend his tarnished reputation. That would be easy if not for the lass who insists he aids her.
Makenna Mackenzie has lived through hell, her home and land taken, by the English. All she wants is to take vengeance against the man who cut off her ear and destroyed everything held dear in her heart. The only way to achieve her goal is to plead with the legendary king’s guard. She wants them to train her to be a mercenary like them so she can use her sword to the fullest when she finally meets her enemy.
Neither of them ever thought to find one another since their betrothal never came to fruition. But when Makenna asks for his aid, Liam agrees with one condition−that she marry him. Makenna has conditions of her own, and they make a pact to help each other. Their agreement leads them on a dangerous mission, one of which might be the end of them both. Liam finds himself in a quandary because Makenna is not the forthright lass he deems her to be. But his UNBREAKABLE HEART can withstand her, can’t it?
Excerpt
PROLOGUE
Balloch Castle
West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
April 1303
Fire swathed the entire village and nearby loch with light. High flames from many bonfires lit the sky and lent a glow to the trees and over the waters. Their celebration of the Beltane was in full swing. Liam Kincaid ran naked through the trees and caught up to the sweet vixen who teased him. Blayre fell to the grass, and he rolled next to her and captured her in his arms.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” He kissed her soft throat and trailed his mouth to her lips.
He’d taken to drink much earlier in the day. A pleasant lethargic mien came over him, and he was lulled by its effect. For days his uncle beleaguered him to take a wife. To which his father’s lands would finally be given to him. He’d waited three years for the Earl to make a decision. The lands were initially given to his mother, but when she died, they reverted back to her brother. His uncle was supposed to hold them until he reached his majority. Mormaer placed one stipulation on the covenant that Liam take a wife of his choosing before he returned to his home.
Woman after woman was set before him, and yet Liam balked. Not that he abhorred marriage or that the ladies were unacceptable. It was because his heart was already taken. Blayre besieged his heart, and he was besotted at first glance. No other woman caught his gaze since. Unbeknownst to the Earl, the lass he wanted to wed, unfortunately, was the daughter of their clan’s most hated rival, the MacDoughalls.
Away from the revelers, Liam lay back and pulled his sweetheart into his arms. “You don’t want to leave so soon, love. Come and lay with me.”
She pressed a hand on his naked chest. “I must go away. There are too many hereabout. Someone will see us. It’s too dangerous.”
“There’s always danger around us.” Liam regarded the bonny face of his lover. Her light eyes took on an unaccountable concern, for he wouldn’t allow anyone to interrupt their time together. He’d picked the spot purposely knowing none would come near the waters during the celebration. She relaxed against him, and he held her tightly. Her lips, full and lush called, and he would do nothing but spend the night kissing her.
He set his mouth on hers and felt the sweet response of her lips. His hands moved fast lest she changed her mind and reject him. Liam stroked her body, and a desirous need swelled within him. He’d never desist in wanting her. He had only been with her one other time, and it wasn’t enough. He’d never be sated nor satisfied with nothing less than the surrender of her heart and body.
As he joined his body with hers, she gasped and writhed beneath him. He kept up the gentle thrusts, mindless and unaware of the merriment beyond them. Liam patiently waited for Blayre to culminate before he was released from the strain of holding back. He shouted his climax, and his breath harsh. Never had he experienced such utter volatile pleasure with any other lass.
“I should go, my love, before someone comes.”
He held fast to her waist. “No one would dare interrupt us. Stay, for I wish to hold you a wee bit longer.” Liam lay next to her and peered to the dark sky above. With the bonfires surrounding them, he barely made out the stars he knew were there. “I wish to tell my uncle of you and of our betrothal. We will confront him together and make our wishes known. He cannot refuse me.”
She gasped. “Liam, we cannot. My father would never agree, and I cannot gainsay him. You ask too much of me. Besides, your uncle detests my clan and they—”
“Will you leave me and break my heart?” He pouted, knowing he had to say something to gain her agreement. “I want no other woman but you. I will wed no other but you. It’s time our clans understand this.” Liam cupped the softness of her bare arse. “Tell me you love me as I do you.”
She opened her lips to respond but turned when riders bounded from the trees. Liam stood and helped her to rise. He pushed her behind him to hide her nakedness from the intruders.
“Och, there you be, Liam.” Micheol, his cousin and the only son of Laird Lennox, the Earl, had a smirk upon his face. He whistled and more men came, all sat on their horses and awaited him. “What do you have there, a goddess, a fairy?” He bellowed with raucous laughter.
Liam hated him with the might of a thousand thorns. He was definitely a prick, and one no matter how much caution he used, his cousin still smarted him. From the day of his ill-fated arrival, Micheol taunted him, excluded him from taking part in the soldier’s revelry, and made his life a living hell. It mattered not to Liam because his days were numbered at the Lennox holding.
Mormaer, the Earl, rode forward. He wore a hauberk of fur with leather bands circling his chest and arms and appeared ready for battle. Mormaer Lennox was one of the most formidable warriors in all the kingdom and he showed his might with the hard gaze he now wore.
“I sent Micheol in search of you, lad. We will journey to meet with Wallace and Moray, for they have called men to arms. We’re to meet at Falkirk. Can’t say I’m not pleased, for we will take arms against the damnable English. About time we squelch the English and banish them from our lands. Edward’s army won’t prevail much longer.” He rubbed his hands together as if he brushed them away, and spat on the ground to insinuate his contempt for the enemy.
Liam retrieved his tartan from the ground and fastened it around his waist. His uncle dismounted and walked toward him. He stopped a few feet short of reaching him and scowled.
“I didn’t mean to keep you, Laird.”
“I see you were honoring the spring rites.” He laughed and turned to peer at his men. “As we all should be, but there’s a greater need presently. None of us have time for such amusements.” Lord Lennox tilted his head and scrutinized Blayre. “Micheol, is this not a MacDoughall lass?”
“I believe she is, Da.” Micheol dismounted and stood next to his father. “I’ve seen her before when we attended their laird’s meeting.”
“Liam, lad, why would you go against us and couple with this rabble?”
He stepped back and stood in front of Blayre. She’d dressed and looked fearful for Laird Lennox was known for his brutality. He wished he could say something to appease her fear, but decided now was the time to voice his wishes. He wouldn’t hold back and would demand he be allowed to marry Blayre and reclaim his father’s lands.
“Laird, we are together. Aye, and I will ask her father for her hand.”
The Earl grabbed his arm and flung him forward. Micheol rushed forth and took Blayre’s arms. The awaiting men pulled their swords free. The moment was more tumultuous than Liam had considered or expected.
“You speak treasonous, lad. This is the kin of our most hated enemy. Surely you wouldn’t go against us, me, your own laird and uncle. Tell me it is false, that you jest, and I shall be relieved.”
“I cannot because I am serious,” he said with conviction. “She’s mine and I am hers.”
His uncle pressed his hand on the back of his neck. He’d never seen his laird appear more perturbed. “Have I not been a giving, caring uncle? I took care of your own mother, God rest her, when your father died. Och my heart is repelled with your deceit.” He threw the back of his hand and struck his head.
Liam kept to his feet and hoped to mend the situation. “Uncle, the lass has nothing to do with our riff with the MacDoughalls. She’s innocent and will make a good wife. I mean no disrespect, but I care for her and want to keep her safe.”
“The hell she has nothing to do with it. She’s their blood kin and has hatred in her heart. Take her away, Micheol, and toss the rabble in a ditch beyond our walls.”
Micheol turned and pulled Blayre along with him. She cried out and tried to free herself. Liam’s blood boiled and he ran past the Earl and yanked his cousin back. “Nay, release her. You won’t take her anywhere.” He turned and spotted his sword on the ground, but it was too far away to retrieve in time. If he had to battle his cousin to help Blayre, he’d do so.
His uncle marched forward and unsheathed his sword. He aimed it at his chest and Liam didn’t think for one second that the Earl would hold back. He knew his peril.
“The lass be gone. I won’t have a MacDoughall on my land even if it’s a woman. Micheol, rid my presence of her now. Return with haste for we must depart within the hour.”
His cousin took the handful of men with him and left Liam alone to face his uncle’s wrath. Blayre’s screams dissipated the further away he’d taken her.
“I am disappointed, Liam. Of all my nephews, I thought you were the most devoted, the most trustworthy, and most loyal. Och we all make errors in judgment. Am I wrong about you? Where do your loyalties lie? Tell me why I shouldn’t banish you or why I should believe ye?”
Liam kept his eyes on the Earl and spoke with confidence. “Laird, of course, my loyalty is yours. It shall always be. I’ll defend you and Scotland with all that I am, but I love the lass. Can you not see reason and return her to me? Haven’t you loved a woman so much that you’d do anything to win her, to protect her?”
“You’ve your father’s passionate nature, but nay, I never have and likely never will. A woman is good for producing bairns and keeping your home. That lass is unworthy of you, Liam. The thought of your children born with her blood sickens me. I won’t allow your insolence or her return. You must make a good marriage, Liam, for if you want the blood of your kin to further your line, the line of your father… I have given you a choice in your wife, but no longer.”
Ire such as he never felt came upon him. Liam wanted to thrash his uncle, to hurt him as he’d done to him. He knew not what to say, and the only thought that kept coming to him was that he’d lost his only love. The loss entrenched his heart.
“I will make the pact with my good comrade, the Mackenzie. Aye, for you will wed his oldest daughter. It will be done when we return from Falkirk, Liam, and you won’t refute me.”
“You wed her for I will not. I won’t allow you to choose my wife.” Liam stood firm in his decision. He wouldn’t back down no matter what the Earl did or said.
His uncle scowled and shoved him back. “You defy my order?”
Liam wanted to shout at the frustration that built inside him. “Aye, I defy you. Damned right I do. If I cannot have Blayre, then I shall have none. You marry the Mackenzie lass for I won’t have her.”
“I should kill you as I would any other who betrays me.” He took a step forward and grabbed his neck, the sword held tight, positioned to run him through.
Liam stood rigidly even though he had but a moment to live. “Do your will then for I’m not sorry for my choice.”
His uncle lifted his elbow as if he was about to thrust the sword. Liam didn’t flinch. Laird Lennox lowered his arm. “Alas, I promised your mother that I would see to your protection and cannot go back on my word. I shall not kill you, but I cannot allow you to stay on our lands.”
“Are you banishing me?” Incredulous at his uncle’s wrath, he resisted the urge to shout his appall.
“For a time. Mayhap you’ll learn what loyalty means in the Bruce’s service. Given time, I might have the heart to forgive you. The Bruce will teach you what it means to obey your laird.”
“I will not leave without Blayre.”
The Earl cuffed his head. “Aye you will, and you’ll forget her. Trust me, lad, this is the greatest gift I can give you. You’ll wed the Mackenzie lass as I bid when you return from your service. Makenna Mackenzie is bonny and far more worthy than that rabble you consorted with. One day you will thank me for this gift.”
Liam had no choice but to follow the Earl. He was furious about losing Blayre, but not about his banishment. One day he’d repay his uncle for his gift, and his thanks would come with his retribution. The Kincaids would consider Clan Lennox as an enemy from this day forward.
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