Happy Easter! It’s all about love and forgiveness. When things go awry, then it’s important to feel safe, too.
The Stolen Bride, my latest historical romance, is the choice for this week’s snippet. Nadia has been left alone at a beach while Edgar goes hunting. Passing bandits have given her a scare and she’s hiding.
***
“Nadia!” Edgar called for her once again with greater urgency. “Nadia.”
She crawled out from behind the rock. He was dashing between the shacks with his bow hooked over his shoulder. Seeing her, his flushed face lit up into a smile. Her leaden legs awoke, and she leapt to her feet and charged toward him. Her feet sank into the sand with every footstep. It seemed to take forever to reach him.
“My love,” he rasped. He held her tight in his arms, squeezing her against his thumping breast. His heartbeats were as fast as her own.
She anticipated him to be furious. She’d gone outside when he’d forbidden her to do so. However, he merely stroked her back as she hiccoughed and wept, the shock seeping out of her. “There, there,” he murmured. “You’re safe now.”
***
Eighteen-year-old Nadia loathes the dreary routine of life in a convent, and though sneaking out risks earning her a firm chastisement with the prioresses’ birch, that is a small price to pay for a taste of freedom. When her father gives her a chance to leave the convent behind forever if she weds Lord Arnaud, the Baron of Uxley, she agrees to the arrangement, certain that even marrying a man twice her age is better than taking vows as a nun.
To Nadia’s shock, however, after a handsome adventurer named Edgar saves Lord Arnaud from a band of murderous robbers, as a reward for his courage Arnaud invites his rescuer to both the wedding and the wedding night. Knowing that his love for his late wife will keep him from properly consummating his new marriage, the voyeuristic baron would prefer to watch Edgar claim Nadia himself.
But when Lord Arnaud becomes convinced that Nadia has been lying about her purity, the young bride finds herself stripped bare and blushing crimson as she is made to submit to an intimate, humiliating examination in front of both Arnaud and Edgar. The exam confirms her deception, and she is punished with a painful, embarrassing spanking on her bare bottom before Edgar takes her long and hard in front of her new husband.
Despite Nadia’s shame at her body’s response to Edgar’s dominance, she can’t help wondering what it would be like to belong to him completely. But when Edgar ties her up and steals her from the baron’s home, intent on keeping her as his own, will Nadia seek to escape him or will she embrace a new life on the run as his stolen bride?
Publisher’s Note: The Stolen Bride is an erotic romance novel that includes spankings, sexual scenes, medical play, anal play, exhibitionism, elements of BDSM, and more. If such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.
Amazon 5* review
After spending two miserable years in a convent and sent home to marry a nobleman picked out by her father and the King, to cement the alliance between them. The nobleman hasn’t recovered from the loss of his wife and after being saved by a young gentleman he offers the gift of bedding his new wife while he watches. Things turn crazy here and the gentleman falls for the young lady and she for him. He steals her and runs away with her and so a strong relationship develops. The deep feelings and emotions are well explored between all the characters. There is erotic sex, many spankings, danger, page turning action and adventure. Lovely Medieval adventure and romance.
I love it! You do such a fantastic job portraying the blend of stern, yet sweet. Great snippet.
I love it when you expect them to be angry and they surprise you with tenderness. Feeling safe is so important.
Yes, it is a surprise when what you expect, does not come to fruition, for it serves to confuse you further. Great snippet!