"She has only been in labor since the midnight hour. The sun is just overhead. Birthing is hard work and takes time," Ranald answered.
"Waiting is hard work, too. She should be more considerate and not worry me so. I've a good mind to go back in there and tell her!"
"Brother, did a chalice striking yer forehead not give ye a clear message?" Magnus' eyes twinkled. "If I were ye, I wouldna go in there again."
Graemme didn't answer but marched over to the door and swung it open. He had not gone inside the birthing chamber more than three steps afore Elyne knew he was there.
"Ye misbegotten, randy goat of a man! I should have let Father pin yer balls to the barbican!"
She stopped to howl out in pain. Once it eased, she screamed at him again.
"Get a leman! Ye'll never swive me again!"
Muriele was standing near Elyne's head, holding it up for her to take a sip of water from a pewter cup. Then Catalin moved from behind Grunda, to see who had entered. He backed up. His eyes widened as he got a clear view of his wife's struggling body. He saw the bairn's head bulging, trying to force itself out of an opening clearly stretched so tight he envisioned her body splitting in two.
He turned to flee through the door. He nearly made it.
Elyne's aim was as good as it ever was, even though she was screaming obscenities at him he had never heard.
The pewter cup hit him squarely in the middle of his back.
Catalin giggled. "Best ye not come back for a while, Graemme. She's, uh, a little angry at ye now."
"Told ye so, brother," Magnus bent over laughing.
"Come, sit," Ranald patted the bench beside him.
Three huge gulps of his wine later, a blood-curdling scream near made Graemme pass out. He started to run to his wife, but Ranald's firm hand kept him seated.
"Tis the sound of the final labor pain. Be patient. Catalin or Muriele will appear soon to tell us whether ye have a son or a daughter."
Graemme slumped back on the chair when a sound like a small kitten sounded from the room.
Another howl of pain, every bit as loud as the previous one, made him straighten. He wanted to go in there in the worst way, but Ranald still held tight to his arm.
"Uh, that sounds familiar. But ye'd best wait and let them clean her up. Ye go in there now, and ye're liable to faint." Ranald smiled and slapped him on the back.
"He's right," Magnus added. "Birthing is a bloody business. She's pretty messy right now, too. She won't appreciate ye seeing her afore she's cleaned up."
Graemme gulped down another swallow of wine then put the chalice down to hold his head. He heard the door open and close and peeked between his fingers to see Ada carrying a bundle of sheets out of the room. Noting they were soaked with blood, he stifled a gag.
The next time the door opened, he didn't dare look for fear of seeing a bloody pallet or such. Instead, he heard steps coming toward him and a small sound.
He straightened and opened his eyes.
Catalin and Muriel stood before him, beaming. They each held a bundle.
Each bundle squirmed.
"Ah, 'twas what I expected from Elyne!" Ranald said. "Twins!"
Catalin bent down to show Graemme a tiny red face. "Meet yer wee son, Graemme."
Muriele did the same beside her. "Meet yer wee daughter, Graemme."
Graemme promptly fainted face forward, on the floor.
Elyne waited impatiently for Graemme to return the bairns. Ada and Grunda had already bathed, put a fresh night garment on her then propped her up on clean pillows and brushed her hair.
Finally, someone cautiously opened the door. Graemme peeked around the corner, wary of entering.
"Dinna throw yer soiled water at me or anything of that nature. I have my little army with me," he said with a look of intense pride.
Elyne's snort was as loud as any man's.
"Ye dimwit! Ye fainted like a dairy maid!"
"Humph! I fainted from exhaustion. Being an expectant father is stressful."
Graemme walked as though he was carrying something he feared he would crush. He stopped beside the bed and Elyne saw naught but gentleness in his face. How could she ever have believed he hid evilness in his soul? All because of some stupid dream of a ravening black wolf!
"Ye'd best get over here afore I snatch ye bald. Newborns need nursing, ye know."
"Ah, ye're still enticing me with love talk." Graemme grinned. "If ye think to lure me into swiving ye this night, I'd best confess I am way too tired from all the trouble ye've put me through to think of bed sport!"
He kissed each tiny red forehead afore bending down to lay the bairns in her arms.
"Lout! Ye're tired? Ye lazy Highlander." Her lips twitched to keep from chuckling at his banter. "If I were not nursing my bairns, I would skewer ye."
"Ye must surrender yer fierce nature. And ye must never hit me now. Think of what it will do to our wee son and daughter to see their fierce mother being cruel to their loving father."
He stopped and rubbed the stubble on his face. His eyes lit.
"Mayhap we can have bed sport on the morrow?"
She was busy getting the twins to nurse with Grunda's help, but he jumped back when he saw the look on her face.
"Get near me with a cockstand and I'll cut it off! I have my blade beneath my pillow, so be forewarned, ye unspeakable churl!"
"Grunda, is it natural for a mother to be so unloving after her husband has sacrificed his rest for many nights to give her two perfect bairns?"
Ada laughed so hard Grunda needed to raise her voice to speak.
"Lad, if I were ye, I wouldna come back unless ye have Ranald to hide behind."
He kissed Elyne's forehead and between her eyes then snuggled his head close to her neck to kiss her there.
"Thank ye, from the bottom of my heart for our beautiful family," he whispered.
"And thank ye, my darling, for being so patient. Kiss me properly now!"
He did. With as much fervor as she kissed him.
o0o
Look for these intriguing romances in
Sophia Johnson’s Raptor Castle Series
Available Now
Book 1 FORBIDDEN
Brother Ranald of Raptor Castle, a scarred monk in Scotland’s Kelso Abbey, has a fearsome temper that causes objects to fly about, turn still waters stormy and candles to light with but a look. In the peace of the abbey. He controls his rage and fights his forbidden desires, but what would he become in the secular world?
‘Tis his greatest fear when his father arrives with an army to force Ranald to return to Raptor Castle and wed. This monk turned man must now become husband and warrior.
Book 2 SEDUCED
Letia of Seton Castle is as beautiful as she is capable. Famed for her skill at training archers and slingers, she is used to commanding the castles defenses when needful. Married to elderly Baron de Burgh, she has never birthed an heir.
She must protect her castle and people when Maud and Stephen’s battles throw England into anarchy. She sacrifices all when her husband devises a plan to save Seton Castle from ruin when he dies.
‘Twas a simple plan with very few steps to follow: Capture her enemy, seduce him, bear his child and save her people. But falling in love was not in the plan.
Book 3 RUTHLESS
The Morgan and Gunn clans in the Highlands of Scotland have been feuding for longer than anyone can remember, until the chiefs decided to foster their sons with each other.
Before Magnus of Clibrick Castle and Feradoch of Kinbrace Castle exchanged places when they reached their seventh year, their fathers ordered them to swear a blood oath that each would uphold the peace when they became men. Once they are grown and return to their own strongholds, should either man be felled by treachery, the other will seek vengeance for the deed.
Years later when the Gunn’s call Magnus to honor the oath, he never expected to hunt down and hang Muriel of Blackbriar, a bewitching woman he captured
and fell in love with when he besieged her castle.
Book 4 SURRENDER
In the Taming of the Shrew, Katharine met her match in Petruchio. She was fortunate not to be in Elyne of Raptor Castle’s shoes. When Elyne goes toe to toe with Graemme of Clibrick Castle, he checkmates her every move!
Graemme is not the harsh man Magnus is, but a vow made is also sacred to him. Elyne keeps one step ahead of him and leads him a merry and sometimes treacherous race before he gets the better of her.
But all is not laughter. Someone plots to kidnap Elyne, and when he tires of her, he will delight in killing her.
Coming - Not Too Soon!
Book 5 Unnamed
This will be Ysabel and Ranulf's story. Can you picture a beautiful woman, disheveled, wearing a lovely sleeveless smock standing on cobblestones with blood running between the stones? She's holding a bloody short sword, its shaft red and dripping. Her gaze is blank. Shoulders slumped.
Where is Colyne? Instead, a Crusader squats about five paces away, his face curious yet cautious, studying her. Ranald stands behind him, ready to protect her, should the need arise.
Why is she here? What has she done?
Dedication Page
For my sweet husband Gil who continues to feed me every night. Sometimes he has to whistle loud and shrill when I get too engrossed in what I'm doing to think of being hungry!
My daughters, Val and Lorrie, are my biggest fans. They don't mind telling their friends that their mother is a sensual historical romance writer. I wonder if they'll tell their grandchildren?
o0o
Thank you, Lori Devoti, for taking time away from your own wonderful writing to format the Raptor Castle Series, to Valeri Sperry for editing this tale and Delle Jacobs for designing covers that give a hint of the mood for each intriguing story.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Readers,
No reading this before you finish the book! It'll ruin all your fun if you do.
Finally, Elyne has her own story. Surrender takes place at the same time as Ruthless. Ranald's little sister isn't so little any more. In the previous books, he often warned her that spying on men who bathed at the well would lead her to trouble.
I had a lot of fun using her paranormal gift of lucid dreams. In the previous novels, I referred to them as more of a curse than a gift. She was more than likely to misinterpret them than to recognize their true warning.
She'd awake in strange places. Sometimes sitting in the muck of a pigsty, in a horse stall or atop the tallest wall. Being beneath the apple tree was one of her most harmless places until Graemme's footsteps alerted her. Of course, where else could she go but up?'
She couldn't very well balance on the branch with her hands over her eyes, so she really wasn't spying on him, was she? And it was only natural that he thought the lass watching his, er, performance was a serving girl waiting to have a warm toss between the sheets.
Of course, everything had to go wrong. Poor wet, nekid Graemme. He didn't know when he pulled the trim ankle that a beautiful, near nekid lass would fall and send him to the ground with her atop him. Screaming. When Chief Broccin's very large feet appeared to near cradle Graemme's head, their fate was sealed.
They were both too hardheaded to give in easily. It was tremendous fun to write their sparring with each other, each determined to win. And Squat added to the fun.
Did you notice Chief Broccin really had a fondness for the little misshapen dog? You didn't? Pfft! Read the book again, this time between the lines!
He could have kicked Squat across the great hall when he peed on his boots, but he didn't. He could have had it thrown outside the outer gates to fend for itself. Nope. Instead, he tossed food to the dog. Maybe he was gruff because he didn't want anyone to know he had a soft spot? Heck, when he said if Elyne didn't take the dog with her, he'd toss it to the woodland creatures, I believe he was being gruff to hide the fact he'd miss the dog's antics when he was gone.
I knew Elyne couldn't cave in and marry Graemme without a fight. She was mean as a snake when the old crone didn't scare him off. He wasn't about to let Elyne escape him. After all, if the handsome warrior didn't marry her, the Chief promised to, er, take his knife to Graemme's most treasured secret parts and display them as warning to all. Even with the threat to his marvelous anatomy, he had a hard time keeping them secret when they sprang to life every time he thought of her.
The predicament that Graemme and Elyne were in tickled my funny bone. I couldn't help but have fun with their arguments. There's a serious side to the story, too. Graemme is as honorable as Magnus, and he vowed he'd marry Elyne. He had to overcome obstacles that would make a lesser man run for his life!
Oh, and I hope you liked the ending.
Let me know what you thought about this intensely sensual tale.
o0o
Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden by Talbot & Whiteman provided information on medieval plants and their uses. There's a wealth of information in this book.
As in the Blackthorn Trilogy and this Raptor Castle Series, please keep in mind that it is not always possible to use only words appropriate to the time. I kept the dialect down to few characters. If any word puzzles you, check The Glossary Pages in my web site at www.sophiajohnson.netor email me at [email protected].
I'm always happy to answer any questions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What can I tell you that won't bore you to bits like every other profile you read. I'm a woman - you knew that because I write intense, sensual novels where there's a happy ending. I was born in and still live in Florida, so I know to be careful of the sun and bite my tongue when I see people trying to burn their skin to a crispy brown.
My husband and I are retired. I didn't start writing until 2000. I do historical romance with history as wallpaper - that means I don't bombard you with the politics but do let you know what is the most important thing going on at that time.
I research to use names and foods, medicines, clothing and language of the time. You'll not only picture a dining room table in the middle of a Great Hall when I'm writing but will get a feel for the way things were done at that time.
The names are the most fun to pick out. Especially for women. They used ungodly ugly names for women then, so I always search for one that will give you the picture of the lovely heroine I'm trying to tell you about. Men's names are easier because what male wouldn't like to be called Magnus or something similar. But Magnus wouldn't want to whisper sweet nothings in Wolfleda's ear. *gag* So she became Muriele. Much better isn't it?
Enough about books and a little more about me. My husband and I live with Jamie, our long-coat Chihuahua the neighbors call "The Terrorist," and a mischievous Papillon named Konner.
I write every day in my home office, in case the taxman asks you, and my husband plays golf three days a week and works in the yard the rest. Oh. And he cooks dinner every night.
Now, what could get more romantic than that?
My Tag Line is “Sensual Love through the Ages,” the theme of my novels.
www.sophiajohnson.net
READER REVIEWS
I have not added reviews of The Blackthorn Trilogy because there are so many on Amazon.com for Always Mine, Midnight's Bride and Risk Everything. Kensington Zebra didn't advertise the books as a trilogy because they came out with the last one first. But I named it The Blackthorn Trilogy because a trilogy is what it was. The first book, Always Mine, sets the whole trilogy into motion.
The Raptor Castle Series should be read in the proper order, because you'll learn the secondary characters from one book and follow him/her to the next.
FORBIDDEN
Janet "bsmrk" *****
"I didn't think that this was possible to surpass Always Mine (Zebra Historical Romance) an intense love story or Midnight's Bride a love story of delightful innocence or even Risk Everything (Zebra Debut) but with Forbidden, the first of the Raptor Series, Sophia Johnson has out done herself. From the first Forbid
den grabs you and doesn't let you go until the end which in itself segues into Seduced so well and leaves you so anxious to read this next book."
Stacy *****
"I am a lover of medieval historical romance books and came upon Sophia Johnson's Blackthorn Trilogy…. Sophia blew me away and took me far away to a medieval castle with some very sexy and sensitive warrior leading men and their feisty heroines! I loved the Blackthorn Trilogy and couldn't wait to get more of what Sophia delivers: entertaining, amusing and downright sexy books! The first book in the Raptor Castle series Forbidden sizzles!"
Brenda Ollis *****
"If you have read any of Sophia's books, you know that she is an exceptional historical romance author. I read the three books in the Blackthorn trilogy and loved them. …I didn't think she could top the last three. Well, have no fear!! I read Forbidden and could not put it down. Sophia has outdone herself with this first book."
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