“Attend your duties, son.” The earl pointed to the head table where the adults waited patiently. Wolfe kicked the ground in anger, as he was made to kiss his future bride. Thomas and William laughed in delight as he was made to walk up to the platform. The earl ignored his snickering sons and followed closely behind Wolfe.
As he stepped up to the head dining table, Wolfe ignored the rolled parchment next to the small wooden bassinet. The paper served only as a reminder of things he couldn’t control. Frowning, he glanced at his sister Helena. She had crawled off Robert’s lap and played on the floor near his feet. She looked up at him and giggled in childish amusement. His frown deepened into a scowl.
“Go on,” Robert encouraged in a whisper. His young green eyes shone with understanding, as Wolfe leaned over the cradle to see his sister. It was obvious he didn’t think much of kissing Ginevra either. “Hurry, afore she wakes up and starts to bawl.”
The boys’ mothers shared modest smiles. Wolfe gulped. Leaning over, he studied his future wife--a round baby clad in soft yellow. She was only as long as his arm, with pudgy, pink cheeks that puffed out from her tiny nose. Her lips puckered to suck in dreamlike abandon. Grimacing, he shook his head in denial and took a defiant step back.
“Why do I have to marry ’er? Why can’t I give ’er to Thomas? He’s the oldest. He’s the one who’s goin’ to need a wife.” Wolfe glanced dejectedly to his mother, who only smiled and nodded her head for him to follow his father’s order. Already he knew the answer. Thomas wouldn’t be bound by such an agreement because he was the oldest. The earl wanted to be sure they left Thomas’ option open in case there was a shift of politics. And Wolfe, being the second oldest, was the most logical of choices to unite the manors of Whetshire and Southaven. It would strengthen the ties of the land and help to build a secure future for all those involved.
Understanding didn’t make it easier.
With a sigh, he glanced back down. Ginevra’s eyes opened. The round green orbs looked at him curiously from underneath silky black lashes. Quickly, he puckered his lips as he leaned over to kiss the baby’s soft cheek. The baroness flushed and laid her hand proudly over her heart. The men nodded in satisfaction as they clasped hands.
Ginevra gurgled and her lips twitched into a softened, toothless smile. Drool spilled over her lips and chin. Wolfe felt himself melt a little as he looked at her. But, then, he hardened as he heard the snickering laughter of his two brothers behind him. His face turned into a disgusted scowl.
“She smells!” he exclaimed loudly with an offended wrinkle to his nose. Ginevra began to cry, her tiny fists pounding her displeasure into the air. Her shrill voice rang over the hall, as her mother rushed forward to lift her into the protective enclosure of her arms. Wolfe ignored his bride and stalked from the table to once again pummel his brother.
For a complete, up-to-date booklist, visit www.MichellePillow.com
Winner of the 2006 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award
Maiden and the Monster by Michelle M. Pillow
Medieval Historical Romance
Vladamir of Kessen, Duke of Lakeshire Castle, is feared as a demon in the land of Wessex. The Kings have granted him a title of nobility in exchange for his part as a political prisoner. Discontent, he bides his time in his new home until war will once again rip through the land. But boredom soon turns to devious pleasure as the daughter of his most hated enemy is left for dead at his castle gate. Now the monster bides his time plotting revenge.
Lady Eden of Hawks' Nest doesn't know what to think of the man who saved her life, but she can't wrench her thoughts away. His words are those of a tyrant, true to his vicious reputation, but his touch is that of a man, stirring passion and lust when there should only be fear. It would seem the infamous monster is not as monstrous as he appears.
A Romantic Times Magazine TOP PICK!
“4 1/2 STARS! This is a perfect blend of history, emotion, tension, hot sex and fascinating and sympathetic characters, and the writing is superb. Pillow chooses magical details to set the scene, and they add to both the history and the emotion.” - Page Traynor, RT Bookclub Magazine, April 2006 Issue
Maiden and the Monster Excerpt
“If m’lady wouldn’t mind,” Ulric continued. “I had a few questions of my own. Mayhap then I’d be better able to answer yers.”
Eden again nodded, this time with more severity. What else could she do? She was trapped on the bed by her nakedness. Even if she was to brave an escape, she couldn’t see where to go.
“Who are you?” he asked. “Why were you in the forest alone outside this castle? Fer ‘tis obvious you are a lady by yer dress. Did you separate from yer traveling party?”
Eden’s eyes teared. She felt like a scared child, locked inside a dark room. “Yea.”
“You were separated?” Ulric persisted.
“Yea.”
“You are a lady of gentry?” She felt him move closer as if inspecting her.
“Yea.” Eden focused her eyes forward, intent on convincing him that she was a lady and above him.
“Who are you? Where were you heading?”
“I’m Lady Eden. I was on my way to a nunnery in East Anglia.” As she spoke her hands shook. She forced herself to swallow the lump that kept rising into her throat to crack her voice. “I’m to live there.”
“Which nunnery?” Ulric asked smoothly.
“The one to the south,” Eden weakly offered her lie. In truth she didn’t know the name of any nunneries in East Anglia. Surely, with the pagan king newly converted there would be something. She only hoped that whichever lord lived in the castle would see fit to send her there. “I don’t believe that they have named it, for ‘tis new.”
“Hmm.” Ulric’s voice pondered her answers. “So you have already taken yer orders? You are a nun?”
“Nay, I’m to take them there.” Eden turned her face away from him. She couldn’t lie about such a thing as already being ordained. It would be too blasphemous. The fact she said she was going to be was bad enough. “I’m sure they expect me. If you would see fit to send—”
“I see,” Ulric broke in, thoughtful.
Eden wondered at the delighted tone in his words. His blurry figure shifted away from her, only to come back. She leaned away the best she could on the uncomfortable bed.
“Please, good sir.” Eden sighed and tried to relax, feeling no immediate threat from the old man. “Where am I?”
“You don’t know?” Ulric laughed lightly in surprise. “You are at Lakeshire Castle. We found you near death in front of the castle gates. Methought you might be able to tell us how you came to be here and most importantly why.”
“Lakeshire?” Eden gasped in horror, looking down as she mumbled in shock, “He left me here? How could he have left me here?”
“Who left you?”
Eden stiffened. The irritated voice wasn’t that of Ulric. It instead came from her left, near the fireplace. Her skin tingled and she noticed that the fire burned hotter than before. The man’s tone sounded wicked, spoken in a strange accent. The word “who” was murmured with a softened “v”.
“Are you…?” she began, but had to take a calming breath. It didn’t help.
She was frazzled. Her heart already beat in fear only to pound in time with her head, resounding in her ears like a battle drum. She shook with fear, her body so hot it was surely on fire. The way the flames spread through her, she wondered if she was in the company of the devil himself. Rubbing her chin on the fur to make sure it still covered her body, she asked weakly, “Are you the Monster of Lakeshire?”
Vladamir eyed the trembling creature before him with unconcealed disdain. The way his nickname came from her lips irritated him to no end, and he was all too aware that she refused to answer his question. By her own admission it was obvious someone planted her in front of his castle, perhaps thinking she was already dead.
It was clear from the first moment that she didn’t know he was in th
e chamber. The way she kept squinting at Ulric belied the fact that she couldn’t make out the figure before her. Was her impaired eyesight due to her natural vision or a result of her beating? He told himself he didn’t care and didn’t wish to be in her company long enough to find out. In fact, he didn’t want her in his home longer than necessary.
The maiden’s hair was dirtily matted to her head, so much so that he was unable to make out its true color. From what he saw of her frame under the thin fur, she seemed slender in stature, probably more so due to her prolonged illness. Her skin pulled tautly against her cheekbones, bones that were high and proud. Beyond that simple observation he couldn’t make out her features.
“Are you the monster?” Her breath continued to come out in audible pants and her one good eye searched for him. “Am I to be your sacrifice?”
Vladamir watched her lips tremble at the question. Her mouth was in the best condition of her whole face with a fine arch of the upper lip and the full pout of the lower. If the rest of her face healed to displeasure, he would be contented to look only at her delicate mouth. His body hummed to life, reminding him how long it had been since he’d taken a woman to his bed. The painful mass between his thighs only annoyed him. He didn’t want to feel desire—not for her, not for any woman.
Who could ever willingly accept a monster into their bed?
The duke felt a glimmer of regret at the timid way she searched for him with her troubled, swollen gaze. The faint white of her eye was a bloody red as if she’d been strangled near death. He suddenly frowned as he realized that someone indeed had tried to kill her. Did they think to have succeeded? Who would want her dead? What exactly had she done?
He saw the fear in her and didn’t believe for an instant that the woman planned on joining a nunnery. There was something in the proud way she lifted her chin and the aristocratic tilt of her head. He saw her breeding, even through her marred expression.
“I have been called that,” he answered at last, afraid if he didn’t respond, she would continue to grow pale until she passed out once more on the bed. He needed too many answers from her to let her rest quite yet.
Yea, m’lady, there are those who would think me a monster.
For a complete, up-to-date booklist, visit www.MichellePillow.com
The Guardians by Mandy M. Roth
Paranormal Dark Fantasy Vampire Shifter Romance
Ass-kicking Guardian, Madelyn Mason, is the only female in a sea of supernatural males. College student by day, she spends her nights fighting for mankind--the innocents, the ones who have no clue that the things of nightmares walk among the living.
Larger than life Hollywood hunk, Brady Devens, has won the hearts of millions of adoring fans. But, the only heart he wants to win is that of his mate, Madelyn. She hasn't shown an interest in him as anything more than a friend, and he’s beginning to think the Powers That Be goofed.
In this world of magik, mishap, demons, gods, and pleasure nymphs, anything is possible. Can they find a love that transcends time and space or will the Powers That Be decide maybe they weren’t destined for one another after all?
Contains graphic adult material, a sexy king of the lycans, a hollywood hunk, a first that could make your mouth water and a woman who isn't about to let them call the shots, violence, adult language, and explicit sexual content not suitable for sensitive readers.
To find out more about these books or to read other books from The Raven Books visit www.TheRavenBooks.com
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