This, her heart told her with surety, was the man.
The coast was deserted here, wrought of rocks that might have been scattered by giants interspersed with beaches of ivory sand. The sea reflected the moon and the stars, the wind was cool and filled with the scent of salt and shore.
The knight drew closer. Esmeraude’s mouth went dry and she urged a dubious Célie farther along the beach. The sea lifted the craft on a great dark wave as they watched and fairly deposited it upon the shore, like a great hand facilitating what should be.
A young boy leaped into the shallows to haul the boat ashore. The knight called to him, his voice melodic, the words tinged with a foreign accent. When a rogue wave pulled the boy down, the knight laughed and waded into the water himself, plucking his squire from the ocean with ease. Esmeraude’s heart missed a beat as the knight turned and the moonlight caught at his rugged features.
He was the most handsome man Esmeraude had ever glimpsed. His jaw was square, his profile proud. Starlight glinted in the dark waves of his hair, as if stars dwelt there as readily as within the midnight sky, and she wondered what hue his eyes might be. He could not be mortal, such a man, or if he was, she had never heard tell of the land where such men were bred.
But he was brought by the sea for her alone. Some higher force granted him to her as a gift and Esmeraude had listened too often at the knee of Duncan MacLaren not to understand her part in this unfolding tale.
Ignoring Célie’s protest, she leaped over the last scree of rocks, standing tall so that she might be clearly seen against the isle when her knight glanced up.
But he did not. He and the boy hauled the boat onto the sands together. The knight jested with the boy, aiding him so subtly that the young boy seemed convinced that he had brought the craft to safety himself. The knight, whom Esmeraude already thought had a fine character, ruffled the hair of the boy with undisguised affection. They laughed together and roughhoused on the beach, and he looked so masculine a man that she ached to feel his gaze upon her.
If not more.
“Oh, Célie,” Esmeraude whispered in awe when her panting maid reached her side atop the rocks. “My mother knew of what she spoke when she said that knights had an unholy allure.”
The maid groaned. “Esmeraude! What madness has seized your wits?”
Esmeraude gave her maid no more than a smile.
“Nay!” Célie’s eyes rounded with horror and her voice dropped to a hiss. “You would not do as you pledge to do!”
Esmeraude began to climb down the rocks, to be closer to the man who would be her partner this night.
“Not...that! Not with a knight and a stranger and...” Célie sputtered briefly to silence, then began again. Her rebukes were so distant to Esmeraude as to be unheard. The maid seemed to sense as much for she spoke with greater vehemence. “Nay, I forbid you to do this deed. Why, I shall stop you if I must throw myself betwixt you...”
But Esmeraude knew what she would do and naught could change her mind. She moved as a maiden snared in a dream from which she desired no awakening. Esmeraude would surrender her chastity to a nameless knight in the moonlight, a man wrought of moonbeams and Faerie dust, a man whom she knew she would never see again.
’Twas perfect. Her heart pounded at her own audacity.
“He is a stranger,” she interrupted Célie’s tirade with a calm she was far from feeling, “for I know without doubt that he was not among those who came to compete for my hand.”
“A man like this has no good reason to be in these parts!”
“Perhaps he has a matter to discuss with the King of the Isles.”
“He arrives too far north to seek that court. Nay, he is a scoundrel, fleeing the courts, upon that you may rely! A thief, perhaps a murderer. Esmeraude, you have no means of knowing the character of this man!”
“The sea is capricious, as you well know. Does he look sufficiently familiar with this locale to know its tricks?” Esmeraude shook her head. “And did you not note his manner with his squire? Nay, he is a man of honor, or a knight from Faerie, I care not which. I have chosen him to aid in my quest.”
“Esmeraude! We flee that same king whom you believe he may visit. Surely you have not forgotten as much? What if he tells the king of us?”
“Why should he? He will never know my name.”
“But...”
“We have need of a boat, Célie,” Esmeraude said firmly, knowing that only a practical solution would appease and silence the older woman. “The one this knight has brought will suit us very well.” She bestowed a confident glance upon her maid, though it cost her dearly to look away from the knight’s figure, so lovingly touched by the silvery moonlight. “And if he tells the king of us, ’twill be too late, for we shall have sailed away.”
“God in heaven!” Célie passed a hand over her brow in frustration. “You mean to steal the possessions of a knight after you pretend to be a whore? Oh, your mother will be most irked with me! It seems that I do not save you from misfortune despite my good intent.”
“Not a whore, Célie, I could not feign such experience.” Esmeraude ran her hands over her now tattered and dirty garb. “I shall be a villein, a mere country maid overwhelmed by my first vision of a knight.” She smiled and her voice turned soft. “Like an old, old tale in which naught is as it appears to be.”
Indeed, ’twould not be that difficult to pretend thus— Esmeraude’s mouth was dry at the mere thought of drawing closer to him. How would he kiss her? How would he touch her? How would mating feel? She was terrified at what she might discover, yet at the same time, she tingled in anticipation.
She could not have walked away to save her soul. This was adventure!
Célie moaned behind her as Esmeraude strode toward the knight with purpose. She held her chin high and her heart thumped with painful vigor. And when he heard her footsteps and glanced up, she saw that his eyes were as blue as a sunlit sky.
Then he smiled a smile as dazzling as the sun at midday. And Esmeraude knew, she simply knew, that this would come more than aright.
The Temptress
Book #6 of the Bride Quest
Available Now!
The Wolf & the Witch
Blood Brothers #1
If you love medieval Scottish romances featuring stolen brides and enemies who become lovers, you’ll love The Wolf & the Witch, book one in a new passionate series of romance and adventure by Claire Delacroix!
Denied his rightful legacy, Maximilian de Vries devised a plan to avenge himself upon his father and see his own future secured. Allied with his two forgotten half-brothers, he descends upon ancient and mysterious Kilderrick, determined to claim it at any price. A woman rumored to be a witch is the sole one bold enough to defy him but Maximilian has a solution—he will take her to wife, whether she be willing or nay, and seal his claim.
But this powerful warrior has yet to match wits with Alys Armstrong, a maiden with a thirst for vengeance and a fury that might exceed his own. Alys has no intention of capitulating to the proud and illegitimate son of the rogue who stole everything from her, and she does not share his avowed compulsion to fight fair.
Bitter enemies from the outset, Maximilian and Alys’ match is a battle of wills. When anger turns to passion, will either of them be able to resist temptation? And when Kilderrick itself is in peril, will they be able to join forces to save the unexpected love they have come to value above all else?
The Wolf & the Witch
Coming April 26, 2021
Pre-order available at some portals.
Learn more on Claire’s website.
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About the Author
Deborah Cooke sold her first book in 1992, a medieval romance called Romance of the Rose published under her pseudonym Claire Delacroix. Since then, she has published over fifty novels in a wide variety of sub-genres, including historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, fantasy romance, time-travel romance, women’s fiction, paranormal young adult and fantasy with romantic elements. She has published under the names Claire Delacroix, Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. The Beauty, part of her successful Bride Quest series of historical romances, was her first title to land on the New York Times List of Bestselling Books. Her books routinely appear on other bestseller lists and have won numerous awards. In 2009, she was the writer-in-residence at the Toronto Public Library, the first time the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. In 2012, she was honored to receive the Romance Writers of America’s Mentor of the Year Award.
Currently, she writes contemporary romances and paranormal romances under the name Deborah Cooke. She also writes medieval romances as Claire Delacroix. Deborah lives in Canada with her husband and family, as well as far too many unfinished knitting projects.
Visit Deborah’s Website and Blog
Visit Claire’s Website and Blog
More Books by Claire Delacroix
Harlequin Historicals
UNICORN BRIDE
PEARL BEYOND PRICE
Rogues & Angels
ONE KNIGHT ENCHANTED
ONE KNIGHT’S RETURN
Time Travel Romances
ONCE UPON A KISS
THE LAST HIGHLANDER
THE MOONSTONE
LOVE POTION #9
The Bride Quest
THE PRINCESS
THE DAMSEL
THE HEIRESS
THE COUNTESS
THE BEAUTY
THE TEMPTRESS
The Rogues of Ravensmuir
THE ROGUE
THE SCOUNDREL
THE WARRIOR
The Jewels of Kinfairlie
THE BEAUTY BRIDE
THE ROSE RED BRIDE
THE SNOW WHITE BRIDE
The Ballad of Rosamunde
The True Love Brides
THE RENEGADE’S HEART
THE HIGHLANDER’S CURSE
THE FROST MAIDEN’S KISS
THE WARRIOR’S PRIZE
The Brides of Inverfyre
THE MERCENARY’S BRIDE
THE RUNAWAY BRIDE
The Champions of St. Euphemia
THE CRUSADER’S BRIDE
THE CRUSADER’S HEART
THE CRUSADER’S KISS
THE CRUSADER’S VOW
THE CRUSADER’S HANDFAST
The Brides of North Barrows
Something Wicked This Way Comes
A Duke By Any Other Name
Short Stories and Novellas
BEGUILED
An Elegy for Melusine
To learn more about Deborah’s contemporary and paranormal romances,
please visit
DeborahCooke.com
Stolen Brides: Four Beauty-and-the-Beast Medieval Romances Page 128