Author Tracy L Ranson,  passion and desire...across time

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The Warlord's Woman

Antique Roses and Gold Sword

Best Seller

The Warlord's Woman by Tracy L. Ranson

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The Warlord's Woman

BookStrand
Genre: Medieval Romance
IBSN: 1-60601-198-7
Ebook November 2008

Edward I summons his grandson, Alexander of Kent, to court for the purpose of orchestrating the kidnap of Princess Catherine of Scotland, the surviving heir to the throne, and marry her. An heir through her would give Edward both thrones.

Alexander takes on the task despite his hatred of the Scots.

He ambushes the party and forces a surrender. Just as he's about to take the sword from the small lead knight, he's knocked to the ground by the knight. He gives chase and pulls the visor from the man's head to discover he's looking into the deep green eyes of a beautiful woman. Who has sent this golden angel into his arms?

The beautiful woman is Catherine.

He intends to wed her, but Catherine has other plans...
Two countries on the brink of war. A battle-scarred warrior. Will the love of one woman prevent one and save the other?

This title was previously published and has been extensively edited and revised.  

 

Reviews
Antique Roses and Gold Sword

 The Warlord's Woman is an excellent sequel to Desire's Promise. I really love the way Tracy L. Ranson brought the characters of Isabeau and Kendrick into this story. The cruelties Alexander was forced to endure in his grandfather's court are what made him the man he became, someone without a heart. When Catherine gets the opportunity to run away from Alexander when he becomes sick, she doesn't take it, instead electing to stay and nurse him back to health. You don't want to miss this heartwarming medieval story by Tracy L. Ranson!
- Sensual Romance Reviews

Ms. Ranson treats her readers to some delicious court intrigues not only within Alexander’s household, but within the Scottish and English courts.

A costumer’s delight unfolds as Ms. Ranson describes each dress worn by the ladies of the piece and period. One need only close their eyes to imagine how the richly colored velvet dresses would feel.

A thoroughly enjoyable read.
- Fallen Angel Reviews

 

Excerpt
Antique Roses and Gold Sword

The young man turned his mount around and attempted to flee. Thankfully the horse stumbled and fell, spilling the boy on the ground. He charged after the youth and closed in with swift strides. Alexander's quarry stayed in sight as he weaved in and out of the trees.

Alexander kept close at his heels like a dog giving chase. Once the boy was in range, he launched himself on the youth and brought him to the ground. Underneath his hands, the boy felt lithe and slender, almost like a woman would. Small growls echoed from the knight's throat and mingled with the horrific battle sounds a few yards away.

Alexander straddled the youth and held the boy's arms back. "You will pay for that little injury, boy."

With that, he ripped the cowl back. What he saw made his jaw fall slack. Golden hair, pulled into a tight braid, flowed down the back of her head and disappeared beneath the edge of the cloak.

He quickly moved to the side and rolled the boy over. Only the stranger was not a boy. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Deep emerald eyes, stared at him and flashed like lightning, full of innocent curiosity and fanned by a long set of blonde lashes. High cheekbones comprised her face and made a perfect setting for an expertly sculpted nose. Full, luscious lips rested underneath. Her lower lip trembled lightly.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Instantly, his cock hardened underneath his braes. He could see her lush lips parted while moans of ecstasy escaped her delectable mouth as he plunged deep inside of her wet cavern as the sides of her pussy held him hostage. He groaned. From the way her armor rode away from her chest, he sensed her breasts were large and no doubt creamy, an attribute that never escaped his attention.

"'Tis none of your concern."

She tried to push past him and rise but he refused to let her. Instead, Alexander captured both slender wrists above her head and manacled them down. She was too far beautiful not to look at. "Aye, it is my concern when I capture such a beautiful woman." She intrigued him, from her soft breath to the aura of womanhood surrounding her. Since he would rid himself of Catherine once she bore his child, perhaps this one could warm his bed very well.

"Let me go." From the way she clenched her jaw, this one was definitely stubborn and would give him a great challenge, both in and out of the bedcovers.

"No." His fingers touched the hard shelf of her jaw to find her skin was as soft as it looked. He traveled upwards and caressed the silky strands of her luxurious hair. His large rod turned to painful steel beneath his braes and strained the leather almost to the breaking point. "You are a most beautiful woman, vixen. What is your name?"

Her features softened as a smile spread across her lips. "'Tis a name I am sure you will not forget quickly."

Blood pulsed to his midsection at the sound of her voice. His braes tightened to the point of pain. "What is it?"

"This."

She drove her knee hard into his groin. Explosions of pain erupted and he grabbed his aching shaft. Damn her! She pushed past him and managed to bypass his outstretched hand. Biting through the pain, he leapt to his feet and took off after her. His stride was slow but his anger mingled with the unrequited lust energized him nonetheless. The girl had hurt him twice but he was damned sure he was going to punish her thoroughly, but not before he tasted a little of her succulent fruit.

Alexander rounded a tree and discovered her in the arms of one of his men, quivering and shaking like a frightened rabbit caught in a trap. Her flight from him was over. "What shall we do with her, my lord?"

He stopped before her and crossed his thick arms over his chest. They would do nothing with her. She was his. "That is up to me, now is it not?"



* * * *



Catherine shook in the hands of the Duke of Kent's man, her mind awash in fresh terror. The Butcher of the Isles was determined to become her husband, despite his notorious and well known hatred for Scots. After all, her people had killed the Butcher's beloved, Riana, years before. So why did he want her of all women? At first, she had thought when the party melted out of the darkness she had imagined Laird Robert McLeish being her captor. Laird McLeish had promised years before when her grandfather, King James, had banished him from the court that he would claim her and become King of Scotland. Unfortunately, the nightmare haunting her waking dreams was far darker than she could have ever imagined.

She felt trapped in this legion of tall men as their mighty armored statures dwarfed her completely. What was she to do? Her gaze darted about and flicked to the lifeless bodies of her garrison strewn about like cordwood. The men assigned to protect her were no more. Damn! Why could they have not been spared?

"We have the princess, my lord."

Taryn emerged through the thicket of soldiers carried between the arms of two of the large men looking no worse for the wear. Aching pangs of regret knotted in her belly. She should not have had Taryn play her but she needed a decoy in case something of this nature happened, especially with McLeish on the loose.

A very tall man with an overabundance of light blonde hair he gestured toward her. "What do you wish to have done with her?"

The Duke stepped forward as his dark, mysterious eyes narrowed to slits. "I have not decided yet." His full lips spread into a half smile. "As for the princess." He pointed to Taryn. "Be certain that she is unharmed. We will be leaving for the chapel where I will wed her before the night is through."

Taryn lurched forward with her hands up. "No, wait, my lady!"

Catherine cringed at the sound of Taryn's words. Her identity had been given away through no fault of Taryn's. Fear had driven her servant to blurt out the plea.

The Duke's stare turned to her. His scowl turned to something far more dangerous than his sword. Lust danced in those dark eyes, undoubtedly hungry for what he would do to her if she wed him. "What is the meaning of this?"

She looked away as his heated stare and intense emotion became too much for her to bear. "Nothing." Catherine trembled as the blood turned to ice in her veins. This hulking beast meant to marry her and there was no one here to stop him.

The Duke stalked over to her and jerked her away from her captor. In one swift move, Catherine found herself in a tight embrace against his hard line. "So you are the princess and she is your maidservant. Ah, now I see the ruse." His gloved fingers tilted her head up gently forced her to stare into the murky depths of his black eyes. "So my little wife has a rebellious streak in her. I will have to take great pains never to extinguish that flame."

Tremors of newfound emotion scuttled through her body. "You will do nothing of the sort. I will marry no man until I decide to do so."

"I think not, dear lady. You see, you have no decision in the matter. If you resist me, I will have no qualms about giving your maidservant to my men for sport. Tell me, is that what you wish for her?"

Catherine looked at Taryn. Her friend's eyes filled with abject panic as her breathing turned shallow. Taryn had always been a friend to her as well as a servant. Indignity and death for Taryn was something she could avoid. Her spine stiffened. She was not about to allow this hulking beast to intimidate her. "Why do you wish to marry me?"

His thick arms crossed over his armor clad chest. "I have no desire to wed you. I am only doing so on the orders of my king." The Duke's cruel voice cut through her as he pulled her in front of him. He captured her arms behind her back. "You see, I hate every Scot, including you. If it had not been for the Scots, my land would not have been pillaged nor my betrothed killed."

"That had nothing to do with me." She was not about to ask forgiveness for the ruthlessness of her people. As far as she was concerned, the past had gone and there was naught to do about it.

"It has to do with your people, little one."

"Why marry me if you hate me so viciously then?"

"My king ordered me to wed you and produce an heir within a year." The Duke's gloved fingers picked up the stray strands of her blonde hair and held them to his nose. "Since the king is my grandfather and I am his loyal subject, I intend to do as he has bid."

The thought of giving this man a child filled her with a terror she had never experienced before. She could not see his features well but she knew him to be big, especially from the way he had landed on her initially. Her ribs and arms ached from when he had driven her to the ground in an effort to halt her flight. She let out a weary breath. The loss of her innocence to this beast was but a small price to pay for Taryn's life. "If you promise to spare the life of my servant, I will marry you." She herself from his grip and turned to stare at him. "It will be under duress, however for I want nothing to do with you."

"You will have everything to do with me, my dear. I will be your husband and I fully intend on taking my rights." He leaned close, his lips inches from her cheek. She closed her eyes in an effort to withstand the assault on her senses. "You come will look forward to my nightly demands for I know how to please a woman." His voice dripped promise.

The mound between her legs quivered slightly at the thought. `Twas not as though she did not know what happened between a man and a woman. She had caught several of her father's men in the stables with some of the maids, their moans rising high in the fresh clean scent of the barn. In a vivid memory, Catherine had witnessed a soldier on his knees before a maid. She held her dress up and exposed her mound to him. He licked his lips in a hungry fashion as she parted the wet folds as if to show him the treasure hiding inside. The soldier pressed his face to the mound as his long tongue flicked at the glistening button. Her nub grew with each stroke, the color burning red as passion pulsed. The maid threw her head back and moaned, bending her knees so that her pussy was wide open to her lover. He lapped at her more as his hands grabbed her hips and pinioned her in position so that his tongue could delve deeper into her. The woman's cries became louder and louder as she undulated against his face. Catherine had gasped as the sight and touched her swollen mounds as her nipples puckered beneath her bodice. Why was she so hot suddenly?

Just as the woman's climax was about to wash over her, the soldier pulled the girl downward and unlaced his breeches. Catherine had gasped as his long, hard member came to light, thick and ready. Without ceremony, he plunged into the maid's welcoming sex, positioning in and out, riding the poor girl hard. Catherine had watched as he took his prize, his hard cock slick with the maid's juice. He thrust hard, making the poor girl moan endlessly. Catherine's own pussy dampened and throbbed as she imagined herself impaled by his thick cock and swooning in ecstasy.

Catherine jerked her head up and wiped every delicious thought from her head. The last thing she wanted the Duke to know was the effect he was having on her. "I have my doubts for I am only doing this to save my maid servant's life, nothing more."

The Duke locked a thick arm around her waist. He tilted her head up, and looked deep into her his eyes. "You will share my bed, little Catherine, and bear me a son in the coming year." His voice dropped several octaves and dripped with sexual promise. The area between her legs dampened quickly. "You may come to enjoy what I have planned for you." The masculine timbre, mingled with the maleness of him, made her feel a little lightheaded as the blood pounded her veins. "Even though you think me to be cruel, you may find I can be tame as well."


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