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
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
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."
Copyright
©
2004
All Rights Reserved
