Recruit - A Highland Guard Novel

Informationen zum Autor Monica McCarty Klappentext RITA Finalist for Historical Romance Scotland's King Robert the Bruce is retaking his kingdom from the invading English. To win, he'll need all the grit and courage of his elite band of warriors, the Highland Guard, men who fight without fear and love without limits. Fiery, aggressive, and bold, Kenneth Sutherland is a true champion-skilled with any weapon and driven to win. Now Kenneth is ready for his greatest challenge: joining Robert the Bruce's secret army to fight among the elite. Kenneth's best chance to attain that honor is by winning the Highland Games. Focused and prepared for victory, he is caught off guard by a lovely wisp of a woman-and a stolen moment of wicked seduction. Her innocent arousal and her shameless hunger fire his blood. He will win his place in the guard-and in Mary of Mar's bed. The ruggedly handsome hero-in-the-making stirs a heart that should know better. Mary vows that her surrender will be sport only-no promises, no heartbreak, just one night of incredible passion. Nothing, she swears, will persuade her to give up her hard-wrought independence and put her fate in the hands of another powerful man. But with every gentle touch and heart-pounding kiss, Kenneth makes her want more. Now Mary wants his heart. But is this determined champion willing to surrender everything for love?One July 1309 Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, English Marches Mary handed the merchant the bundle that represented nearly three hundred hours of work and waited patiently as he examined the various purses, ribbons, and coifs with the same painstaking attention to detail he’d given the first time she’d brought him goods to sell nearly three years ago. When he was finished, the old man crossed his arms and gave her a forbidding frown. “You did all this in four weeks? You had best have a team of faeries helping you at night, milady, because you promised me you were going to slow down this month.” “I shall slow down next month,” she assured him. “After the harvest fair.” “And what about Michaelmas?” he said, reminding her of the large fair in September. She smiled at the scowling man. He was doing his best to look imposing, but with his portly physique and kind, grandfatherly face, he wasn’t having much success. “After Michaelmas I shall be so slothful I will have to buy an indulgence from Father Andrew or my soul will be in immortal danger.” He tried to hold his scowl, but a bark of laughter escaped. He shook his head as a doting father might at a naughty child. “I should like to see it.” He handed her the bag of coin they’d agreed upon. She thanked him and tucked it into the purse she wore tied at her waist, enjoying the weight that dragged it down. One dark, bushy eyebrow peppered with long strands of gray arched speculatively. “You wouldn’t need to work so hard if you agreed to take one of the requests I’ve had for your work. Fine opus anglicanum embroidery like this is wasted on these peasants.” He said it with such disgust, Mary tried not to laugh. The customers who frequented his booth were not peasants but the burgeoning merchant class—people like him—who were helping to make Newcastle-upon-Tyne an important town. The markets and fairs such as the one today were some of the best north of London. And John Bureford’s booth, full of fine textiles and accessories, was one of the most popular. In an hour, it would be crowded with eager young women seeking the latest fashions from London and the Continent. He picked up one of the ribbons, a plush ruby velvet on which she’d embroidered a vine-and-leaf motif in gold thread. “Even on these they notice. The ladies of the town are vying to be the first to secure your talents for a surcote or a wall hanging. Even the hem of a shirt might satisfy them. Let me arrange it; you could name...

Product details

• Authors: Monica McCarty
• Publisher: Ballantine
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.10.2012
• EAN: 9780345528414
• ISBN: 978-0-345-52841-4
• No. of pages: 432
• Dimensions: 105 mm x 175 mm x 27 mm
• Series: Highland Guard; Highland Guard
• Subject: Fiction > Narrative literature