her.
Rising to his knees and roughly rolling her to her
stomach that strange, preternatural ticking purr permeated the room.
Yes, a sensual thrill coursed down her
spine. Now she would acquaint herself with her Berserker.
Preview
of “Unwilling” the next installment of the MacLauchlan Berserkers….
Available
now through Amazon.com
Chapter One
The Scottish Highlands, Autumn 1411
“I want his death to be
quick and painless. He’s my brother, after all.” Rory MacKay didn’t meet
Connor’s eyes as he said this. Instead, he tracked the armored coach trundling
along the river Tay where the water ran into the loch, which boasted the same
name.
Connor MacLauchlan knew
it was around noon, though storm clouds hid the sun. From their vantage point
in the trees above, he counted twenty mounted highlanders in the coach’s
vanguard. Twenty he could kill on his own, but it would be a blood bath. “I
take pleasure in the death, but no’ in the killing. It willna take long once I
start.”
Rory winced, but nodded.
His doe-brown eyes closed as he took a bracing breath.
Considering the second
born twin of the MacKay nobles, Connor worried about his conviction. Rory’s
bronze hair matted to his handsome face where fat rivulets of rain had
plastered it. He was a strapping lad, but even in his heavy hide cloak he
didn’t compete with Connor’s own bulk. This was a good man doing evil for the
sake of his clan. Yet the blood would stain his hands, just like it would saturate
Connor come sunset.
“If yer having doubts,
now would be the time to voice them,” Connor prompted. “We can ride away from
here and never speak of this again.”
Rory’s shoulders
slumped. “Nay. Since yer brother, Roderick, defeated our father at Aberdeen,
Angus has been raiding all over Argyll. He’s split our clan and made us weak.
Anyone who doesna swear fealty to him is terrorized. He’s pillaged and burned
farms and houses… wi’ people still inside. I didna want to believe what I was
hearing, but a woman begged refuge for her and a bairn at the Keep. She said
he ran her husband through the belly with his sword, then made the dying man
watch as he…took her.” Rory’s throat visibly worked over a swallow. “Angus is
my twin. We used to protect each other from our brutal father. We used to
play together in the fields and ride our horses along the coast until we could
see the end of the world…” His eyes hardened. “He canna return to Dun Keep,
MacLauchlan. I willna let him be the ruin of my clan. No more innocents can
bear his tyranny.” A tear escaped the corner of the young man’s eye and he
swiped it away with his bracer.
Connor’s saddle creaked
as he reached out to clap Rory on the shoulder. “I have a brother of my own,”
he said. “I’d die for him.”
Rory nodded his head in
appreciation, his jaw working back strong emotion. “Actually, I thought it
would be Roderick who answered my missive, what with you being Laird and all.
Oh, and a Baron now, besides.”
“My brother is newly
married. He promised his bride he’d build her an apothecary in Strathlachlan.
There’s no tearing him away from her side for the time being.” Connor huffed
out a chuckle at the memory of his brother following his wee curvy mate about
the Keep like an addled puppy, a load of planks on his broad back. God save
him from the same fate. Roderick was patient and steady as the day was long. Connor
didn’t have the temperament to deal with a wife.
Besides, courting a
Berserker could be deadly. And he had enough blood on his hands already. Better
not to risk it.
“I see,” Rory let his
mouth relax into a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “There’s another
conundrum of mine. The next Laird of our clan is betrothed to Lindsay Ross.”
“The Regent’s niece?”
“Aye. I’d not see her in
the arms of
Rising to his knees and roughly rolling her to her
stomach that strange, preternatural ticking purr permeated the room.
Yes, a sensual thrill coursed down her
spine. Now she would acquaint herself with her Berserker.
Preview
of “Unwilling” the next installment of the MacLauchlan Berserkers….
Available
now through Amazon.com
Chapter One
The Scottish Highlands, Autumn 1411
“I want his death to be
quick and painless. He’s my brother, after all.” Rory MacKay didn’t meet
Connor’s eyes as he said this. Instead, he tracked the armored coach trundling
along the river Tay where the water ran into the loch, which boasted the same
name.
Connor MacLauchlan knew
it was around noon, though storm clouds hid the sun. From their vantage point
in the trees above, he counted twenty mounted highlanders in the coach’s
vanguard. Twenty he could kill on his own, but it would be a blood bath. “I
take pleasure in the death, but no’ in the killing. It willna take long once I
start.”
Rory winced, but nodded.
His doe-brown eyes closed as he took a bracing breath.
Considering the second
born twin of the MacKay nobles, Connor worried about his conviction. Rory’s
bronze hair matted to his handsome face where fat rivulets of rain had
plastered it. He was a strapping lad, but even in his heavy hide cloak he
didn’t compete with Connor’s own bulk. This was a good man doing evil for the
sake of his clan. Yet the blood would stain his hands, just like it would saturate
Connor come sunset.
“If yer having doubts,
now would be the time to voice them,” Connor prompted. “We can ride away from
here and never speak of this again.”
Rory’s shoulders
slumped. “Nay. Since yer brother, Roderick, defeated our father at Aberdeen,
Angus has been raiding all over Argyll. He’s split our clan and made us weak.
Anyone who doesna swear fealty to him is terrorized. He’s pillaged and burned
farms and houses… wi’ people still inside. I didna want to believe what I was
hearing, but a woman begged refuge for her and a bairn at the Keep. She said
he ran her husband through the belly with his sword, then made the dying man
watch as he…took her.” Rory’s throat visibly worked over a swallow. “Angus is
my twin. We used to protect each other from our brutal father. We used to
play together in the fields and ride our horses along the coast until we could
see the end of the world…” His eyes hardened. “He canna return to Dun Keep,
MacLauchlan. I willna let him be the ruin of my clan. No more innocents can
bear his tyranny.” A tear escaped the corner of the young man’s eye and he
swiped it away with his bracer.
Connor’s saddle creaked
as he reached out to clap Rory on the shoulder. “I have a brother of my own,”
he said. “I’d die for him.”
Rory nodded his head in
appreciation, his jaw working back strong emotion. “Actually, I thought it
would be Roderick who answered my missive, what with you being Laird and all.
Oh, and a Baron now, besides.”
“My brother is newly
married. He promised his bride he’d build her an apothecary in Strathlachlan.
There’s no tearing him away from her side for the time being.” Connor huffed
out a chuckle at the memory of his brother following his wee curvy mate about
the Keep like an addled puppy, a load of planks on his broad back. God save
him from the same fate. Roderick was patient and steady as the day was long. Connor
didn’t have the temperament to deal with a wife.
Besides, courting a
Berserker could be deadly. And he had enough blood on his hands already. Better
not to risk it.
“I see,” Rory let his
mouth relax into a faint smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “There’s another
conundrum of mine. The next Laird of our clan is betrothed to Lindsay Ross.”
“The Regent’s niece?”
“Aye. I’d not see her in
the arms of
Similar Books
