Welcome to another First Kiss Friday with yours truly! This weekend I’ll be celebrating my birthday so I’d like to take you back to the beginning and the book that started my whole medieval & time travel series: If My Heart Could See You.
In case you need a reminder for this scene, Amiria of Clan MacLaren is ill and running a fever. She even thinks that she is wed to Dristan, the Devil’s Dragon of Blackmore, while he watches over her with worry. Happy reading and enjoy!
Excerpt:
He went to the bed and gazed down upon his beautiful lady. He could think of her as nothing else for she would in truth become his wife once she was well again. ’Twas whilst he stared at her that he began to notice the slight beginnings of a smile playing upon her lips, and he pondered what she dreamed of. She began to stir most alluringly and whispered his name as provocatively and sweetly as any lover could.
He pulled the coverings from Amiria and lifted her into his arms. She molded her body closer to his own and his heart began to beat a little faster. Dristan was caught off guard, feeling her silky limbs wrapping themselves around his neck. The warmth of her lips began to nuzzle his neck and she gave a sigh of contentment as his arms held her tighter.
“You came for me… I knew you would,” she purred into his ear in a soft confident whisper.
“Aye, so it appears,” he said as a tingle went through him with the feel of her breath in his ear. Carrying her to the tub placed by the fire, he slowly swung his legs over its rim to feel the water at his knees. “Brace yourself, Amiria.” She held him tighter as he began to sink down into their bath. Water sloshed over the sides onto the floor the lower he brought them.
“’Tis too cold,” she said groggily with a shiver, trying to get closer to the very heart of him.
“’Tis for the best, my lady, and will make you well again.”
“I do not like it,” she said with a pout and proceeded to turn in his arms.
Afore Dristan could cease her motion, Amiria lifted slightly away from him, moving both legs to either side of his own, and promptly sat down upon his upper thighs with a wiggle of her bare bottom. This certainly was not what he had intended whilst he watched in fascination her fixed glassy eyes take in his face. Her tongue moistened her lips. Smiling, she stole a quick fleeting kiss.
“Warm me,” she demanded, molding herself to his chest and lowering her lips to receive another of his kisses as if she had done so a dozen times afore.
A part of him sprang to life against his better judgment and yet he could not for the life of him cease the intoxicating kiss she gave him. He breathed life into her as their tongues intertwined in a dance known to lovers for centuries. For just a moment longer would he indulge in what she offered, for he knew she would not remember what she did once she was herself again.
He cupped her head, bringing her closer and deepened their kiss. His fingers tangled themselves in the length of her hair ’til he could stand no more. His hands lowered themselves down her back in a gentle caress. She sighed in pleasure and Dristan heard the throaty moan that escaped her. He would have smiled through their kiss if ’twere possible for he had the notion he had awakened a temptress that would forever belong only to him.
She pulled away from his lips with a shake of her glorious red mane and gave a satisfying laugh. Her eyes widened in bewilderment from the hardness of him against her naked flesh. “I have roused my dragon, I see,” she smirked knowingly.
“That you have my dear, but you must yield the day for I would not have you hate me come the morrow. I am, after all, just a man with a man’s desires.”
“You want me then as I want you?” she inquired shyly with a blush to her face.
Dristan gave a brief laugh and caressed her cheek as she leaned into the palm of his hand. “Aye, my lady, more than I should but we cannot continue this.”
“Who are you to say we cannot?”
“I am your liege lord, Amiria. When we come together I would have you more yourself that you remember our first time together as husband and wife.”
Her brows puckered into a frown as she pondered his words. “Are we not wed?” she whispered in puzzlement. Afore he could answer, she continued onward with a brazen look upon her features. “It matters not,” she declared possessively, “for you belong to me!”
Dristan watched his lady as she for the first time hesitantly reach out and began running her fingers over his wet furred chest. Making small circles, she watched him through lowered lids and he shivered at her touch. He sat back amused at her expression since he could tell she was enjoying the feel of his skin beneath her fingertips. Her hushed words confirmed his suspicions.
“I somehow thought a dragon such as you would be smooth to the touch and not covered with so much hair. I believe I like it better this way…” she declared, with a promise reaching her eyes.
Dristan took hold of her hand as she began to reach lower and tenderly placed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. She sighed again at his touch. “Nay, my lady, do not test my resolve further, I beg you. One of us must remember not to let this insanity overtake us, so behave, you vixen!” he said with a chuckle although he had to admit he enjoyed this playful side to Amiria. “Now sit back down that I may bathe you to bring down your fever,” he ordered.
“I am not a child to be treated so.”
“Then do not behave as one so I can do my best to heal your illness.”
She ignored his words and rose, slightly kneeling with him between her legs. She took her hands and smoothed his tresses back from his face in a gentle caress. He gave a sharp intake of breath as she began to touch him at her leisure. ’Twas apparent she approved of feeling a power that she could affect him so.
“You are mine,” she declared knowingly, “and mine alone.”
Dristan stared back at the seriousness in her eyes. “Aye, as you are and will be mine.”
“Then take me now, Sir Dragon.”
“Not today and not like this Amiria.”
“Please Dristan… I want you and only you.”
“You know not what you say, mon amour,” he said, trying to calm his racing heart. God help him but his need to be inside her was beyond anything he had ever felt afore.
If Dristan had known her better, he would have realized from the stubborn tilt of her chin that Amiria would not have him gainsay her as she was wont to have her way. She leaned forward ’til her breasts caressed his chest. Enjoying the sensation it created, she captured his lips again in another searing kiss even whilst she began to lower her body to meet his own.
If My Heart Could See You – The MacLaren’s,
A Medieval Romance
When you’re enemies, does love have a fighting chance?
For Amiria of Berwyck, defeat does not come easily as she watches her home and clan being ripped asunder. When the very enemy who has laid siege to her home demands her fealty, she will do whatever it takes to protect her people including a hastily concocted ruse that quickly begins to unravel. All too soon, she starts to question whether she can forgive herself for betraying those she has sworn to protect.
Dristan of Blackmore, champion knight of King Henry II, has a reputation to uphold as the Devil’s Dragon. After his invading army conquers Berwyck castle, he sets out to manage the newly claimed estate by training its knight in the art of proper defense. At first, everything appears as it should be, or is it? Betrayed by those he believed he could trust, he must first set aside his anger before he can make room in his heart for love.
Together they are tied by an unspoken bond. As they begin to rebuild the land and unite their people, forces beyond their control attempt to tear apart their fragile truce and only time will tell if love will forever bring them together.
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If My Heart Could See You is also now available as an Audiobook. Come listen to how Marian Hussey has made my novel come to life!
Don’t forget Medieval Monday!
And just in case you can’t get enough of my medieval & time travel romances, Medieval Monday will start again this coming Monday, January 29th. I’ll be giving away an eBook to one lucky winner who follows my snippets and comments on the blog hop. Good luck and thanks for stopping by my site!
I also had the extreme pleasure of finally meeting fellow Bluestocking Belle Elizabeth Ellen Carter and her wonderful husband Duncan who came all the way from Australia! One lucky winner won this book filled basket from the Belles!
This is Peter Pritchard of Regency Morning Gazette, and I am reporting today from the Crock and Bull Inn, a mysterious accommodation house that has appeared in a number of counties simultaneously, and that is currently providing lodging to a vast cast of characters written by the eight Bluestocking Belles and their guests.
Sherry Ewing 