The Forbidden Bride (Lions of the Black Isle Book 3) Read online

  “Lift your hips, love,” he urged.

  Sophia complied, and he bunched the skirt about her waist. Cool air wafted over her bare legs, but when he began stroking her thighs with a feather-light touch, she felt as if she burned. He reached the juncture between her legs and touched the very center of her. Her breath caught. His finger dipped into the secret place. Heat flooded her cheeks. Connor pressed a kiss to her cheek, then rolled onto her and settled between her legs. His hard thighs pressed hers and her head whirled.

  His cock bumped her entrance and she wondered how his hard, long length would fit inside her. He probed gently until the rod slipped between the protective folds into her softness.

  “Connor…” She stiffened, then relaxed as he eased inside the tight passage.

  He stopped. “This will hurt, sweet. But I will make it as easy as I can.”

  This—him inside her—felt strange, wonderfully strange, but it didn’t hurt. She didn’t understand—

  He drew back, then thrust hard. Sophia cried out at the sharp pain. Then it was gone and she realized he’d claimed her virtue. He could take nothing else, because he’d had her heart for so long.

  “I am sorry, lass. Are ye well?” His voice sounded strained.

  “I am very well,” she said, and kissed his jaw.

  “Thank the powers that be,” he whispered.

  He slowly thrust into her. Tears filled her eyes. Now she had him. Not just as the man she’d love till the end of her days and beyond, but as her husband—in the proud and good way of the ancients. And soon, she knew, in the eyes of the church, too.

  And so they sealed their bond that night, loving each other body and soul, the cold Highland wind their only witness, the moon and the stars glittering in joy high overhead.

  Sophia wouldn’t have wanted their wedding night any different.

  ***

  In the wee hours of the morning, Connor forced himself to ride home with his bride. They neared the castle and, to his astonishment, the gates stood wide, and every man, woman and child crowded round the gatehouse, or waved from the curtain walls. He rode through the gates and into a throng-filled courtyard. Connor caught sight of his brothers as they emerged from the keep. He leaped down, then helped Sophia from the horse.

  His three brothers reached them and he braced for a fight. “I have married Sophia.”

  His eldest brother crossed his arms over his chest. “Aye.”

  His other two brothers only stared.

  “What goes on here?” Connor demanded.

  “A wedding, you loon.” Aidan nodded to the east side of the bailey.

  Connor glanced toward the chapel and spotted Father John waiting on the chapel steps, resplendent in his best ‘marrying robes.’

  Connor looked back at his brothers. “You three arranged this?” A lump formed in his throat.

  “We did,” his youngest brother said.

  “By the hounds.” Connor shook his head. “How did ye know?”

  “Know what?” Liam glanced at Sophia. “That ye would bring your bride back to Kernwith?”

  “Ye could put it that way, aye.” Connor glanced at Sophia, his heart splitting to see the joy on her face.

  “Aye, indeed,” came a booming voice from somewhere deep in the crowd.

  Sophia cried out as her father emerged from the throng, a huge smile on his bearded face.

  He reached them and placed one hand on Sophia’s shoulder, the other on Connor’s. “I ken the old ones on the moors gave ye their blessing last night. Shall we get this second wedding done and over with?” Before Connor could answer, he chuckled. “There is the matter of a broken hall door I have to discuss with the groom.”

  Connor grinned. “So ye do.”

  The crowd swelled around them, pushing and pulling the pair toward the chapel where Father John waited, along with the happy life before them.

  ###

  From the Authors

  We hope you enjoyed Connor and Sophia’s story. Here’s a sneak peek at the youngest brother, Broderick story, The Convenient Bride.

  Tarah and Sue-Ellen

  The Wicked Bride

  Book IV The Lions of the Black Isle

  Sue-Ellen Welfonder and Tarah Scott

  A young rogue discovers that the girl he watched grow up has become a woman, one able to tame a Lion of the Black Isle.

  Chapter One

  If catching a man were easy, no one would want them.

  Until this evening, Jocelyn thought she had two more years to convince Broderick Munro that he loved her. She hadn’t necessarily planned on waiting that long. Wooing a man like Broderick took time—and cunning. But she’d fully intended on having him at her mercy well before he realized the deep waters he’d waded into.

  This morning, his elder brother stood on the steps of Kernwith Castle’s chapel about to wed heiress Lady Joan. But he fled instead to the woman he loved—a woman only modestly dowered. Now he danced with his new wife in the great hall, and his three brothers celebrated with him as if their new sister brought riches as great as Lady Joan’s. That meant Broderick was next on the marriage block, sacrificed in a final effort to fill the family’s coffers.

  Broderick must have arrived at the same realization, for he flirted shamelessly with Kristine Ramsey. Despite her youth, as a widow, Kristine enjoyed the freedom to consort with men like Broderick. She laughed at something he said. Even across the room, Jocelyn saw the flirtatious look she gave him. Since Broderick had been old enough to turn a female head, Jocelyn had watched him charm his way into the arms of many women. Tonight, Kristine clearly intended on being that next woman.

  Time now stifled Jocelyn. Broderick’s brothers would betroth him to an heiress—and quickly. The way Kristine was staring up at him, she seemed to believe she might become his wife. For all her beauty, Kristine wasn’t rich enough to capture his family’s attention. He was the fourth son, but he was a Lion of the Black Isle, and he was as handsome as the devil was wicked.

  Jocelyn had lived the last five of her seventeen years knowing she and Broderick were destined to wed. Praise God, a year and a half ago, her body finally began to take on a woman’s shape. Still, Broderick did nothing more than tease her about her blossoming. To her frustration, he still saw her as the gawky girl who ran barefoot and could out-fish most lads.

  Kristine slipped a hand into the crook of his arm and they started toward the hall’s main doors, no doubt headed for the walled gardens. To Jocelyn’s surprise, jealousy slithered through her. Once they reached the secluded area, Kristine would become intimately acquainted with Broderick. Jocelyn skirted the dancers in the center of the room and hurried toward the arched entry to the bailey and the gardens beyond.

  She stepped outside into the cool evening and halted at the top of the stairs to scan the bailey. Her heart sank. Broderick and Kristine had already disappeared into the darkened expanse of the walled. Away from the torchlit courtyard, the two would have complete privacy.

  Jocelyn hurried down the steps and out into the cobbled bailey. When she left the torchlight behind, she slowed. No moon lit the path, and she discerned no one on the paths. Where had they gone? The gardens stretched around her, a maze of shadow upon shadow. Trees rustled softly and deep inside the area filled with rose beds and arbors, the tinkling of a fountain sounded. She squinted into the darkness, impatient for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and slowly advanced.

  They could be anywhere.

  Jocelyn slowed even more. What would she do once she found them? Broderick would only see her interference as an annoyance from a playmate—the little girl he’d always teased and tried to scare. She was going to have to fall into his arms before he understood that she was no longer a child. She turned a corner in the path and collided with something hard.

  “Oof.” She fell onto her backside.

  Large hands seized her arm and pulled her to her feet. “What have we here?”

  AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER ON AMAZON

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p; The Edge of Yesterday

  Book One Edge Series

  Excerpt—

  They reached the building which housed Julianna’s room and he pulled open the door. She entered and he followed, closing the door with some force when the wind gusted into the arched entry. Julianna hurried forward and Cailean followed. They passed nine doors before she stopped and entered her assigned quarters. Cailean stopped in the doorway. One large round candle cast a dim light in the small room, aptly named a cell. A low bed with a thin mattress sat against the wall and a table where the candle burned stood against the wall directly ahead.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him. “Ye may enter, Cailean.”

  He shook his head. “I’d better not.”

  She lifted a brow. “Surely, ye are not afraid of a woman?”

  “If I wasn’t, I would be a fool.”

  Mischief lit her eyes. “Ye need not worry. I dinnae have a knife.”

  “I don’t believe you, my lady.”

  She lifted her chin. “It isnae polite to call a lady a liar.”

  “Forgive me.” He started to turn, then stilled at the echo of approaching footsteps. “Bloody hell,” he muttered. Who was coming by at this time of night? Was it Rathais, here to finish what Hugh Murray had started?

  “Quick.” Julianna grasped his arm and pulled him into the room.

  “Julianna—”

  She closed the door, then hissed, “Shhh.”

  The footsteps drew closer then passed. Julianna took off her cloak and tossed it onto the small table.

  Cailean knew he should go, but how could he possibly leave her alone and defenseless? He would sleep outside her door.

  “I should go.”

  She shook her head. “You must wait a few minutes to be sure no one sees you.”

  Cailean leaned a shoulder against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. “If I didn’t know better, I would say ye are trying to keep me here.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  He smiled. “You tell me.”

  “Is my company so abhorrent that you must flee?” she asked.

  “On the contrary, your company is too pleasing.”

  She dropped her gaze in a clear attempt to hide her expression, but Cailean could see she was pleased.

  “Then stay,” she said.

  “If your brother catches me here, he will kill me.”

  She snorted. “Lennox knows I am a woman grown, and I am no maiden. I can do as I please.”

  “That doesnae mean he would want me dallying with you.”

  “Dallying?” She lifted her brows. “Ye think well of yourself, sir.”

  “Dallying isn’t what ye had in mind?”

  Her eyes darkened. Yes, this woman was trouble. She started toward him. He straightened from the wall and remained perfectly still until she stopped in front of him.

  “I am no idiot,” she said. “I have seen the way you look at me.”

  Trouble, trouble, trouble.

  He wasn’t going to take the bait. He stared but said nothing.

  “Ye find me pleasing.” She set her hands on her hips.

  “I have eyes,” he said, then cursed his tongue. Give the woman an inch and she would take a mile.

  She stepped closer and before he could move, she placed her hands on his chest. “You want to know what it is like to kiss me.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

  If you haven’t read the previous two Lions of the Black Isle stories be sure to pick them up now.

  The Stolen Bride

  Book One

  The Convenient Bride

  Book Two

  About the Authors

  USA Today and Internationally bestselling authors Sue-Ellen Welfonder and Tarah Scott have more in common than friendship. For many years, they’ve both enjoyed spending their working hours in a world of romance and adventure, bringing handsome Highlanders and their ladies to life. Now they’ve joined pens, deciding that when it comes to happily-ever-afters, two writers can stir up even more danger and desire for the characters they love.