Today I’m joining the blog tour for The Knight’s Substitute Bride. I’m sharing an extract from the book with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and for providing the extract.

Blurb:

Could the wrong bride…

Be right for him after all!

For the sake of his family name, Lord Robert must marry to seal an alliance with an Irish clan. Only, the woman at the altar isn’t who he was promised! Instead, it’s her sister, Lady Mairenn! The sharp-tongued Irish beauty is as reluctant to wed as Robert, but as friction turns to fire between them, she’s further derailing Robert’s plans for this purely pragmatic arrangement…

Extract:

This extract comes right after Lord Robert de Brunville and Mairenn Ní Tiernan share their first heated kiss…

    ‘You need not be alone.’

    Well, he had meant to comfort her—that she had known. Yet the moment his mouth had covered hers, there had been no comfort, no thought, only heat, want and pleasure. She had attached herself so forcibly to him, practically pawing at the man, wanting to drown herself in his kiss, if she could even describe it as such, that she’d forgotten where they happened to be. And that is what she had wanted- to forget, to find some manner in which she could lessen the eviscerating pain caused by the loss of her father. That was what it was—a potent way for Mairenn to find relief.

    Yet at this moment as she was pacing up and down her chamber while she awaited her husband to come to her, the last thing Mairenn was thinking about was finding relief for the sorrow she felt. No, while she welcomed this respite from the grief of losing her father, she realised that it was Robert who she wanted to talk with, to find solace in. Oh, who was she attempting to convince? She wanted more of Robert’s kisses, more of his touches—all of them.

    Dear God, he had squeezed and caressed her…her breast, her body, that she could feel his touch even now. And like the wanton she was, Mairenn was waiting for him to do so again. It was ridiculous that she was this nervous and equally this disconcerted in anticipation of the man’s arrival, when she considered that he had actually bedded her—if one could describe that impersonal experience as that. No, what happened in the stables was the

was the exact opposite of their wedding night in every way and it had only been a kiss.

    Heaven’s above, but if a kiss could so enflame her whole body, leaving her agitated and frustrated, what more could Robert arouse?

    Mairenn sat on the edge of the pallet and took a shaky breath as she realised that she was more flustered and nervous now than at the bedding ceremony. How odd that she had not cared about any of it then, and yet she seemingly did now. Had things changed so much between them or were these new changes in her life the result of losing her father?

    She did not know, but either way, she would do as Robert had bid her. She would wait for him. A thrill chased up her skin in anticipation. Yes, she would await him to come to her.

                                                                ***

    Mairenn blinked and opened her eyes with a start at the distant sound of the cockerel’s morning call heralding a new day. She sat up, rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands and frowned, darting her gaze around the chamber. The fire had gone out completely as had the candles and she was still dressed in her clothing from the night before. And judging from the cockerel and the narrow beam of light streaming through the wooden shutters, it was a new morn. She had obviously fallen asleep while waiting for Robert, who had not come to her after all. He had not even come to their chamber to sleep. Which begged the question of where he might be. She scrambled out of bed and washed before seeing to her morning needs, and once she had attired herself properly, Mairenn left their chambers and went down the wooden staircase, striding with purpose to the main hall. The arched wooden entrance doors to the hall were open and she rushed in, her skirts flapping behind her.

    Mairenn took in the large hall, her eyes instantly finding Robert, presiding over a long table with his uncle and the clan elders crowded around many unfolded reams of vellum. They were obviously in discussion with one another, before one by one they glanced up and caught her standing in front of the table with her back rigid, her fingers laced together and her head held high. The hum of chatter between the men came to an abrupt halt as Robert looked up and acknowledged her presence.

    ‘My lady, a pleasure, indeed, to see you.’ His words conveyed that he had little time for this interruption. ‘I hope you are well?’

    She raised a brow. ‘I am, my lord, and hope that you are too?’

    Robert did not seem to miss her meaning. ‘Indeed, but there is much that has needed my attention.’

    ‘I can see that.’ Her eyes flicked to the vellum on the table and then back to his steady gaze. ‘Mayhap I can be of assistance? After all, my father valued my counsel greatly.’

    ‘That is not necessary, my lady.’ Robert’s obsequious uncle retorted, giving her a cold glare.

    She stiffened at the insult and caught the eyes of her father’s most trusted advisor, who frowned and gave her a small shake of his head.

    Her father had always welcomed her involvement and sought her advice and yet she would be so easily dismissed in this manner? Why Robert de Brunville would not even be in the position he was in if it wasn’t for his marriage to her. Mairenn breathed slowly, tamping down the anger that was building inside her. It was not becoming and she would never ordinarily give in to a fit of temper and would not start now. She trained her eyes on Robert, waiting to see hear what his response to his uncle’s rudeness might be. For a long moment they both stared at one another before one of the men around the table coughed, clearing their throat.

    ‘I shall see you later in our chamber, my lady, after I am done here.’ Robert gave her a pointed look. His meaning quite clear—he was dismissing her after all.

***

The Knight’s Substitute Bride is available from Amazon.

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