Her tempting
enemy is a chink in her armour!
Viking shield
maiden, Svea Ivarsson, would far rather face Saxon warriors than be on the run
with the fiercely captivating Lord Ashford Stanton, protector to the Saxon
King. Reaching Ash’s family castle, Svea must swap her chainmail for life as a
Lady. She can wield a sword like an expert, but no training has prepared her
for craving the touch of her greatest enemy…
Purchase Link
Amazon UK- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Escaping-Saxon-Enemy-Historical-Ivarssons-ebook/dp/B09JVQ5W1F
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/Escaping-Saxon-Enemy-Historical-Ivarssons-ebook/dp/B09JVQ5W1F
‘Quick. Come with me. This way,’ Lord
Stanton said, tugging her into the treeline, hiding them
from view.
She struggled against his hold, trying to
resist retreat. It went against every bone in her body to fall back, to
surrender when people needed her help, when she’d been wronged. But Lord
Stanton was
too strong.
‘What are you doing? We have to help the
King… our men…’
She attempted to wrestle with him as he
pulled her further into the dense forest. Rage ripped through her blood now,
that ambushers had dared attack her, threaten her, and she wanted to fight
back. She was so angry. And what was Lord Stanton doing? Why wasn’t he
fighting? Why was he sheathing his sword?
And why was his touch sending flames flickering
across her skin?
‘Stop it!’ he growled.
‘We can’t just leave them!’ she said, her
hands trying desperately to push him away, to release herself from his hold.
This wasn’t the man she’d just seen, who
had fought so effortlessly, so fearlessly… This wasn’t the man her brother had
spoken of, who wasn’t scared of anyone or anything.
‘We can’t just give up. We need to fight!’
‘And we will,’ he said, releasing her arm
in favour of gripping both her shoulders. ‘Believe me, there’s nothing I want
more than to make those men sorry they attacked us. But we need to think. Be
strategic. Our men are surrounded. If we keep fighting it will be just us
against a small army.’
She wasn’t sure if it was his words that
helped to appease her, or his large warm hands grounding her, but she stopped
trying to hurl herself back into the fray. She shucked him off and wrapped her
arms around her waist.
‘And you nearly got yourself killed,
dammit!’ he growled. He ran his fingers through his hair, tucking the strands
that had begun to come free back into the knot.
That was the least of their issues—she’d
survived, hadn’t she? In fact, she’d seen off five or so men before she’d been
thrown to the ground. It was the King they should be worrying about. Although
now the adrenalin was wearing off she had to admit she did feel a little edgy.
She’d lost her horse. Her friends had been taken captive. She’d been attacked!
And he’d saved her—a Saxon!
She swayed on her feet and he caught her by
the elbow again.
‘Are you sure you’re all right?’ he asked,
as he eased her down onto a fallen tree trunk.
‘Don’t touch me!’ she spat.
‘A woman like you shouldn’t be fighting,
Svea. You’ll just be seen as bait—a temptation to these men. I told you not to
come!’
Anger erupted inside her and she leapt back
off the tree trunk, her face riotous. ‘I’m as good a fighter as any of your
men!’
A woman like you. She didn’t like the
vitriolic way he’d said it. What did he mean? Was her reputation at stake here?
The rage that had erupted inside her was quickly
replaced by cold dread, and she ran her hand over the metal kransen around her
arm. A symbol of her virginity. She felt a fraud for wearing it. But she was
sure neither her brother nor his new wife would have said anything about her
past…not to this man. Yes, he had been Princess Anne’s guard before she’d
married Brand, but he was still practically a stranger.
Feeling unsteady on her feet, she slumped
back down again. She did not want to be seen as a temptation. Never. And the
fact that he had described her as such—as bait—sent a warning signal
through her. She had to get away from this
man.
Lord Stanton seemed to have the opposite
idea. He drew a hand over his face, as if to gather his thoughts, then slowly
crouched down in front of her. He looked into her eyes.
‘I’m sorry. You’re right,’ he said calmly.
‘You fought well, Svea. I didn’t know women could fight like that. You were as
good as any of my men.’
Author Bio – Sarah Rodi has always been a hopeless romantic. She
grew up watching old, romantic movies recommended by her grandad, or devouring
love stories from the local library. Sarah lives in the village of Cookham in
Berkshire, where she enjoys walking along the River Thames with her husband,
her two daughters and their dog. She has been a magazine journalist for over 20
years, but it has been her lifelong dream to write romance for Mills &
Boon. Sarah believes everyone deserves to find their happy ever after. You can
contact her via @sarahrodiedits or sarahrodiedits@gmail.com. Or visit her
website at sarahrodi.com
Social Media Links – @sarahrodiedits www.sarahrodi.com
Follow Sara Rodi on Twitter - https://twitter.com/sarahrodiedits
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