You may have heard that I have a new book coming out. I swear I might have mentioned it. LOL Okay, I’ve been 
talking about it a lot. I admit it. Love’s Fortress, Brothers In Arms Book Seven, comes out next Friday, July 23. You can see my pretty new cover right over there <—- .
I’m going to have a contest next week on Twitter and Facebook for ARC’s of Love’s Fortress. Check out my Twitter and Facebook pages each day Mon.-Thurs. next week for details on how to win one. I’ll be giving away one a day. Make sure to follow or friend me so you don’t miss out!
I hope to have a video for Love’s Fortress soon. I’ll share it with you all as soon as I can.
Love’s Fortress includes some flashback dream sequences of the Peninsular War that are pretty realistic and a little gory. But one of my heroes was maimed and badly scarred in the war and it was important to show how that happened, and how it affected both men. I’ve got a new excerpt to share. This is a sexy excerpt, not the war scenes. Enjoy!
Excerpt:
“Mrs. North?” It was Mr. North’s voice. He was here.
Sarah jumped up. She allowed herself one quick wring of her hands before she smoothed the front of her nightclothes and straightened her shoulders and walked to the door. She refused to acknowledge that walking was difficult because her knees felt weak. She opened the door quickly, her knuckles white because she was gripping the handle so tightly. Then she took a surprised step back.
Mr. Borden was with him. Sarah quickly wrapped her arms around her waist. She was dressed as befitted a new bride, in a thin muslin nightgown that clung to her body. The seamstress in her little village had insisted that a bride needed such an ensemble, and the girl who was acting as her ladies maid had insisted just as strenuously that Sarah wear it tonight. She had been slightly uncomfortable in the revealing gown before, but now in the presence of the two men she felt next to naked.
“Yes?” she asked. She hated the tremble in her voice. She cleared her throat. “Is there something wrong?” Clearly there was. Mr. North wouldn’t meet her eyes and Mr. Borden’s mouth was a thin, angry line.
“May we come in?” Mr. North asked formally.
“Both of you?” Sarah’s response came out alarmingly like a squeak.
“Gideon,” Mr. Borden growled, but Mr. North ignored him.
“Yes, both of us,” he answered as he moved into the room. Sarah stumbled back a few more steps. When North was in he turned his head and looked at Mr. Borden, who remained outside her door. “Charles,” he said quietly. Mr. Borden stood there for another moment, angry and defiant. Then he marched in the door and closed it behind him. He didn’t move far into the room. He stood there with his back against the door and looked everywhere but at Sarah.
“Mr. Borden will be joining us this evening.”
Sarah could only gape at North.
“Bloody hell, Gideon,” Mr. Borden ground out between clenched teeth. “This isn’t a supper party, you fool. Explain yourself to her.”
Mr. North glared at Mr. Borden. “If you would give me a chance, Charles, I had every intention of explaining the situation to Mrs. North.”
Mr. Borden gestured wildly in her direction. “Then do it.”
Sarah stared at North, waiting. She had no idea what to think, or what to do for that matter. How exactly was she supposed to respond? Was this normal? Surely not.
“I require Mr. Borden’s…assistance.”
“That’s it? That’s your explanation?” Mr. Borden burst out a few seconds later when no further explanation was forthcoming. Sarah had been thinking much the same thing.
“What kind of assistance?” Sarah said, although it came out as more of whisper than she had intended. She felt a little clammy as her stomach rolled over nervously, and the breeze suddenly felt too cool. Mr. Borden’s gaze swung to her and she watched as his face heated. He was staring at her chest and Sarah looked down to see her nipples raised in stark relief beneath her thin attire. She spun around and walked jerkily over to her chair and sat down, wrapping both arms around herself.
When she looked at North she could tell he was agitated. His frown was more pronounced than usual, and his good hand kept opening and closing reflexively around his crutch handle. His eyes burned bright in the firelight. “Since the war,” he began, but then he just stopped.
Oh dear. Sarah hadn’t thought that he might be unable to perform in the marriage bed. But his injuries were rather severe. “I see,” she said in a small voice. Is this what Anne had meant when she said these men needed each other?
“No, you do not,” Mr. Borden said in a tight voice. “Gideon is your husband, and he can and will do all that the title gives him the privilege to do.”
Sarah blinked at Mr. Borden in confusion. Did that mean that Mr. North could…copulate? She cringed inwardly at the choice of words, but really, she’d never had to give it a name before. “Then why are you here?” she asked bluntly, tired of all the word games she was woefully inadequate at. First Anne this afternoon, and now these two. Why couldn’t they all just say what they meant?
“I will be most happy to consummate our marriage, Mrs. North.” Mr. North finally spoke in that stiff, formal tone again. “Mr. Borden is here to make sure that the experience is pleasant for you and that there are no difficulties.”
Difficulties? Was Borden here to make sure North didn’t injure himself? Was he merely here to help North if need be? Would he watch them? Sarah shivered.
“If you agree to his presence, then we can get started.”
“Bloody hell!” Mr. Borden exclaimed again.
North glared at him. “Would you stop saying that in front of my wife?”
“You are handling this like a horse’s arse,” Mr. Borden told him disdainfully.
“You would know,” North said coldly. “Feel free to handle it your way, then.”
“Fine,” Mr. Borden growled. He jerked away from the door and in two steps was standing in front of Sarah. Without a by your leave he grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the chair. She fell into him with a squeak, a little frightened, but not much. It was Mr. Borden, after all, and North was here. Then he slammed his mouth down on hers and wrapped his arms around her, bending her backward over his arm. She was dizzy and shocked and grabbed his shoulders in an attempt to keep from falling. At the same time she cried out. He thrust his tongue inside her mouth and slanted his lips across hers and Sarah’s shock turned to something else. Something that made her feel as if she had a fever, and she began to tremble.
Mr. Borden broke the kiss, if that’s what that was, with a curse. “She’s never been kissed, Gideon,” he rasped.
She was gasping, unable to take in enough air, drowning in the scents of newly cut hay, overheated linen and a musky odor that she couldn’t identify, but she associated it with men and what they were doing now. She saw Mr. Borden’s flushed face scant inches from her own, his breath warm and sweet against her cheek, his eyes hard and hot, so different from what they had been before. This was what North meant. This was the pleasure Mr. Borden was here to ensure. She turned her face away and met Mr. North’s stare. He stood immobile, watching them. She saw the ragged rise and fall of his chest, and the candle flame flickered, making his light eyes shine like gems.
“Then you had better do it again,” he told Mr. Borden in a quiet, silky voice, a voice Sarah had not heard before, “but gently this time.” When his words registered, Sarah knew a brief moment of nervous terror, and then it was gone, lost in Mr. Borden’s kiss.
