The Stolen Brides 02 -His Forbidden Touch
Read The Stolen Brides 02 -His Forbidden Touch Online
Authors: Shelly Thacker
Tags: #Historical Romance, #medieval, #romance, #royalty, #suspense, #adventure, #medieval romance, #sexy, #romantic adventure, #erotic romance
HIS FORBIDDEN TOUCH (Stolen Brides
Series)
In a realm of snow and ice, a mercenary is
assigned to protect a princess on a journey that may prove deadly
to them both.
Disgraced ex-knight Royce Saint-Michel was
banished from his homeland because of an impulsive act that cost
him all he held dear. Now, he has the chance to reclaim his
birthright—if he escorts the lovely Princess Ciara to her royal
wedding
and
ensures that she arrives untouched. The two set
off alone on a treacherous journey through snowy mountain passes,
but forbidden desire soon proves even more dangerous than the
assassins on their trail. With the fate of two kingdoms hanging in
the balance, will Royce and Ciara do as honor and duty demand …
or surrender to the longing in their hearts?
“A fun and erotic 14th-century romp …
loaded with non-stop adventure.”
Publishers Weekly
“It is stories like this one that keep so
many of us reading romances.”
The Oakland Press
“Shelly Thacker has a unique and dazzling
talent.”
New York Times
bestselling author Lisa Kleypas
“The adventure is thrilling and the
sensuality is breathtakingly erotic. A must read for anyone who
loves a well-written, wonderfully rich and fulfilling romance.”
Tanzey Cutter, Old Book Barn Gazette
and
TheBestReviews.com
“Shelly Thacker has the gift of bringing
readers straight into her adventurous, heart-pounding romances and
keeping them highly entertained and completely captivated. This
fairytale romance will sweep you off your feet. This is an author
who has made an indelible mark on romance. Exceptional. 4 1/2 stars
(highest rating).”
Kathe Robin, Romantic Times
A full-length novel of 100,000 words
Adult content: explicit love scenes
Originally published in print by Avon
Books
This Author’s Preferred Edition e-book
includes bonus content: “The Making of
His Forbidden Touch
:
The Story Behind the Story,” plus excerpts from
Forever His
,
Timeless
, and the upcoming new edition of
Falcon on the
Wind
.
THE STOLEN BRIDES SERIES: One falls through
time and finds herself married to a dark stranger … one may never
reach her royal wedding if she can’t resist her rugged protector
… one is abducted by a mysterious swordsman and swept away to a
secret island paradise. Three regal brides are about to discover
that falling in love with a warrior is the most dangerous adventure
of all.
The Stolen Brides series
Forever His:
Gaston and Celine
His Forbidden Touch
: Royce and
Princess Ciara
Timeless
: Hauk and Avril
And coming soon, an all-new edition of the
prequel,
Falcon on the Wind
: Connor and Laurien
About the Author: Shelly Thacker’s
bestselling historical and paranormal romances have won numerous
national awards and lavish praise from
Publishers Weekly
,
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
,
Locus
, and
The
Oakland Press
, who have called her books “innovative,”
“addictive,” “memorable” and “powerful.” For the latest news and
sneak previews of upcoming books, visit
www.shellythacker.com
This book is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents are either products of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to
actual events, locales, business establishments, or persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Publishing History
First edition published by Avon Books
Copyright 1997 by Shelly Thacker
Meinhardt
Second edition published by Summit Avenue
Books at Smashwords, 2011
Copyright 2011 by Shelly Thacker
Meinhardt
ISBN: 978-0-9847646-6-2
All rights reserved. No part of this book,
except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical
articles or reviews, may be reproduced in any form by any means,
including information storage and retrieval systems, without prior
written permission from the author.
The scanning, uploading, and distributing of
this book via the Internet or via any other means without the
permission of the copyright owner is illegal and punishable by law.
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not
participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted
materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Excerpts from “The
Nightingale” from
Lays of Courtly Love in
Verse
, Patricia Terry, Doubleday,
Copyright 1963.
Cover design by Kim
Killion of Hot DAMN! Designs
www.hotdamndesigns.com
Digital formatting by A
Thirsty Mind
www.athirstymind.com
Publishers interested in
foreign-language translation or other subsidiary rights should
contact the author at
www.shellythacker.com
.
Dedication
To all the Thacker Backers, past and present,
who have blessed my life with their enthusiasm and
kindness.
Table of
Contents
Bonus Content: The Making of His
Forbidden Touch
Fearful that they might betray
The love that they had come to share,
They always took the greatest care
Not to let anyone detect
Anything that might be suspect…
But lovers can’t be satisfied
When love’s true pleasure is denied.
~Marie de France
“The Nightingale”
Twelfth century
Châlons, near the French border
1302
F
ire lit the night
sky, devouring the forest like a hungering dragon that would not be
sated. A treacherous wind lifted the flames higher, until it seemed
they might swallow even the stars and moon. That fierce draught of
air whirled up the mountainside, howling around the palace walls,
carrying ashes that rained down on Princess Ciara as she ran across
the bailey.
Her velvet cloak billowing behind her, she
darted through the crowd of servants and peasants who were
gathering up scythes and pitchforks to use as weapons. Burning
cinders stung her face, her hands, but she barely noticed. Beyond
the massive stone curtain wall that guarded the castle’s perimeter,
she could hear the metallic crash of blades and lances, war hammers
and shields.
The war was ending. With the enemy
victorious.
She felt each blow as if it pierced her own
heart. After seven years of battle, the Thuringians had come within
striking distance of the palace itself. And the men of Châlons
could not hold back Prince Daemon’s ruthless mercenaries for long.
Her father and his knights were outnumbered five to one.
Dear God, please protect them. Please
watch over him.
Her eyes and throat burning, she kept
running, past the storage sheds and granary, their thatched roofs
ablaze; past the stables and mews where milkmaids and serving women
were trying to rescue the castle’s valuable animals. She circled
around the keep toward the front, choking on the sharp taste of
pure fear.
When she reached the main gate, she found
herself in the middle of a deafening tumult. Guardsmen and archers
thronged the parapets, rushing up and down scaling ladders,
carrying weapons and torches and cauldrons of some sort, their
leaders shouting commands. The night blazed with firelight, so
bright that the billowing smoke from the forest beyond glowed
eerily, like a dragon’s breath.
She searched for one particular face among
the mail-clad warriors, felt a stab of panic when she did not
see—
“Saints’ blood!” a familiar male voice
boomed from behind her. “What do you think you are
doing
out
here?”
Ciara turned to see her brother atop one of
the towers that flanked the drawbridge, and she exhaled in relief.
As he came down from his position and stalked toward her, his tone
and his mien had warriors scrambling to get out of his way. “I told
you to stay inside!”
“I
was
inside, Christophe. But I
could see the fire from my chamber window, and I thought I
should—”
“Disobey my commands as quickly as possible,
and walk into the middle of a battle?” He came to a halt barely a
foot away, towering over her. “Without consulting me?”
Ciara almost gulped. At twenty-three,
Christophe was four years older and a full foot taller than she
was. He made a most imposing presence, wearing his chain mail, his
helm, and his most severe scowl.
“I
am
consulting you,” she pointed
out, rushing onward before he could interrupt. “I cannot remain in
my chamber with my books and my music while everyone else defends
the palace against the enemy. I came to see what you would wish me
to do.”
“I wish you to go back inside the keep. At
once.”
She darted aside when he tried to take her
elbow. “I cannot
help
anyone if I am inside,” she insisted,
thinking that should be obvious, even to a male brain. When he
reached for her again, she grabbed his arm instead, lowering her
voice so that only he could hear. “And I will not sit by and do
naught while our kingdom comes down around our ears.”
“By God’s breath, Ciara, if I have to lock
you in a tower—”
A barrage of arrows interrupted his threat,
singing over their heads and striking the dirt with lethal-sounding
thwacks
just inches away. Christophe grabbed her and pushed
her toward the curtain wall as the bailey erupted in battle cries
and curses—and several shouts of pain.
“You foolish girl, do you see now?” He
flattened her against the stone, protecting her with his
broad-shouldered body as more arrows rained down from the sky.
“This is not a game! And it is no place for a woman. You must go
back inside where it is safe.”
Ciara could not reply, her heart pounding so
hard it seemed to fill her throat and block her breath. She stared
past him to the spot where a quartet of sharp-pointed shafts
protruded from the ground.
The very spot where she had been standing
seconds ago.
An instant later she heard a great roar—the
sound of dozens of ancient pine trees snapping like twigs—and knew
that one of the castle’s most important defenses was gone.