The Reiver Read Online Free PDF

you for breaking your promise.”
    “I didn’t promise I would not escape. I promised not to try to,” she pointed out.
    He chuckled. “Aye, I recall now you were very specific when you made the promise. Notwithstanding, I was very angry—and hurt. I considered coming after you, going to the Warden, demanding satisfaction from the king. But in the end, I realized this is the only thing that would ever bring me true satisfaction.” His mouth swooped down and captured hers.
    Aye, aye, he was right. This was the only thing she wanted, the only thing that truly mattered. She would never want anything else in life if only she could have this—the pepper-sweet taste of his mouth, the warm, solid breadth of his body, and the truths they could only seem to communicate this way.
    He lifted his head. “I am ready to declare an end to this branch of the Maxwell-Johnstone feud. What do you say we start a new alliance in its place?”
    “I would love that, but what about my brothers? I am not so sure they’ll go along.”
    “My brother, Ewan, is out there right now, negotiating a bride price for you. I think ‘tis safe to say they’ll find the terms favorable.” His voice dropped an octave. “I’d even give them Curaidh in exchange for you.”
    Joy blazed in her heart. “I love you, Duncan Maxwell.”
    “As I love you, Reiver of my heart.”
     
    The End
     
     
    Author’s Note
     
    This story is loosely based on actual events. In the late 1500s, a feud erupted between the two most powerful Scottish border families, the Maxwells and the Johnstones. The animosity between the families resulted in the Battle of Dryfe Sands, where the Johnstones solidly defeated the Maxwells, leaving many of the surviving combatants with facial scars known as “Lockerbie licks.” Duncan Maxwell and Jamie Johnstone are both products of my imagination, branches of the two families that never actually existed. The conflict that stands between them and their happy ending. however, is very much a product of history.
    Author Bio
     
    When Jackie isn’t trying to be a writer—and even when she is—she’s a happily married mother of three who makes her living writing technical training materials for the software industry. She lives with her husband and children in Southern California, where she was born and raised. She holds a BA in Classical Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and an MA in Classics from the University of Chicago.
    You can visit her online and learn more about her current and upcoming titles at  http://www.jackiebarbosa.com .

An Excerpt from Carnally Ever After
by Jackie Barbosa
    Available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, All Romance eBooks, Kobo, Sony, and Smashwords
    Chapter One
    St. Paul’s Cathedral, June 1816
    “Just like the bloody man!” Alistair de Roche, Earl of Holyfield, sank into the rear pew of the Morning Chapel and loosened his cravat. Behind him, the shuffling footsteps and grumbling whispers of the guests echoed as they exited the cavernous cathedral. Thwarted in their hopes of witnessing the wedding of the Season, the rumormongers would have to find their amusement elsewhere.
    No doubt in ripping the unfortunate bride to shreds with vicious speculation as to the reason her intended had failed to appear at the altar.
    “Isn’t it just?”
    Alistair nearly fell off the narrow bench. Though he could discern only the outline of a figure in the far corner of the dimly-lit niche, he recognized her voice instantly. Lady Louisa Bennett’s husky yet dulcet tones were unmistakable, with the capacity to make him hot and uncomfortable.
    Never mind that she was his best friend’s betrothed.
    His best friend’s  jilted  betrothed.
    He opened his mouth, attempting to frame a suitable response to her question, and then, finding nothing to say, closed it. After taking a deep breath, he tried again. “Grenville  is  a trifle unreliable.”
    An understatement, surely.
    Lady Louisa