One of my older titles, Lock, is now available in paperback with a gorgeous new cover. Hope you enjoy the following excerpt!
Kate
KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY ORDER 3: LOCK
by Kate Hill
Format(s): Ebook
Heat Level: Erotic
Pairing(s): M/F
Genre/Themes: Fantasy
Length: Novel
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
ISBN: 9781843607908
Purchase Link (ebook):
Ellora’s Cave / All Romance Ebooks / Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Purchase Link (Paperback):Ellora’s Cave
Related Books or Books Set in the Same Universe: Knights of the Ruby Order
Blurb:
Sparrow, a former princess, never liked palace life. She’s much happier working her farm with her best friend and former nanny, Shea-Ann. Only when Sparrow’s gentle heart forces her to buy the hated pirate Lock the White, who is suffering unspeakable torture at the slave auction, does the real trouble start.
Rough, tough, and spiteful, Lock seems to despise Sparrow for saving his life. Only Lock knows the truth he doesn’t want to admit. He’s in love with the independent young farmer whose tender touches and mouth-watering curves are driving him toward the last thing he wants: redemption.
Excerpt:
“Ten gold pieces!” A middle-aged woman called out. “What’s in his pants alone looks like it’s worth it!”
“Sold for ten gold pieces!”
“She’s right about that,” Shea-Ann whispered to Sparrow. “Looks like he has a tree branch in those breeches.”
Sparrow raised her eyes to the heavens. “This is the most disgusting display I’ve seen since my brother was king. I’m going.”
“Me too, in another moment.”
Ten more slaves were paraded across the scaffold. Most were sentenced to whippings, some were tortured with hot pincers, some branded, and others stretched on a rack set up behind the whipping posts. Many women bought the prisoners out of their punishments, glad for free workers or bed mates, even if they were condemned. Slaves required little more care than animals, and the women of Blue Hollow liked their personal freedom. Some of the prisoners suffered longer than others, particularly the unattractive ones. Some were courageous and refused to scream while others screeched before the first strike landed.
“With all those bloody backs and burned body parts, my business will be flowing,” Shea-Ann remarked. “Still, I can’t believe some of these men are being bought. There are a few who deserve death.”
“I’ve had enough of this.” Sparrow was about to turn away when the next prisoner caught her attention. Though chained and shackled, it still took ten guards to drag him up the steps and hitch him to the poles. Tall and barefoot, he wore only a loincloth. His limbs were long and muscled, his broad chest and back littered with old scars. A shaggy gray and brown beard sprouted from his face, and dark, kinky hair streaked with white dangled over his shoulders and back in matted tendrils. His eyes, the pale blue of bird’s eggs, shot defiance and rage but held no hint of fear.
Sparrow heard several women murmur over the man’s raw beauty, but no one spoke for him. Strangely, the guard didn’t announce the man’s punishment or ask for a bid.
A third guard stepped forward, carrying a scourge consisting of several strips of knotted leather. The crowd grew quiet as the punishment began. Sparrow counted twenty-five blows before she whispered to Shea-Ann, “I wonder why they haven’t asked for a price on him?”
The smaller woman chuckled. “No one’s likely to pay it. If I’m right, that’s the pirate Lock the White. He’s a devil. Any woman would be a fool to bid for him.”
Sparrow glanced at the pirate’s slashed back. Blow after blow fell until blood dripped down what was left of his skin, darkening his trousers and staining his boots. Other than a blinking of pale blue eyes and a sheen of sweat on his face and chest, the pirate revealed no sign of pain. Sparrow had lost count of the strikes of the whip, but she knew most men would have shrieked already.
“How much for him?” she shouted, scarcely recognizing her own voice.
Shea-Ann grasped her arm and hissed, “Are you crazy!”
“We cannot take a bid yet,” the guard told her.
“Why?”
“He’s sentenced to death, but if we sell him, the punishment is reduced to torture until he faints.”
Sparrow’s brow furrowed as she stared at the pirate’s upright posture and stoic expression. He didn’t look ready to scream, let alone faint.
Several moments passed before the first signs of pain appeared in the form of blood dripping down the pirate’s forearms as he strained against the manacles holding his hands above his head. A second guard joined the beating, his whip wrapping around the pirate’s waist, leaving a bloody trail over his stomach and side. He staggered almost to his knees, his arms stretched to the limit above his head. He struggled to right himself amidst the storm of knotted leather, his chest heaving with each ragged breath.
Sparrow’s hands balled into fists, her heart pounding in her throat. The guard claimed this man’s punishment wasn’t death, but if the pirate didn’t lose consciousness soon, the severity of the beating would surely cause internal damage.
“If you don’t let me bid on him, he’s going to be useless!” Sparrow shouted to the guard.
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