by Tamara Leigh
When his hand spanned her thigh, she opened her mouth to scream, but just as quickly as the assault began, it ended. He thrust her skirt down and smiled—if that wicked twist of his lips could be called a smile. “Worry not, my lady, I place too high a value on my health to risk it with you.”
What, exactly, did he mean? That she was promiscuous? Diseased? Of course, she did portray a king’s mistress…
“Whose blood if not yours?” Wynland asked.
That was why he had touched her? She didn’t know the man’s name, only that he had rejected her as being his lady. She frowned. How was that? If she was Lady Lark, why had one of the players in this dream not recognized her?
“Whose?” he growled.
She shifted around to fully face Wynland. “What does it matter?”
His lids narrowed. “A soldier—nay, a dozen—bled their last to defend you. What does it matter who they were? Who their wives and children are?”
When he put it that way… But she wasn’t the villain, he was. Those men were dead because he had ordered it. Or done it himself. “Put me down.”
“What befell your escort?”
Why the pretense when he meant to kill her? Or did he? According to Mac’s book, no trace of Lady Lark was ever found. Had Wynland allowed her to live—for a while, at least?
It’s a dream!
Though she knew he was only smoke floating about her mind, she detested him for the sins of the man after whom she had fashioned him. “Why don’t you tell me what happened to my escort?” She was bold, and it felt good, so like her old self before this thing in her head pulled the life out from under her.
Wynland’s face darkened. “You think I am responsible?”
“If the shoe fits…”
Confusion slipped through his anger. “What shoe?”
One would think she had truly hopped back in time. If this was anything like what Mac experienced, no wonder he thought it was real. She only hoped that when she awakened she would remember the outlandish dream long enough to record it. “You don’t want me at Burnwood.”
“Brynwood, and, nay, I do not. But I assure you, had I wished you dead, we would not be having this conversation.”
Nothing came between him and what he wanted, including his nephews. The deaths those little boys had suffered incited Kennedy further. “Just goes to show that if you want something done right, do it yourself.”
He puller her closer. “If you have anything else to say to me, my lady, you would do well to choose your words carefully.”
His hands on her, thighs on either side of her, and breath on her face, were almost enough to make her believe he was real. Only a figment. He holds no more power over you than the next dream.
“Do you understand?”
“What is there not to understand?”
He stared at her, then released her arms and turned her forward. Before she could gulp down the view from atop the horse, he gripped an arm around her waist and spurred the animal through the trees.
She was riding sidesaddle. How much worse could it get? Though she tried to shut out memories of her last horse ride, she remembered exactly how bad it could get. She squeezed her eyes closed. Where was Wynland taking her? And if murder was on his mind, why the stay of execution? No one would hear if she cried out—
He wasn’t alone. The thundering of hooves had surely been of many riders, meaning others could have seen her flight. Fortunate for her, unfortunate for Wynland.
She opened her eyes. Trees sped by at breakneck blur, the forest floor rose and fell, shafts of sunlight blinded.
She retreated behind her lids again and was all the more aware of the hard body at her back and the muscled arm against her abdomen, the sensation so real she felt the beat of Wynland’s heart through his armor. She chalked it up to it being a long time since she had been in a man’s arms, which was more her fault than her ex-husband’s. Graham would have held her if she had let him, but the marriage had coughed its last long before the onset of her illness. Kennedy Huntworth was no more—not that she had gone by her married name. At the urging of Graham’s mother, she had retained her maiden name for “professional purposes.” In the end, it had worked out for the best. Or was it the worst?
Wynland dragged his horse to a halt, and a grateful Kennedy opened her eyes, only to wish she hadn’t.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of Dreamspell: A Medieval Time Travel Romance. Dreamspell is available as an ebook from all major online retailers.
To purchase this book, visit: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks Store and Kobo Books
TAMARA LEIGH NOVELS
INSPIRATIONAL TITLES
Age of Faith: A Medieval Romance Series
The Unveiling: Book One, 08/12: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
The Yielding: Book Two, 12/12: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
The Redeeming: Book Three, 05/13: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
The Kindling: Book Four, 11/13: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
The Longing: Book Five, 04/14: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
Southern Discomfort Series
Leaving Carolina, RandomHouse/Multnomah, 2009
Nowhere, Carolina, RandomHouse/Multnomah, 2010
Restless in Carolina, RandomHouse/Multnomah, 2011
Stand-Alone Novels
Stealing Adda, 05/12 (ebook edition) Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
Stealing Adda, NavPress, 2006 (print edition)
Perfecting Kate, Multnomah, 2007
Splitting Harriet, RandomHouse/Multnomah, 2007
Faking Grace, RandomHouse/Multnomah, 2008
“CLEAN READ” TITLES
Dreamspell: a medieval time travel romance, 03/12: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
Lady At Arms: a “clean read” rewrite of the 1994 Bantam Books bestseller Warrior Bride, 01/14: Amazon, B&N, iBooks Store, Kobo Books
Lady Of Eve: a “clean read” rewrite of the 1994 Bantam Books bestseller, Virgin Bride, 06/14: Amazon, B&N iBooks Store, Kobo Books
OUT-OF-PRINT GENERAL MARKET TITLES
Warrior Bride, Bantam Books, 1994
*Virgin Bride, Bantam Books, 1994
Pagan Bride, Bantam Books, 1995
Saxon Bride, Bantam Books, 1995
Misbegotten, HarperCollins, 1996
Unforgotten, HarperCollins, 1997
Blackheart, Dorchester Leisure, 2001
*Virgin Bride is the sequel to Warrior Bride
Pagan Pride and Saxon Bride are stand-alone novels
www.tamaraleigh.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tamara Leigh holds a Masters Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. In 1993, she signed a 4-book contract with Bantam Books. Her first medieval romance, Warrior Bride, was released in 1994, followed by Virgin Bride, Pagan Bride, and Saxon Bride. Continuing to write for the general market, three more novels were published with HarperCollins and Dorchester and earned awards and spots on national bestseller lists.
In 2006, Tamara’s first inspirational contemporary romance, Stealing Adda, was released. In 2008, Perfecting Kate was optioned for a movie and Splitting Harriet won an ACFW “Book of the Year” award. Both books were released as audiobooks. In 2009, Faking Grace was nominated for ACFW “Book of the Year” and RITA awards. In 2010, Leaving Carolina was featured in Target stores’ “Emerging Authors: New, Notable, Red-Hot Reads” section. In 2011, Tamara wrapped up her “Southern Discomfort” series with the release of Restless in Carolina.
When not in the middle of being a wife, mother, and cookbook fiend, Tamara buries her nose in a good book—and her writer’s pen in ink. In 2012, she returned to the historical romance genre with Dreamspell, a medieval time travel romance. Shortly thereafter, she once more invited readers to join her in the middle ages with the Age of Faith series that includes The Unveiling, The Yielding, The Redeeming, The Kindling, and The Longing. Lady at Arms, the 1994 Bantam Books bes
tseller originally titled Warrior Bride, is the first of her early medieval romances to be rewritten as a “clean read.” Its sequel, Lady of Eve, is now available.
Tamara lives near Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, sons, and a Doberman that bares its teeth not only to threaten the UPS man but to smile.
Connect with Tamara at her website www.tamaraleigh.com, her blog The Kitchen Novelist, Facebook, and Twitter. To be added to her mailing list for notification of new releases and special promotions, drop her an email at: [email protected]
