His Abducted Bride

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Across the Stars: Book 3

  His

  Abducted

  Bride

  Ruth Ann Nordin

  His Abducted Bride - Smashwords Edition

  Published by Ruth Ann Nordin at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2013 by Ruth Ann Nordin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover Photo images Dreamstime. www.dreamstime.com. All rights reserved – used with permission.

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  List of Romances by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Dedication

  To Dorothy Paula Freda whose love of romance and fantasy has inspired me to go back to an old story idea I originally came up with in 1998.

  Chapter One

  He would not conquer her. She had practiced hard and long for this moment, often sacrificing sleep and food to make sure she was in top physical shape. She sat upon her horse and waited in silence, her army with her. Her men had been trained well. She was honored to be their queen. Today, they would not fail her, nor would she fail them.

  Across the valley, she saw King Blackheart and his army who waited for the final battle. The breeze blew his banner—a red flag with a black heart and two swords beneath it—in silent warning. Not that she was afraid of him. True, he was a man of fierce countenance and those who served him did so in dread, but she wasn’t afraid of him.

  Dawn broke over the horizon, the sunlight giving an uncharacteristically red glow to the barren valley that separated them. It would be a bloody day. There was no denying that, but it would also be the day she and her army would defeat him and his men, liberating those he had enslaved. This was the day he would die.

  Lifting her sword into the air, she shouted the battle cry. At once, they raced toward each—

  Sandy Davis stopped typing on her keyboard and glanced at the phone. Did she dare answer it when she was writing the final scene of her book? She glanced back at the screen, the blinking cursor prompting her to continue. With a quick look at the caller ID, she saw that Caitlyn was calling. She sighed. If it’d been anyone else, she’d let it ring.

  She picked up the phone. “Are you in labor?”

  “No, not yet, but Chris assures me I’m close to it,” her friend replied from the other end. “I wanted to know if you’d like to see a movie and get something to eat. You know, have a girls’ night out before the baby is born?”

  “Yeah, that sounds like fun. When do you want to go?”

  “Are you going into work tonight?”

  Sandy reached across her desk and checked her work schedule. “Nope. I’m free. I don’t go back until Friday.”

  “You mean to tell me that Jack is making you work weekends?”

  “I have no life,” Sandy replied, putting the schedule back on the desk and leaning back in her chair. “I don’t need weekends off.”

  “You can’t keep talking that way,” Caitlyn kindly admonished. “Just because things didn’t work out with Mark, it doesn’t mean you should give up.”

  “It’s not about Mark. Some women are meant to be single for their whole lives. I’m fine with it. Really, I am. I don’t need a man to be happy.”

  “I know you don’t need a man to be happy, but it sure is nice if one’s around.”

  Sandy rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe if I had some wonderful guy drop in from another planet so he could be my life mate, that would be possible.”

  “I can ask Chris if he’ll bring a friend from Pandoran.”

  “Pass.”

  “Why? The guys on that planet appreciate women better than the ones here on Earth do.”

  “Because I refuse to be fixed up again.” Straightening in her chair, she grabbed a rubber band and pulled her blonde curly hair back into a ponytail. “I’m content with things the way they are. In fact, I picked up a new hobby.”

  “Oh? What is it?”

  She tried to determine whether or not she should tell Caitlyn but realized if she couldn’t tell her best friend, then there wasn’t anyone she could confide in. “Alright. I’ll tell you, but you have to promise not to laugh.”

  “I promise. What is it?”

  “I am writing an epic fantasy novel.”

  “You’re writing? But I thought you hated to write.”

  “Yeah,” Sandy began, “that’s what I thought, too, until I started to do it. After Mark dumped me to be with Lexie at that party, I had a dream about another world where I was supposed to fight this evil king who was bound to bring misery and destruction to every place he conquered.”

  After a moment of silence, Caitlyn asked, “Does this evil king represent all males everywhere?”

  “What? No. He was based on a dream. I was getting ready for battle. You know how dreams work. Even though it starts in the middle of a situation, you know the history that led up to that point. So I pretty much had the story in mind before I started writing it.”

  “Yeah, but I think what happened with Mark had something to do with the dream.”

  She rolled her brown eyes and swirled in her chair so she could look at her computer screen. If she’d known this conversation was going to become a discussion about Mark, she would’ve let her voice mail get the call. She was on such a great writing streak, and it was tough as nails to get back into the groove once her concentration was broken.

  “I can ask Chris if he knows any single men at work,” Caitlyn offered.

  Sandy grimaced. “Will you stop it already? I’m done with men.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll stop trying to fix you up with someone.”

  “Good. Look, I appreciate all you’ve done. Really, I do. It’s just that I want to enjoy my quiet life as a waitress and live adventures in my books. I’m having more fun writing than I thought I would. I might even write another book when I’m done with the one I’m working on.”

  “At least you have something you enjoy.”

  Sandy didn’t know whether she was frustrated or amused. Maybe she was a little of both. Caitlyn’s heart was in the right place, but some women were meant to end up single and Sandy was one of them. She’d finally come to terms with it. It helped that she had something she could throw herself into. When she was writing, she forgot everything. It was just her and the story. Too bad it was just a st
ory. How much fun would it be to rule a kingdom and save everyone from the evil king?

  “Sandy?” Caitlyn asked, breaking her friend out of her thoughts.

  Sandy turned her attention from the laptop and focused on the conversation she was having with Caitlyn. “Oh, yes. I’ll be over in about a half hour.”

  “That’s fine, but it’s not what I asked.”

  “What did you ask?”

  “I wanted to know what movie you’d like to see.”

  “Anything as long as it’s not a romance. See you soon.”

  After she hung up, she glanced at her computer screen. She was so close to the end. This was the final chapter, the one where she’d defeat King Blackheart. She sighed and saved the document before she closed her word processing program. Maybe she could finish it tonight.

  Standing up from her desk in her one-bedroom apartment, she stretched her arms. The story could wait. In the meantime, she could think over the final battle scene. Maybe she and Caitlyn could go to a movie with some fighting in it. She might pick up some good ideas from it. Encouraged, she hurried to the bathroom to fix her hair so she would look decent.

  Unknown to her, the word processing program opened up on its own and the cursor blinked where she’d left off. Then it started to erase what she’d been writing.

  ***

  Sandy watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as Caitlyn wolfed down another piece of chocolate cake. Though Caitlyn was pregnant and hadn’t seemed to gain any weight anywhere but her stomach, Sandy couldn’t help but wonder where all the calories were going. If she ate like that, she’d blow up like a balloon.

  “I know. It’s crazy,” Caitlyn admitted as she reached for her milkshake and gulped it down. “But Chris assures me that when there were women on his planet, they went through this while they were pregnant. Something about chocolate helps the baby develop.”

  “Well, since you’re only seven months pregnant and ready to give birth to what looks like a ten pounder, I’ll take your word for it.”

  Her friend shook her head and set the milkshake on the table. “No, not ten pounds. She’ll be seven. Chris assured me that every baby is seven pounds.”

  “But the baby has a mother who’s from Earth. She could be heavier.”

  “Maybe.” Caitlyn motioned to the uneaten chocolate silk pie on Sandy’s plate. “Are you going to eat that?”

  “Help yourself.” She pushed the plate toward her friend. “Watching you eat yourself into oblivion has reminded me of why I need to practice portion control.”

  Though she rolled her eyes, she grabbed her fork and dug into the pie.

  “Is Lexie eating like this since she’s pregnant with Mark’s baby?”

  Caitlyn nodded. “Yeah. She didn’t believe me when I told her that her appetite would get out of whack.” With a giggle, she added, “She tried so hard to fight it at first. It was hilarious.”

  “If you say so…” Sandy couldn’t imagine how anyone could be hungry enough to eat as much as Caitlyn, but Caitlyn could wipe out an entire buffet table at a restaurant if given the chance. Folding her napkin and placing it on her empty plate, she asked, “Did you and Chris pick out a name for your daughter?”

  “We finally did. Her name will be Madison.”

  “That’s a good one, though it’s a shame Sandy never made it.”

  “We’re giving her Sandy for a middle name. Don’t despair. Your godchild will have your name in there.”

  Pleased, Sandy smiled.

  The server approached their table. “Will there be anything else for you this evening?”

  Sandy glanced at Caitlyn who shook her head. “I’m finally full,” Caitlyn told him.

  He placed the bill on their table. “I’ll be your cashier when you’re ready.”

  As he walked away, Sandy giggled. “You missed how big his eyes got when you gave your order.”

  Sighing, she picked up the bill then pulled out her debit card. “His eyes weren’t that big.”

  “Are you kidding? I thought they were going to fall out of his head.”

  “You exaggerate. Anyway, I’m going to pay.”

  “Usually, I’d say no, but since everyone was watching us because of the mountain of food you ate, I’ll take you up on it,” Sandy teased.

  Caitlyn laughed and placed her card and the bill on the table. “It’s nice to know you haven’t lost your sense of humor without me around to liven things up at the diner.”

  “Jack’s funny enough to make up for your absence.”

  “Does he miss me?”

  “He asks if you’re driving your poor husband crazy yet.”

  Caitlyn laughed. “Given all his faults, he was a good employer.”

  “Yeah, he’s not so bad.”

  The server collected the bill and card before he left.

  “Thanks for paying for my meal,” Sandy said.

  “Well, considering you only ordered two things and I ordered a ton of things to eat, your part of the bill is almost nothing.” She finished the milkshake. “So, tell me about this book you’re writing.”

  “I thought I already did.”

  “Yeah, I know it’s based off a dream you had, but what is it about?”

  Sandy shrugged and folded a napkin. “A lot of the plot is based off of it. Evil king attacks nearby kingdoms, he comes after mine, and I beat his butt in the final battle.”

  “Are you sure this evil king doesn’t represent men in general?”

  “Of course not. I’m not that shallow.” Sandy threw the napkin at her friend who dodged it.

  She giggled and tossed the napkin back at her. “There’s some truth in it though, isn’t there?”

  “You read too much into things.”

  “Then why isn’t the evil king an evil queen?”

  “If I had dreamt of an evil queen, I would have written the story that way.”

  “Sure.”

  Sandy groaned. “I don’t care what you believe. I have a brother and a father who I love very much. I can’t be against men.”

  “I’m not saying you’re against all men, just ones that aren’t related to you.”

  “Ugg! Can we drop this already?” Sandy asked, unable to believe her friend was pressing the issue.

  “Alright. I’ll drop it.”

  The server returned with the receipt and card, so Caitlyn signed the receipt and wrote in the amount for the tip before she slipped her card back into her purse.

  Caitlyn looked at her and smiled. “This was fun, wasn’t it? Hanging out and relaxing?”

  “Kind of like when we were in high school before you ditched me for my brother so I had to spend senior year all alone,” Sandy replied, but she winked to show that she was joking.

  “You should have let me fix you up back then.”

  Letting out an exasperated sigh, she slid out of the booth and held out her hand to help Caitlyn. “It’s time for the mother-to-be to go home and harass her husband for a change.” They left the restaurant, and Sandy chanced a look at the stars in the cool night sky. As she opened the passenger door and hopped into her seat, she said, “You have to admit it is kind of amazing that a man from another planet came here to marry you.”

  Caitlyn buckled her seatbelt and put her key in the ignition. “Yeah, it is. Sometimes we talk about his home world.”

  “And?”

  She started the car and backed out of the parking spot. “It had a lot of technological advancements that made life very comfortable, but he said there was no warmth on their planet.”

  “Warmth?”

  She set the gear into drive and drove forward. “I don’t know how to explain it except to say he appreciates the soft and gentle nature of women.”

  “Soft and gentle? He said that after your mother interfered in your lives?”

  Caitlyn giggled. “I know. I thought the same thing, but you have to admit, she’s not so bad anymore. I’m not sure what Mark did to her, but she’s been a lot easier to deal with eve
r since.”

  “At least something good came out of Lexie’s elopement.”

  After a couple minutes of silence, Caitlyn asked, “What do you plan to do with your book once you finish it?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t get that far. I was just writing it to escape my boring life.”

  “Ah ha! I knew it! You do need a man.”

  “Oh, stop it!” She resisted the urge to laugh at her friend’s teasing tone. “But seriously, ever since you quit working at the diner, my life has been boring. Shelia is nice and the new girl is fine, but no one can get under Jack’s skin like you did. You made things fun over there.”

  Caitlyn shrugged but winked. “What can I say? It was a gift.” She pulled up in front of Sandy’s apartment and turned to her. “We’ll always be best friends.”

  “Of course, we will.”

  “Good, because if you ever publish that book, I want to be on the dedication page.”

  “You got it.” Sandy unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. “Hey, you know I’m happy for you, right?”

  She smiled. “Yes, I know.”

  On impulse, Sandy leaned forward and hugged her friend. “If I ever publish the book, I’ll be sure to dedicate it to you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Sandy pulled away from her and motioned to her belly. “Be sure to let me know when she’s ready to be born. I want to be there.”

  “Will do.”

  She got out of the minivan and waved to Caitlyn as she drove off. With a contented sigh, she spun on her heel and headed for her apartment. The fact that she was thirty-four and living alone used to bother her. But it didn’t anymore. She could do whatever she wanted, and there was no one around to bother her. It really was a peaceful existence.

  She entered her apartment and clicked on the light. She locked the door, took off her shoes, and changed into her pajamas. As she brushed her teeth, she walked by her computer then glanced at the clock. It was late. She’d finish her story tomorrow. She returned to the bathroom and rinsed her mouth.