Love
cannot resist an unbreakable heart…
After
losing the love of his life, Liam of Clan Kincaid, is sent in service for what
his uncle considers betrayal. Liam gives himself to the battle wearied king,
Robert the Bruce, and vows to mend his tarnished reputation. That would be easy
if not for the lass who insists he aids her.
Makenna
Mackenzie has lived through hell, her home and land taken by the English. All
she wants is vengeance of the man who cut off her ear and destroyed everything held
dear in her heart. The only way to achieve her goal is to plead with the
legendary king’s guard. She wants them to train her to be a mercenary like they
so she can use her sword to the fullest when she finally meets her enemy.
Liam
finds himself in a quandary because Makenna is not the forthright lass he deems
her to be. But his UNBREAKABLE HEART can withstand her, can’t it?
Prologue excerpt Unbreakable Heart (Legend of the King's Guard book 2) copyright @ 2019 Kara Griffin
Balloch Castle
West Dunbartonshire, Scotland
April, 1303
Fire swathed the entire village and
nearby loch with light. High flames from numerous bonfires lit the sky and lent
a glow to the trees and over the waters. Their celebration of the Beltane was
in full swing. Liam Kincaid ran naked through the trees and caught up to the
sweet vixen who teased him. Blayre fell to the grass, and he rolled next to her
and captured her in his arms.
“Do you know how beautiful you are?” He
kissed her soft throat and trailed his mouth to her lips.
He’d taken to drink much earlier in the
day. A pleasant lethargic mien came over him and he was lulled by its effect.
For days his uncle beleaguered him to take a wife. To which his father’s lands
would finally be given to him. He’d waited three years for the Earl to make a
decision. The lands were initially given to his mother, but when she died, they
reverted back to her brother. His uncle was supposed to hold them until he
reached his majority. Mormaer placed one stipulation on the covenant that he be
wedded before he could return home.
Woman after woman was set before him,
and yet he balked. It wasn’t that he abhorred marriage or that the ladies were
unacceptable. It was because his heart was already taken. Blayre besieged his
heart, and he besotted at first glance. No other woman caught his gaze since.
Unbeknownst to the Earl, the lass he wanted to wed was unfortunately the
daughter of their clan’s most hated rival, the MacDoughalls.
Away from the revelers, he lay back and
pulled his sweetheart into his arms. “You don’t want to be leaving so soon,
love. Come and lay with me.”
She pressed a hand on his naked chest.
“I must away. There are too many about. Someone will see us. It’s too
dangerous.”
“There’s always danger around us.” Liam
regarded the bonny face of his lover. Her light eyes took on an unaccountable
concern, for he wouldn’t allow anyone to interrupt their time together. He’d
picked the spot purposely knowing none would come near the waters during the
celebration. She relaxed against him, and he held her tightly. Her lips, full
and lush called, and he would do nothing but spend the night kissing her.
He set his mouth on hers and felt the
sweet response of her lips. His hands moved fast lest she change her mind and
reject him. Liam stroked her body, effectually causing his desire to swell with
need. He had only been with her one other time and it wasn’t enough. He’d never
be sated nor satisfied with nothing less than the surrender of her heart.
As he joined his body with hers, she
gasped and writhed beneath him. He kept up the gentle thrusts, mindlessly unaware
of the merriment beyond them. Liam patiently waited for Blayre to culminate
before he was released from the strain of holding back. He shouted his climax,
and his breath harsh. Never had he experienced such utter volatile pleasure.
“I should go, my love, before someone
comes.”
He held fast to her waist. “No one
would dare interrupt us. Stay, for I wish to hold you a wee bit longer.” Liam
lay next to her and peered to the dark sky above. With the bonfires surrounding
them, he could barely see a star. “I wish to tell my uncle of you and our
betrothal. We will confront him together and make our wishes known.”
She gasped. “Liam, we cannot. My father
would never agree and I cannot gainsay him. You ask too much of me.”
“Will you leave me and break my heart?”
He pouted, knowing he had to say something to gain her agreement. “I want no
other woman but you. I will wed no other but you. It’s time our clans
understand this.” Liam cupped the softness of her bared arse. “Tell me that you
love me as I do you.”
She opened her lips to respond, but
turned when riders bounded from the trees. Liam stood and helped her to rise.
He pushed her behind him to hide her nakedness from the intruders.
“Och, there you be, Liam.” Micheol, his
cousin and the only son of Laird Lennox, the Earl, had a smirk upon his face.
He whistled and more men came, all sat on their horses awaiting him. “What do you
have there, a goddess, a fairy?” He bellowed with raucous laughter.
Liam hated him with the might of a
thousand thorns. He was definitely a prick, and one no matter how much caution
he used, his cousin still smarted him.
Mormaer, the Earl, rode forward. He
wore a hauberk of fur with leather bands circling his chest and arms and
appeared ready for battle. Mormaer Lennox was one of the most formidable
warriors in all the kingdom and he showed his might with the hard gaze he now
wore.
“I sent Micheol looking for you, lad.
We are to journey to meet with Wallace and Moray for they have called men to
arms. We’re to Falkirk. Can’t say I’m not pleased, for we’ll be going against
the English. About time we squelch the English and banish them from our lands.”
He rubbed his hands together as if brushing them away, and then spat on the
ground insinuating his contempt.
Liam retrieved his tartan from the
ground and fastened it around his waist. His uncle dismounted and walked toward
him. He stopped a few feet short of reaching him and scowled.
“I didn’t mean to keep you, Laird.”
“I see you were honoring the spring
rites.” He laughed and turned to peer at his men. “As we all should be, but
there’s a greater need presently. None of us have time for such amusements.”
Lord Lennox tilted his head and scrutinized Blayre. “Micheol, is this not a
MacDoughall lass?”
“I believe she is, Da.” Micheol
dismounted and stood next to his father. “I’ve seen her before when we attended
their laird’s meeting.”
“Liam, lad, why would you go against us
and couple with this rabble?”
He stepped back and stood in front of
Blayre. She’d dressed and looked fearful for Laird Lennox was known for his
brutality. He wished he could say something to appease her fear, but decided
now was the time to voice his wishes.
“Laird, we are together. Aye and I will
ask her father for her hand.”
The Earl grabbed his arm and flung him
forward. Micheol rushed forth and took Blayre’s arms. The awaiting men pulled
their swords free. The moment was more tumultuous than Liam had considered or
expected.
“You speak treasonous, lad. This is the
kin of our most hated enemy. Surely you wouldn’t go against us, me, your own
laird. Tell me it is false and I shall be relieved.”
“I cannot,” he said with conviction.
“She’s mine and I am hers.”
His uncle pressed his hand on the back
of his neck. He’d never seen his laird appear more perturbed. “Have I not been
a giving uncle? I took care of your own mother, God rest her, when your own
father died. Och my heart is repelled with your deceit.” He threw the back of
his hand and struck his head.
Liam kept to his feet and hoped to mend
the situation. “Uncle, the lass has nothing to do with our riff with the
MacDoughalls. I mean no disrespect, but I care for her and want to keep her
safe.”
“The hell she doesn’t have anything to
do with it. She’s their own blood kin. Take her away, Micheol, and toss the
rabble in a ditch beyond our walls.”
Micheol turned and pulled Blayre along
with him. Liam ran past the Earl and yanked his cousin back. “Nay, release her.
You won’t take her anywhere.” He turned and spotted his sword on the ground,
but it was too far a way to retrieve in time.
His uncle marched forward and
unsheathed his sword. He aimed it at his chest and Liam didn’t think for one
second that the Earl would hold back. He knew his peril.
“The lass be gone. I won’t have a
MacDoughall on my land even if it’s a woman. Micheol, rid my presence of her.
Return with haste for we must depart within the hour.”
His cousin took the handful of men with
him, leaving Liam alone to face his uncle’s wrath.
“I am disappointed, Liam. Of all my
nephews, I thought you were the most devoted, the most trustworthy, and most
loyal. Och we all make errors in judgment. Am I wrong about you? Where do your
loyalties lie?”
Liam kept his eyes on the Earl and he
spoke with confidence. “Laird, of course my loyalty is yours. It shall always
be. I’ll defend you and Scotland with all that I am, but I love the lass. Can
you not see reason and return her to me? Haven’t you loved a woman so much that
you’d do anything to win her, to protect her?”
“You’ve your father’s passionate
nature, but nay I never have and likely never will. A woman is good for
producing bairns and keeping your home. That lass is unworthy of you, Liam. The
thought of your children born with her blood sickens me. I won’t allow your
insolence or her return. You must make a good marriage, Liam, for if you want
the blood of your kin to further your line, the line of your father… I have
given you a choice in your wife, but no longer.”
Ire such as he never felt came upon
him. Liam wanted to thrash his uncle, to hurt him as he’d done to him. He knew
not what to say, and the only thought that kept coming to him was that he’d
lost his only love.
“I will make the pact with my good
comrade, the Mackenzie. Aye, for you will wed his oldest daughter. It will be
done, Liam, and you won’t refute me.”
“You wed her for I will not. I won’t
allow you to choose my wife.” Liam stood firm in his decision. He wouldn’t back
down no matter what the Earl did or said.
His uncle scowled and shoved him. “You
defy my order?”
Liam wanted to shout at the frustration
that built inside him. “If I cannot have Blayre, then I shall have none.”
“I should kill you as I would any other
who betrays me.” He took a step forward and grabbed his neck, the sword held
tight, positioned to run him through.
Liam stood rigidly even though he had
but a moment to live. “Do your will then for I’m not sorry for my choice.”
His uncle lifted his elbow as if he was
about to thrust the sword. Liam didn’t flinch. Laird Lennox lowered his arm.
“Alas, I promised your mother that I would see to your protection. I shall not
kill you, but I cannot allow you to stay on our lands.”
“Are you banishing me?” Incredulous at
his uncle’s wrath, he resisted the urge to shout his appall.
“For a time. Mayhap you’ll learn what
loyalty means in the Bruce’s service. Given time, I might have the heart to
forgive you.”
“I will not leave without Blayre.”
The Earl cuffed his head. “Aye you will,
and you’ll forget her. Trust me, lad, this is the greatest gift I can give you.
You’ll wed the Mackenzie lass as I bid when you return from your service.
Makenna Mackenzie is bonny and far more worthy than that rabble you consorted
with. One day you will thank me for this gift.”
Liam had no choice but to follow the
Earl. He was furious about losing Blayre, but not about being banished. One day
he’d repay his uncle for his gift, and his thanks would come with his
retribution. The Kincaids would consider Clan Lennox as an enemy from this day
forward.
Don't miss Unbreakable Heart
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WLJ2NGV
Be prepared for a fast paced, danger filled adventure that will keep your fingers turning the pages till the very end.
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