Memories of Fall Colors, Pt. 1 #MFRWhooks #MFRWauthor

MFRW Authors Blog

It’s November in Southern California, which means warm to hot sunny days and blue skies, a far cry from what we think of as Fall Color. I grew up in Pittsburgh, which always had a spectacular display of fall leaves. My dad would pile everyone in the car on a weekend and we’d drive out on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to gawk at the lovely colors.

Fall landscape

My memories of autumn in Western Pennsylvania, the setting for my Historical Romance, Rogue’s Hostage, inspired the scene this snippet comes from in today’s edition of MFRW BookHooks! The scene takes place at Fort Duquesne, where Mara has been taken by her captor Jacques. (Emile was her husband.)

Sighing, she moved to stand next to one of Jacques’s precious cannon. The view from the ramparts was magnificent. Under a leaden sky, the green of bushes and grasses seemed more intense than ever. The turbulent waters of the river tumbled past the fort, frothing over the rocks along the shore.

She glanced toward the hills on the other side of the Monongahela. The heavily forested slopes were dappled by drifts of gossamer mist, but not thickly enough to obscure the colors of autumn. Among the green shone clusters of gold and orange. Occasional patches of red were visible, as if stained by the blood of the men who had died trying to possess this cursed spot.

Rogue's Hostage

Sensual Historical Romance

Blurb:

His hostage…

In 1758 the Pennsylvania frontier is wild, primitive and dangerous, where safety often lies at the end of a gun. Mara Dupré’s life crumbles when a French and Indian war party attacks her cabin, kills her husband, and takes her captive. Marching through the wilderness strengthens her resolve to flee, but she doesn’t count on her captor teaching her the meaning of courage and the tempting call of desire.

Her destiny…

French lieutenant Jacques Corbeau’s desire for his captive threatens what little honor he has left. But when Mara desperately offers herself to him in exchange for her freedom, he finds the strength to refuse and reclaims his lost self-respect. As the shadows of his past catch up to him, Jacques realizes that Mara, despite the odds, is the one true key to reclaiming his soul and banishing his past misdeeds forever.

Nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Small Press Romance, 2003

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Linda

Seduction or Honor #MySexySaturday #MSS61

My Sexy Saturday bannerThis week’s My Sexy Saturday is all about getting your sexy on.

Rogue’s Hostage
by Linda McLaughlin

Sensual Historical Romance

Rogue's Hostage coverHis hostage…

In 1758 the Pennsylvania frontier is wild, primitive and dangerous, where safety often lies at the end of a gun. Mara Dupré’s life crumbles when a French and Indian war party attacks her cabin, kills her husband, and takes her captive. Marching through the wilderness strengthens her resolve to flee, but she doesn’t count on her captor teaching her the meaning of courage and the tempting call of desire.

Her destiny…

French lieutenant Jacques Corbeau’s desire for his captive threatens what little honor he has left. But when Mara desperately offers herself to him in exchange for her freedom, he finds the strength to refuse and reclaims his lost self-respect. As the shadows of his past catch up to him, Jacques realizes that Mara, despite the odds, is the one true key to reclaiming his soul and banishing his past misdeeds forever.

In this seven-paragraph snippet from Rogue’s Hostage, Mara goes to Jacques, planning to offer him a bargain she believes he can’t resist: one night in her arms in exchange for her freedom. Her behavior is out of character and puzzles him.

“Good. Then we will not be disturbed.”

To his complete amazement, she walked into the room, barred the door, then turned around and removed her shawl. He caught his breath when he saw that she wore the blue silk. He stared at her cleavage as his stomach twisted in a hard knot of need. It was a struggle to keep his response under control. Swallowing hard, he said, “You were able to mend the dress, after all.”

She smiled a bit ruefully. “Not as well as I’d hoped, but I wanted to wear it for you one last time.”

Jacques shook his head to clear it. Was he asleep and this episode some strange dream? He walked toward her and lightly touched her arm. She was real. Dear God, this was no dream. Caught between disbelief and enchantment, he wondered why she had come to him. “To what do I owe this visit, chérie? Dare I hope that you were lonely for my company?”

She made no reply, just pulled his head down, her hands tangled in his hair. Gently, she touched her lips to his in a tentative caress. He stopped trying to still the spiraling desire in his loins. With a groan, he settled his mouth on hers, gently at first, then coaxing, demanding more from her. His hands spanned her slender waist, drawing her to him, marveling at the contrast of cool silk and the heat of her flesh underneath. Slowly, he caressed her side, and cupped her breast in his hand, feeling the nipple grow taut.

She froze for a second, and then made a slight movement against the pressure of his hand.

“Mara,” he breathed and drew back to look at her face. Her eyes were unnaturally bright, her color high. Though befuddled by longing, he was yet aware that she was behaving oddly. With a sigh, he removed his hand from her breast and made one last attempt to keep his honor. “I don’t understand, Mara. What is happening?”

Rogue’s Hostage is available from Amazon, All Romance eBooks,Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Kobo and Smashwords.

Also available as part of the boxed set, Romance Super Bundle.

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Linda / Lyndi