Daring Passion: Passions, #1

By Katherine Kingston

The Passions novels are a series of loosely related Medieval historical romances that include strong BDSM and Domestic Discipline themes. The heroes are alpha and dominant but the heroines are also strong women in their own right. The first in the series is a romantic short story. The others are full-length novels.

What’s a lady to do when her father and the suitor she favors can’t get together on the terms of the betrothal, and neither is willing to give an inch?

Take matters into her own hands, of course. Even if it means taking a risk with her intended, her reputation, and her future…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Katherine Kingston
• Release date: Mar 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386683643

Book preview

Chapter One

Anno Domini 1356

Lady Anne Sherwin paused before the closed door, chewing her nails and trying to still the pounding of her heart. She had to renew her resolve before she made a move that would forever change the course of her life.

There was no help for what she must do, and little enough for herself in this quest. The plan might backfire on her and blight her life, but her future loomed bleak if she didn’t do something to influence it herself.

She quietly lifted the latch. The door squealed on its hinges as she pushed it open.

She cringed a moment before she went in. The man in the bed must know she was there. He couldn’t have slept through the noise the door had made. But he lay still and quiet, giving no indication he was aware of her presence.

She moved quickly to the side of the bed, making her way mostly by feel and memory in the darkness. She’d helped prepare this chamber for honored guests often enough to know the space well. At the far end of the room a few dying embers yet glowed, remains of the fire that had blazed earlier. Though visible still, they provided little illumination in the room. That was good. The darkness served her need.

She wore only a light robe. It whispered softly as it fell from her shoulders and puddled on the floor. The feather bed gave when she put her hand on it. She ran her fingers across the surface of the linen cover until they encountered warm, bare skin. She touched him lightly, hoping not to startle him.

Instead it was she who jumped when a large hand clamped around her wrist and a cold, steel point pressed against her breast. She gasped with shock.

My lord, I mean you no harm, she said in what she hoped was her most soothing voice.

Who are you? a gruff, low, male voice asked. What devilry’s afoot?

No devilry, sir. I have no weapon, no tinctures, nothing to do you any harm.

I ask again. Who are you? The blade moved not a fraction from its position at her breast.

A gift, my lord. One offered for your comfort and...entertainment.

Who bestows so unexpected a boon upon me?

My Lord D’Auberon.

And why did he not apprise me of this boon earlier? Why send you now?

He... I believe My Lord D’Auberon thought you would value the surprise. Please remove your blade, my lord. I pose no threat to you.

I reserve my doubts on that score, madame, he said. Come closer.

She moved toward him until she reached the edge of the bed. A sliver of moonlight edged into the room through the window to her right, letting her see him better. It wasn’t reassuring. The knife lay at his side now, but Lord Richard Hartwell had an intimidating presence even when he lay prone. She knew him for a tall man, a physically imposing figure based on his height and breadth of shoulder. He wore no nightshirt. A vast expanse of broad chest narrowed from his shoulders down until it disappeared under the cover pulled up to his waist.

At dinner earlier, he’d