Awesome Excerpt Thursday ~ The Devil Take You by H K Carlton

The Devil Take You – by H K Carlton – Historical Romance

Blurb:

Braelynn Galbraith wants peace for her beloved Scotland, marriage to her childhood sweetheart, and a house full of children. In that order. But evil incarnate, in the form of Gard Marschand, turns her life inside out and destroys all hope of a decent marriage.


Known in the Highlands as the legendary devil, Gard Marschand raids his way across Scotland and England amassing power and property in his malevolent wake. He will stop at nothing in his pursuit to regain what is lost— even conceal his true identity and associate with his enemies. His determination is all-consuming until he and his men lay siege to Ross-shire holding and one feisty Scottish lass obliterates his single-minded purpose.


Can Gard abandon his deep-seated need for revenge for a love that just might save his rotten soul? Or will he succumb to the demons that hound him and surrender to the devil within?


I believe your stay in purgatory has only just begun…


This story has been previously published


Add it to your Goodreads TBR List

Excerpt:

A plume of black smoke rose over the burm, swirling into the sky.


“Dear God, not again.” Brae dropped the bouquet she had been fashioning and ran, perhaps stupidly, toward the village. Even with the wind whistling through her ears, the commotion and terror-filled shrieks of the town folk still reached her.


With her attention focused on locating her family, Brae didn’t hear the horses behind her until the last second.


All of a sudden, her feet lost contact with the damp earth. She choked on a scream as some unknown assailant grabbed her by the hair and plucked her from the ground. The destrier never slowed its pace as she dangled precariously in midair.


In agony, Brae clamped her hands on either side of her head—her scalp threatened to peel away from her skull.


The kidnapper hauled her up in front of him and body slammed her stomach-first onto the horse’s back. Brae’s breath rushed from her lungs at the force. She bunched her hand into the rider’s enormous black cloak and hung on for dear life.


While she struggled to breathe, the brigand wrapped his rather large leather-clad hand around her backside.


“This one be mine!” The sound of his deep voice chilled her. By his accent, he was English! Braelynn closed her eyes and recalled the warnings from Callum and her da. Had her own father’s words cursed her? Was she to learn the lesson the hard way?


She was afraid to open her eyes, but she knew by the smell stinging her nose that they were close to the source of the acrid smoke.


The horses came to an abrupt halt. Brae barely had time to register the fact when someone from behind grabbed her by the ankles and attempted to rip her from her captor’s lap.


“She be mine,” her captor growled.


To her horror her skirt rode high.


“I want her!” the second brigand responded while caressing her bare leg. Brae’s skin crawled.


In terror, she stared up at the raider holding her while the other slid his rough hands ever higher up her plaid.


Leather creaked when her captor leaned in the saddle. He placed one large booted foot in the center of his rival’s chest and shoved. At once, Brae’s lower body dropped as he fell backward from the blow. Her arms pulled taut, stretching painfully, supporting her weight.


Without warning, the man holding her suddenly released his grip. Brae slid down the horse’s side and fell to the ground with a thud in a tangle of voluminous skirts. She did not wait to disentangle herself but seized the opportunity to flee. She leapt to her feet intending to run, but her captor was faster. He grabbed her by the hair yet again. Circling it around his hand, he reeled her in.


“Not so fast, Caileag.” He sneered the last as if it were a nasty word. “You and I have some business to attend.”


Brae fought him, kicking, punching, and scratching, but to no avail. With his enormous reach, he held her at bay until another one of the black-garbed knights gathered her from behind and pushed her into the lean-to attached to the smithy. She landed heavily on one hip on the sub-floor, with the stranger’s hand still wrapped around her hair. He let it uncoil. Long strands hung from his gloves. Her scalp ached.


Petrified, she stared up at the small crowd now gathered. There were four of them, but more outside.


“Come, Marschand. You never take the women. Ya are just tryin’ to prove yourself to Cowan. Give her to me. She’s too bonnie fer the likes a you,” one man jeered.


All the men were dressed the same, entirely in black. But her original captor, the one they referred to as Marschand, was truly pitch-dark from head to toe, including his hair and beard. Even his eyes were two bottomless orbs of bleakness.


Brae gasped. ’Tis him! The devil himself! Absolute terror tried to climb its way up her throat.


Copyright © 2019 H.K. Carlton




Buy Links:

Amazon

eXtasy Books

Now available @ Apple, B&N and Smashwords

Coming to other vendors soon

Also available in Print

Author Bio:

H K Carlton is a multi-genre Canadian author of romance, with over thirty titles in publication. From naughty to nice, historical to contemporary, time travel to space travel, and everything in between.


Variety is creativity’s playground—It’s where you’ll find me

Author Links

Blogs:

Pick a Genre Already

Breaking Genre

Pick a Genre

Outrageous Girls (contributor)

Twitter

Pinterest

Goodreads

Amazon

BookBub

Facebook Author Page

Facebook Timeline

The Always Cambridge Series FB Page

Come Find Me!

Don't have a Kindle, no problem. I've got you covered! Read eBooks on your phone, tablet and computer no Kindle Needed!

Sneak Peek of My New Romantic Suspense - Little Angels

What if saving little angels meant becoming the monster?

When Special Agent Nick McFarlane receives news his partner of eight years in in trouble he doesn’t hesitate. Throwing himself into a deep cover operation to expose and shut down The Micahs, a child trafficking ring, Nick enters unprepared for the reality that awaits.

Special Agent Meredith Richards took the assignment fully aware of the consequences. Leaving her life behind, she wouldn’t be able to get out with her life until she shut the Micahs down for good.

When Meredith’s informant is murdered and her contact inside the organization starts to lose control, Meredith is forced to make choices she can’t take back. On the edge of sacrificing herself, her principles, and her life, she begins to wonder if she will survive the case or if she even wants too.  

Excerpt

The flashing lights of first responders and local police bounced off the brick walls of a crumbling complex. The Federal Special Response Unit, led by Special Agent Nick McFarlane, arrived on scene ten minutes prior. Suiting up, McFarlane and Special Agent Meredith Richards silently counted to seven. At seven, they pushed into the decrepit apartment building, listening closely for any signs of life. Nick signaled left. Meredith nodded, taking the first door on the right. Pushing the door with her foot, heart pounding, Meredith cleared the room, finding no sign of the missing boy.

The boy, Kevin, nine years old, had been kidnapped and held for ransom four days prior. The agreed-upon exchange went south just hours before, and now they were out of time. An anonymous tip had led FSRU to this location. Meredith guessed it was an accomplice trying to clear their conscious. Meredith entered the hallway. Nick moved on to the third room. Meredith moved to the next room and heard a small whimper. She froze, her breath lying still in her chest. A cry of pain. Running toward the noise, she rounded the corner, surveying the open room. The smell of thick mildew hit her nose. Stacks of aging cardboard boxes, plenty of places to hide. Meredith took a step further into the room. The sound of gasping stopped her movement. All of her focus turned to a single box.  
Meredith moved slowly, shifting the box out of her way. 

Kevin. 

His face bloodied and bruised, he gasped for breath again. 

"Nick!" Meredith rushed to the child's side, searching for the source of blood. She found a knife slice half across his neck and placed her hand over the wound. Hearing Nick stepping through the doorway and  calling for an ambulance, Meredith turned. Their suspect stood over her partner with a gun. The man twitched nervously. He's going through withdrawal. This was all about the money. He’d kidnapped the boss's son for the fix. The kidnapper was so dazed by his success he let the gun sway. A gunshot went off. Meredith hit the floor, covering Kevin. The suspect fell, his gun discharged and Nick yelped in pain. Special Agent Hawthorne and Special Agent Alan Wright rushed in. 

"Fuck! Goddamn it!" McFarlane cursed, Meredith released a breath, dashing out the door with Kevin in her arms.

Hang on baby, hang on...

The child's hand gripped her shirt tightly. Her legs couldn't move fast enough. The crisp city air hit her lungs and she vaulted down the stairs. The bus, or the short name for ambulance, was within sight. The pulling on her shirt lessened. Meredith couldn't breathe. Her stomach twisted painfully. Kevin's small body grew heavier in her arms. Laying the boy on the stretcher, it took everything in her to look at him. 

His face covered in blood, his eyes stared back at her, clouded and lifeless. The paramedics immediately went to work, but she already knew he was gone. 

Her heartbeat thundering in her head, the events around her hummed. She searched for relief, pleading for silence, peace. Nick walked out of the building with Hawthorne holding pressure on his shoulder and her heart ached again. Her gaze was resting on the stretcher. The paramedics pulled the sheet gingerly over the boy's body. 

It's too much, too much...

Gasping for air, her carefully-bound control unraveling, she began breaking in half.

"Meredith," she heard someone say, but the voice seemed far away. "Meredith."

Everything moved back into real time, and a warm hand touch her arm. Special Agent Hawthorne, kind hazel eyes and rounded face, looked at her in concern, "Hey, you okay?"

Meredith anchored her pooling emotions down into her gut, away from her conscious mind. She couldn't let her team see her fall apart. "I'm good." The steadiness of her voice seemed to convince him, and the creases in his forehead smoothed. "Where's McFarlane?"

"Over there," Meredith followed Hawthorne's gaze. A paramedic wrapped McFarlane's shoulder in the back of an ambulance. She nodded her thanks. 

"You okay?" Meredith asked, reaching the ambulance with her partner sitting in the back.

"Just a flesh wound." McFarlane glanced over the paramedic's work. "How's the boy?"

"He's–" the pain in her chest spiked. "They're still working on him." She focused on the area behind the ambulance, a small path of green in a world of concrete, desperate to still the creeping pain threatening to take over. McFarlane handed her a warm moist towel from the ambulance. Confused, Meredith looked down the sight of her blood-stained hands, catching the breath in her chest. Hands shaking, she wiped the blood away before tossing the towel into the ambulance.

McFarlane stayed silent. Special Agent Nick McFarlane, team lead, stood 6'4, broad shoulders, tight stance, everlasting 5'oclock shadow, and intense ice-blue eyes. Patiently waiting for her to give in and admit defeat, she refused. Her lips parted, with a prepared comment on their suspect, but his wordless gaze stopped her cold. 

It was like hitting a brick wall when he looked at her like that–knowing what she's thinking without words. Having an eight-year history of seeing some of the worst scum on the earth created a wordless connection between colleagues. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears at the exposure. Knowing she'd been caught. Angry at her own weakness, Meredith fought like hell to keep her composure intact. The guilt ripping through her unfettered, she dropped her chin in defeat.

Nick's consoling arm rested on her shoulders. He pulled her in, her forehead resting on his chest. In the small cocoon of his embrace, she pushed down the emotion threatening to take over.

* * * *

Come Find Me!

New Release - You Never Could Be Excerpt

A passion-fueled encounter in the corridor of a hotel convention room reveals two anguished hearts struggling to reconnect despite life’s difficulties. Will Carlisle, the eye candy of the office, is every woman’s dream, tall, handsome, and dashingly charming. Sara Rozek never guessed he has secretly wanted her for months now. When a bad day falls upon them and Will breaks the reins of his own restraint, she sees the burning passion in his eyes, and there is no denying the mutual attraction. Will and Sara’s start quickly runs awry, and Sara becomes convinced she was played for a fool. Will begs her to listen to him, but she turns away in fear. Can Will mend her broken heart, or will the passion they shared vanish forever?

Excerpt
She needed to cool down. The answer was a small bar a few miles from her apartment. She knew it to always be filled with locals, meaning they could relax and not worry about any peering office eyes. 

They walked inside the darkened tavern. She felt his hand on her back leading her to the corner of the bar. He called over the bartender and looked to her with a smile. “I’ll take a corona with a lime and the lady would like…” 

“The same, please.” She took the seat next to him against the wall. 

He laid some money on the bar before taking his seat. “So you needed a drink.” 
He leaned forward against the bar beside her, playfully nudging her shoulder. 

“Uh…yeah.” 

“So is it all my fault, or just the day in general?" 

“More the day than you, to be honest.” 

“So what happened wasn’t completely shocking?” 
“Oh, it was shocking.” She suppressed the uncomfortable laugh residing in the back of her throat and instead released a small giggle. “It just wasn’t unwanted.” 

“Interesting.” 

“The rest of the day pretty much sucked.” 

“No argument there.” The bartender arrived with their beers. Sara took a drink of it, allowing room for the lime she pushed within the bottleneck. She reached for the salt shaking it onto the mouth of her bottle. “What are you doing?” 

The beer began to react to the salt, and she took a quick sip before it overflowed. “What? You’ve never put salt in your beer?” 

“I can’t say that I have.” He smiled at her—he had the nicest smile—as she took another sip from her beer. Conscious to keep the air of confidence she had created around herself, she refused to break his gaze. 

“Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.” 

“May I?” 

“Go for it.” Will twisted his body to face her, picked up her beer, and took a sip. She smiled in expectation of his reaction. He remained stoic, placing the beer back on the bar, and a giggle escaped from her chest. “So?” 

“Not bad.” 

“I told you.” 

“That you did.” 

“See, you should listen to me more often.” 

“I am now convinced.” 

“It’s about time.” She rose from her seat. “I’ll be back.” 

Sara walked through the bar past the set of pool tables and small dance floor. She pushed her way into the ladies' room. She drained her bladder, washed her hands, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. 

Why was it so shocking that he kissed her? Attracted to her? She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, but she wasn’t a leper. In fact, she looked damn good for thirty-four. She managed to keep her slim tight figure. It curved in the right places, and she had no complaints. She had no problems rocking a tight dress, or mini skirt. Her brown eyes were a little boring, but her defined features and glossy thick chestnut hair more than made up for it. She always got complimented on her hair. People said it shined like polished glass beneath the lowest of lights. 
The heat of his demanding kiss flashed in her mind. A blush rose in her cheeks, and she took a breath. The reaction was spawned not only from the event, but the guilt that came with it. 

What did she have to feel guilty about? They were both single, so it wasn’t like they were offending anyone. They worked together, but due to recent events, he was no longer her boss. Was that what prompted him to act so quickly in the parking lot? 

She was puzzled. A quick once-over and she stepped out of the bathroom to return to the bar. A warm hand caught her wrist. She turned, and he flashed that infamous grin. She couldn’t help but smile back, and he pulled her along to the dance floor. A few couples were scattered around them. Once she was within reach, he placed her hand on his shoulder, the other against his chest. His hands gently grasped her waist, and they began to sway to the music. Her skin tingled with his proximity. His hands kneaded the muscles of her back, and she tilted her head looking up at him. 

“I didn’t know you danced.” 

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises.” 

“Why today?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“What happened? Why are you dancing with me instead of on an airplane?” 
She laid the question out without accusation, just curiosity, and she watched him process it. She wondered what his reaction would be and patiently waited for his response. 

“If given the choice between a stuffy airplane, and dancing with you, the choice is obvious.” 

“You’re avoiding the question.” 

“Am I?” 

“Yes, and I’m wondering why.” 

“Maybe because the reason doesn’t matter.” 

“Then there should be no problem in answering the question.” 

“You would think that, wouldn’t you?” His hands moved up her back, and she continued to challenge him with her eyes. 

“I’m not a fling, Will.” His hand slid up and into her hair. A chill raced her spine, and his eyes searched her face. 

“You never could be, Sara.”  

The statement stopped her breath and her eyes began to lower. She felt his warmth against her cheek just before his lips brushed hers. The act was timid and a wordless request for permission. Her eyes closed, and instinctively drawn to his mouth, she raised her chin to meet the call of his embrace. His lips were warm and soft, coaxing in their ability to ignite her body. They continued to sway to the sultry sounds around them, his strong arms holding her tightly against him.

Available Now!
Extasy Books
Amazon