Teaser Tuesday!

Good afternoon! I hope everyone is having a fantastic Tuesday!  It seems that blogger has been changing up the format here .... and true to my Taurus nature.... I don't like change. (You can only imagine how frustrated I've been as Facebook changes over to timeline... hate it). So I'm a little late getting the teaser up today... but it's part of the piece that I am currently working on. (And praying that my muse will allow me to remain focused on until it ends! I swear I have writer's A.D.D.).

As always... it's unedited! :) Don't forget to stop by Krystal Shannan's  blog for a taste of her now FINISHED WIP! Woo woo!!! GO KRYSTAL!!!!!!

    “She was your friend?” 

    Livia nodded just as the litter jerked to a sudden halt, and found herself nearly thrown into the floor. 

   “The fool driver must be in the wine again, Attia.” The shouting outside began in earnest and the litter rocked as something heavy slammed against it.

    “Get down!” Attia screamed as she flung herself to the floor. Dominica moved to pull aside the fabric and peak out the window to discover what all the commotion was about. ‘No!” The woman screamed, grabbed Dominica by the braid and dragged her down. “We are for certain under attack you foolish twit!” The sudden scream of a man nearby sent a chill through Dominica’s heart.

    “My Father said the roads to Arcavius were safe! The barbarians are peaceful here!” Dominica tried to moved but the woman held tightly to both girls.

    The sudden silence frightened Dominica more intensely than the sounds of the guards fighting moments before. The steady falling of footsteps grew closer to the litter the three women huddled in. “Here,” Attia hissed, pulling a silver dagger she had hidden in the folds of her dress. “Quickly, slit your wrist before the barbarian takes us!”

    Dominica looked at the knife the woman pushed into her hands. She had often heard of other women, taking their own lives rather than fall to the savages.

    “Nica!” The voice boomed from outside a moment before the door ripped away. The cool air of the mountains rushed inside and bathed over her. Dominica sat frozen, the man glaring in at her was unrecognizable. Dark eyes flickered quickly to the other women and then the knife.

    “Quickly, before he reaches in!” Attia whispered.

    “You will do no such thing.” Snatching the dagger with one hand, he gripped Dominica with the other and pulled. She tried to resist. “Do you forget me so quickly outside your villa walls?”

Teaser Tuesday

Good Tuesday morning!!!!!!! It seems, no matter how hard I try... I am just not a morning person. And Teaser Tuesday always seems to sneak up on me. While the kids were getting dressed for school I was looking through my WIPs to see which one I'd like to tease you with today! Now don't forget to drop by Krystal Shannan's  page for her teaser too! It's not up yet but I can't wait to see what she's gonna tease us with today!

Happy Tuesday!!!!

Standing stiff and silent before the roaring fire the knight breathed slowly and deeply. His dark grey eyes closed briefly while the heat thawed the icy chill from him bones. The welcomed warmth mingled with the cracking wood and relaxed him dangerously close to sleep. He had not rested since leaving the mainland the night before. A storm had ran upon them about half way across the channel and left them all soaked and near frozen as they battled to keep the boat on course for the island. He was nearing exhaustion and eager to seek a bed. He prayed sincerely that his audience with the King would not last long. The journey to the northern corner of the kingdom still lay long and treacherous before him.

The flames danced angrily as the heavy wooden door opened and the bitter breeze from outside again wrapped around the knight. Frowning, he pulled his thick black cloak closer while bowing low as the King swept quickly into his private solar.

“I am glad to see you made the crossing safely.” The King clasped his loyal knight by the shoulder with familiarity, lifting the much younger man up. Taller than most men, the King was always impressed that the knight towered several inches above him.

“Everyone in your group is well?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

“Oui.” The knight inclined his head, fighting the shiver that coursed through his body suddenly.

“Genevieve?” the King questioned lightly pouring a goblet of warmed red wine and handing it to his Knight. “From Normandy,” he said with a flicker of his wrist towards the wine. The Knight drank deeply, closing his eyes with pleasure as the warmth spread over him.

“She took to the boat as if she were born on the sea, Your Highness.” Both men smiled, the Knight, in pride that his daughter had fared better than several of his seasoned soldiers.

“It’s the Viking in her blood.” The King’s aging face grinned, making him seem ten years younger. He knew that his bloodline was strong in the tiny fair haired girl the knight had fathered. “Normans were Vikings long ago.”

Teaser Tuesday

It has already been a busy day in the London household .... and it's only lunch time! So here's my teaser for the day! Don't forget to check out Krystal Shannan's spectacular teaser! Leave us both some comment love so we know you dropped by!

Fergus nodded. Ewan had only chosen companions he could trust. The two men resumed their silent watch over the field as clan colors continued to go up.

“Ferg?”

Ewan’s gaze came around as a young woman slipped out of the tent behind them.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I did not mean to interrupt.” She blushed crimson when her dark grey eyes met his gaze. Dark auburn curls sparked red in the late afternoon heat and Ewan suddenly ached to run his hands through her hair.

“What is it Meg?” Fergus asked.

“Can someone fetch Anny?” she asked, her eyes wide with worry.

“I’ll go myself.” Fergus said with a nod as she scurried back inside the tent.

“Now there is a bonny wee lass I would like to know better.” Ewan crossed his arms over his chest as he looked to his kinsman. “Introduce me, cousin.”

“Ewan.” Fergus growled.

“Just don’t tell me she’s a Ramsey.” Ewan grinned, his mind still on the curves he was certain were hidden under the clothes of the lass. “So tell me which clan I must be wary of once I bed the lass.” She’d worn no plaid to identify her clan.   

He considered taking a large step backwards when he found Fergus leveling an angry scowl at him.

“Fergus, is she your leman?” Ewan questioned softly, arching an eyebrow.

“Watch your tongue. Anny would remove my manhood if she heard rumor I had bedded down with another woman.” Fergus motioned for Ewan to follow as he started up the steep incline for the keep.

“Then why do you care if I bed the wench?” She wouldn’t be the first lass he wooed into his bed while at the spring gathering.

“That’s Anny’s youngest sister.” Fergus finally replied. “She’s bound for the convent.”

Teaser Tuesday

Oops! Totally sidetracked this morning! Spring cleaning has taken over! I have one room left in the house to de-clutter, clean and organize and then it's on to the garage! Ugh, the garage. Let's not even think about that mess right now. I'm southern... we don't use our garage for vehicles.... it's more like... storage. Ha!

So...after minimal fretting about... I've settled on my teaser for this beautiful spring day! Don't forget to check out Krystal Shannan's  teaser! It's great! She's nearing the finish line on her WIP called Misplaced Heiress.  

                                                              GO KRYSTAL GO!!!! 
Hope you enjoy it!!!!!!

    The heat wave had been rolling through the city without mercy for more sunrises than Dominica cared to count. She had lain awake, unable to sleep, praying to the gods for rain while listening to the silence of her family’s villa. Tossing the thin rose colored sheets aside, she up another plea that the heat would soon end, for even sleeping without clothes had ceased providing any relief during the night. Reaching for the thin wrap she kept nearby, she headed for the door, stopping only to listen for any sounds. Slipping quietly out of her room, Dominica slid softly through the dimly lit hall towards her Father’s tablinum. The late hour assured her that the servants and slaves would be abed. She knew her Father was still in his study, having not heard him pass by her rooms for his own. He had spent most of the night there, in deep and often loud discussion with the men whom had arrived just after the evening meal.

    So intent upon checking on her Father, she did not see the black shadow moving soundless behind her.

“Nica.” Despite the familiarity of the deep voice, Dominica spun, startled, pulling her nearly sheer wrap more tightly around her.

    “Bricius!” Dominica glared at the sole private soldier that her Father employed as he leaned casually against a pillar in the shadows outside her room. “Do not frighten me!” She saw the flash of white as he smiled at her discomfort. Bricius had worked closely with her Father for the last decade and Dominica suspected that the soldier was the tool behind much of the violence surrounding her Father’s enemies in the Senate. Despite it, Dominica felt at ease in the soldier’s presence.