The Highwayman's Lady Read online

  I had at first thought Gray might object to my political beliefs, but when I broached the subject with him I was surprised to learn that he harbours more than a little sympathy for my sentiments. His rebellious tendencies have taken little rekindling, but this time I believe the cause would be both just and winnable. I do not use my newspaper to bandy my views about too stridently, but neither will I shy away from raising the issues that concern us all. Change must come eventually and when it does I hope my little publication will be at the forefront of it.

  I am not convinced that Phillip and Beatrice would share our sentiments. The earl and countess of Kirkleven are rather more wedded to the established order of things than Gray or I ever were. Better perhaps to steer our conversation into safer waters. I stand to welcome our men back into our home.

  “How did it go?” I ask, having accepted Gray’s kiss, perhaps a trifle too passionate for the company. Sir Phillip does seem to find it necessary to clear his throat somewhat regularly when in our vicinity.

  “Excellent. I was able to convince the governor that I am a fine candidate for the role, aided, I daresay, by the presence of my very respectable relative. Having an earl in the family comes in useful, I find.” He steps back and fashions an elaborate bow for me, dragging off his hat to sweep it along the floor. “My sweet, you see before you the new sheriff of Jamestown, licenced to collect taxes, serve writs, and dispense justice to drunks and ne’er-do-wells. I believe I shall be very good at it, a fine, upstanding individual such as myself.”

  I laugh out loud as he abandons his mock bow and instead picks me up and swings me around. “Indeed you shall. The governor is a man of impeccable judgement.”

  “Talk about poacher turned gamekeeper. Is this evidence of your continuing rehabilitation, brother? Proof positive that your disreputable past is truly behind us?” Sir Phillip’s grin is sardonic as he pours himself a measure of fine brandy, then puts the glass down in order to pluck his son from the floor and dangle the little lad above his head.

  “Me, me!” demands Cameron, holding his chubby arms up for similar treatment. Sir Phillip deposits Francis safe beside his mother and repeats the drill with my own baby.

  “My husband is perfectly rehabilitated,” I announce as soon as my feet are in contact with the floor once more. “He is a pillar of law-abiding respectability and I defy anyone to say differently.”

  “I agree.” Beatrice’s contribution is delivered in an equally firm tone that will brook no argument. “In fact, I believe Francis’ journey back to decency and honour commenced the night he intervened to save your life, Imogen. It would have been far safer for him to simply leave you to whatever fate befell you, but he did not. And I am glad he took the proper course. I will always be grateful that he was there on that road when you needed him, in the right place at the right time.”

  “Me too,” I agree. “Have I ever thanked you, Gray?”

  “I believe you may have mentioned something along those lines, but do please feel free to remind me of your gratitude at any opportunity, my sweet.” Gray kisses my neck, occasioning more grunts of disapproval from his brother.

  “Must you be forever mauling the girl?” he demands. “You have only to look at her and another child is on the way. At this rate, you shall populate half the state within the next decade.”

  “I certainly hope so,” laughs Gray, “not that you have any room to talk, brother. You still have twice as many children as do we.” He kisses me again. “We must redouble our efforts, my love.”

  I redden and attempt to bury my face in his rough jacket. However immodest I may be in the privacy of our bedroom, ready to submit to anything my husband’s fertile imagination can come up with, I cannot reconcile myself to the easy banter between Gray and his brother. My husband’s arms tighten around me.

  “I was indeed in the right place at the right time and I thank God for it. It was a generous twist of fate that brought me home to my family and eventually led me here, to a new life in a new land. Most of all though, it brought me you. I love you, Imogen.”

  I smile up at him. “I love you too. I prefer to believe we were both in the right place at the right time and we still are.”

  “Let us all drink to that,” suggests Sir Phillip, pouring more cognacs. “This is a particularly decent brandy you have here, Francis. It almost makes up for all the claret guzzled by Mr. Smethurst during the four days he spent bellowing in rage as he ransacked my wine cellar. Still, it was all in a good cause.” He holds his glass aloft, a wriggling Cameron perched on his hip. “To truth and justice, wherever we may find it.”

  The End

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  More Stormy Night Books by Ashe Barker

  Faith

  Following her husband’s sudden, tragic death, Faith is left widowed after only six months of marriage. She wallows in grief until a neighbour, Ewan, reaches out to her. Although his work takes him away a great deal, Ewan slowly becomes Faith’s rock, helping her heal and encouraging her as she struggles to rebuild her life. As time passes, Faith grows more and more attracted to Ewan, but one thing holds her back: he is a dom, and she is not ready to be a sub.

  Though the idea of kneeling naked at Ewan’s feet excites her in a way she can’t fully understand, Faith fears that his sexual appetites would prove too much for her. But when he discovers that she has been exploring the lifestyle without his knowledge and hiding her activities from him, Ewan issues an ultimatum: either she becomes his submissive, or they go their separate ways. This is just the push Faith needs, and in the end her decision is not a difficult one.

  Ewan quickly proves to be a firm, commanding lover who is more than capable of mastering her completely. He challenges Faith’s boundaries and introduces her to a level of sensuality she never dreamed she could experience, and Faith soon finds herself at peace in a way she has not felt in years. But when fate takes another turn and she learns the truth about her husband’s death, can Faith count on Ewan to be by her side as she adjusts to a new reality yet again?

  The Widow is Mine (originally sold as part of The Conquered Brides, a multi-author collection)

  Since her husband’s untimely passing, Lady Natalia has resigned herself to a quiet life as a young widow and perhaps one day as a nun. But when her adopted home is conquered by the enemy, her world is turned upside down. After he rescues her from the chaos of Hohenzollern’s fall, Duke Stefan of Richtenholst cannot imagine allowing Natalia to languish behind the walls of a convent. The duke takes Natalia home as his wife, and he quickly proves himself ready to compel her obedience when it is necessary, but can he ever truly make her his own?

  Spirit

  When Matthew Logan offers a homeless young woman a bed for a few nights, he expects the girl to eat, sleep, recover from the flu, and then move on. Instead, in no time at all eighteen-year-old Beth Harte has captured his affections completely. Though Matt wants only to protect her and has no intention of sleeping with her, Beth has other ideas, and she proves to be very persuasive.

  But after Beth is attacked by a friend of Matt’s and subsequently learns for the first time that Matt is an experienced dominant, she is unable to separate the man she is growing to care about from her hateful memories of previous exploitation. Confused and frightened, she runs away.

  Almost six years pass be
fore Matt sees Beth again, and in that time his vulnerable little waif has reinvented herself as an artist. Now she has a stunning proposition for him and his environmental engineering company: to collaborate on a project fusing art and science to promote one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world. But when Matt demands to know what went wrong before, she tells him the truth, both about her childhood and about his friend’s actions.

  Matt is determined to make Beth’s abusers pay for their crimes, but he’s also not about to let her run away from him again. Can Beth bring herself to trust Matt despite her fears and give him the chance to love her and show her the pleasures of being his submissive, or will the wounds of her past keep her from trusting anyone ever again?

  Shared by the Highlanders

  After she becomes lost in a thick mist while hiking near the borders of Scotland, Charlene Kelly is shocked to encounter two men on horseback. To her horror, the pair—both of whom are dressed in Scottish tartans—accost her and won’t let her go. Though the men speak with accents so strong they seem to come from another era, Charlene is able to gather that they believe she is a thieving boy. Unsure what else to do, Charlene plays along.

  When Will Sinclair and Robbie MacBride discover that their captive is in fact a woman—and quite a beautiful one at that—there is only one thing to be done. She must be punished for her deception, and punished thoroughly. A switch applied to her bare bottom does the job well, and soon enough the two men are comforting Charlene as she nurses her bright red, sore backside.

  Upon learning that the highlanders are hand-carrying an important message from Elizabeth of England to the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, it finally dawns on Charlene that she is no longer in her own time. Though she is desperate to find a way home, Will and Robbie are both unlike any man she has ever met, and their unabashed dominance awakens in her a powerful need to submit. Soon enough, she finds herself blushing with shame and quivering with desire as she is taken long and hard by two rugged highlanders at once. But can these hardened warriors keep her safe from the perils of a world far more dangerous than the one she left behind?

  A Scandalous Arrangement

  After a foolish wager costs her brother ownership of the weaving mill in Yorkshire which provides her income, Victoria Wynne is left with no choice but to confront the man who took the bet and seek to dissuade him from claiming his prize. Unfortunately for her, that man turns out to be Adam Luke, an experienced, ambitious entrepreneur who is intent on keeping what he won.

  Upon meeting her, Adam is enchanted by Victoria’s beauty and charm as well as her nerve and self-reliance. Adam is a man of singular tastes, and when Victoria asks to manage the mill in return for a share of the profits, he offers her a bold proposal of his own. She will continue to run the mill as she has for years, but in return for a substantially larger portion of the profits she will also serve at his beck and call behind closed doors, submitting to him in any way he desires.

  Wanting to earn enough money to buy back the mill as quickly as possible—and with some part of her shamefully aroused by the thought of kneeling naked at Adam’s feet—Victoria accepts his terms. But submission initially proves difficult for a woman used to running her own affairs, and soon enough she finds herself bare-bottomed over his knee for a firm lesson in obedience.

  Adam’s plans for Victoria run much deeper than just an occasional spanking. She will be stripped naked, bound, and teased until she is aching for release, and then at last he will take her long and hard. As Adam continues to train her, teaching her to yield to his mastery while bringing her more pleasure than she ever thought possible, Victoria cannot help falling for him. But can a lifelong bond truly emerge from such a scandalous arrangement?

  Her Noble Lords

  After eighteen-year-old Linnet Routh is kidnapped from her home in Wellesworth castle by Ralf, the powerful, handsome Earl of Egremont, and his identical twin brother Piers, it quickly becomes clear to her that the seasoned warriors have mistaken her for someone else. Convinced that she is Lady Eleanor, a noblewoman who was promised in marriage to Ralf yet has refused to wed him, the brothers bring Linnet to a church with plans to compel her to speak her vows.

  Linnet attempts to steal a horse from Piers and make her escape, but when she is caught her efforts end up earning her a thorough, humiliating bare-bottom spanking. Though terribly embarrassed by the manner of her chastisement, she cannot help becoming helplessly—and shamefully—aroused by the punishment.

  When the brothers recognize the truth of Linnet’s claims at last, she expects to be cast aside as a mere commoner. To her surprise, however, they instead offer to make her their shared bride, and despite her misgivings about the idea Linnet agrees to the union. As they each take their turn to claim her, the pleasure of their dominant lovemaking leaves her yearning to be taken long and hard by both of them at once, and soon a passionate romance has grown between Linnet and her noble lords. But when tragedy strikes will it bring a permanent end to their newfound happiness?

  Ashe Barker Links

  You can find author interviews, excerpts of upcoming books, and general thoughts from Ashe Barker via her blog, her Twitter and Facebook pages, and her Goodreads profile, using the following links:

  http://www.ashebarker.com/

  https://twitter.com/ashebarker

  https://www.facebook.com/ashe.barker.9

  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7143377.Ashe_Barker