Weekend Writing Warriors ~ 02/03/19 Beleaguered:

My 10 year celebration continues with the reveal of the new cover for Beleaguered. 🙂

 

Beleaguered is the third and final book of the original Time Enough to Love (there is a short story and a novella with the same characters).

It is 1348 in England, at the court of King Edward III. Edward’s daughter, Princess Joanna, is about to journey to Spain to marry Prince Pedro. This is the story of some of the princess’s courtiers.

In this book, Alyse, Thomas, and Geoffrey sail with the Princess to France, where unbeknownst to the party, the Black Death is raging. Also unbeknownst to Alyse, her feelings for Geoffrey are not quite as dead as she believed they were. In this snippet, Alyse is dancing with Geoffrey at Thomas’s command.

(Creative punctuation utilized to conform to WWW rules and snippet may therefore be slightly different from published version.)

Then they were circling one another, hands clasped, arms rubbing intimately — oh, yes, the fire between them burned hot as ever, searing her where they touched. The figure reversed, scorching her other side. Her gaze locked onto Geoffrey’s, and the music, the dancers, the Great Hall and all its inhabitants melted away until all that was left was the whisper of his breath in her ear and the heat of his body pressed close against her.

He leaned in closer to murmur, “I must lift you now.”

Before she could grasp that staggering news, his arm went around her waist and he lifted her, twirling them around and around. She panted, blood pounding in her temples and roaring in her ears.

They continued to dance, but she moved as a doll made of rags, her legs barely able to bear her weight. Her world narrowed to the single source of light and life that was the man who held her in his arms again, the man whose love she could no longer deny. Despite the agony of the betrayal, in the core of her being she knew neither the vows she had spoken to Thomas nor the passion they had found in his bed would ever match the intensity of the love and belonging she shared with Geoffrey. As soon compare a candle’s flame to the sun.

BLURB:  

When death holds sway in the world, can even the greatest love survive?

Finally in France, Alyse and Thomas return to their roles as courtiers to Princess Joanna. Their passion for one another continues to smolder hot and deep—until one fateful encounter changes everything.

During a formal banquet, Alyse must share an intimate dance with Geoffrey, her first love. His searing touch proves Alyse’s love and desire for him is as strong as when they first met. Tormented by this revelation, Alyse is bitterly torn between the love of her life and her love for her husband.

Into this agonizing situation, the disaster of the Black Death rears its head, decimating the princess’s retinue and threatening all their lives. Alyse, Thomas and Geoffrey must try to save the princess from the ravening disease but at a dire cost to themselves. With her world plunged into chaos, Alyse struggles with her feelings for both of the men she loves. But which love will survive?

Beleaguered is available on sale for .99 on Amazon for two more days!

 

And don’t forget to check out the rest of the Warriors here. There’s some fantastic snippets to be read.

Time Enough to Love series by Jenna Jaxon