BTS Presents: "The Mercenary's Marriage" by Rachel Rossano Review Tour/Promo

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Trained as a mercenary soldier, Darius Laris was a man of decisive action. He was also a man of compassion. Seeing a young slave woman about to become the spoils of war, he claimed her for his own. Marrying her before God and king, he made her a free and respectable soldier's wife. Brice Ashlyn was born a slave. Abused and beaten, she learned quickly to avoid being noticed and to stay away from men. When her master's walls fell to enemy forces, she ran, but not fast enough. In Darius' offer she found deliverance, but experience had taught her to fear power such as his. Could she trust in his protection, or had she traded one form of slavery for another?

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Excerpt from The Mercenary’s Marriage by Rachel Rossano –

            They stopped in the late afternoon near a river, but neither one of them dismounted. Brice longed to stretch her numb legs and aching back, but Darius had other ideas. He guided their mount straight into the river. Brice tensed as the animal’s head lowered to drink. The muscles in her back clenched and she carefully peered down past her feet. Swift-flowing water coursed between the horse’s legs. The animal was standing knee high in the river.

            “We are just stopping for the horses to drink,” Darius said from behind her. The horse slurped loudly to emphasize the obvious. A heavy silence fell between them. Brice looked around. Other horses were similarly occupied, but none were as far from shore as them.

            Darius sighed. “I was going to wait until tonight to do this, but since we must wait for the horses….” He shifted his weight and used the arm that had been around her waist to reach for something. Brice panicked. Curling her fingers around the front edge of the saddle, she prayed desperately the beast would not move. All it would take was a small nudge and she would fall right into the river. “There it is,” her companion muttered. “Hold still.”

            Rough leather covered fingers encircled the left side of her neck. Brice shivered and forgot about her fear of falling. What is he doing? Her throat closed and she considered screaming. Who would stop him? No one would. He could do as he willed with her. She was his property. A glint in her peripheral vision was the only warning she was given before cold metal touched her throat.

            “Hold still,” Darius instructed again. Tears filled Brice’s eyes. He is going to kill me, she thought as the metal moved against her skin. She squeezed her eyes closed and willed the tears not to fall. I will not die a coward. Courage. Her heart raced as his grip on her slave collar tightened. Then suddenly, with a sharp jerk, it was gone; her collar was gone.

            No sooner had she realized what he had just done than his hand was back at her throat. Tilting her chin up, he bent his head to examine her neck.

            “Good,” he said mildly. He sheathed his blade and then asked, “Do you want to keep it?” He extended his left hand so she could see the strip of leather that lay there. It was strange looking, lying there limp and broken. Brice never thought she would see it in someone’s hand. Shaking, she turned her face away. “I don’t blame you,” he said. Flinging it into the water, Darius gathered the reins and urged the horse to raise his head.

            Tears coursed down Brice’s face. They were not tears of joy. I don’t understand. She had never felt so confused and afraid in her life. This man does not make sense and it scares me.

Available in print through Lulu Publishing and Amazon

Available in multiple ebook formats Smashwords and Amazon

Check out the author's website here.
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