The Laird and the
Sassenach
By Ashe Barker
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Stormy Night, 2016
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Released 30 December 2016
●
Historical erotic romance, Highland romance
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Approximately 73,000 words
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HEA ending
#eroticromance #ashebarker #discipline
#dominance #spanking #Scottishromance #Highlanders #historicalromance
#meninkilts
Tag Lines
● Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Laird
● A highland warrior with a score to settle
● She faces justice, truth, and a Laird’s vengeance
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Blurb
After her half-brother attacks the
kinsmen of Blair McGregor, Lady Roselyn of Etal is brought before the stern
highland laird to answer for her reluctant, unwitting role in the crime. Once
she has told her story, she throws herself at his mercy.
Blair soon realizes that Roselyn is
as much a victim of her half-brother as anyone, but his people’s demands for
justice cannot be ignored entirely, so he strips the young Englishwoman bare
and chastises her firmly with a switch applied to her naked backside.
The painful, humiliating punishment
both assuages Roselyn’s guilt and leaves her yearning to be even more
thoroughly mastered by the handsome laird. Though Blair makes it clear that she
is free to return home, she instead chooses to remain with the him in his
castle… and in his bed. Their passion soon blossoms into romance, but can the
highlander protect his beautiful Sassenach when the villain who caused them
both so much pain tries to tear her away from him?
Publisher’s Note: The Laird and the Sassenach includes
spankings and sexual scenes. If such material offends you, please don’t buy
this book.
Blog post Introduction
The Laird and the Sassenach is a story of a
man with justice to mete out, and a dilemma to face. Sometimes the truth seems
to stare us in the face, at other times it may be not so clear where the blame
lies. In the middle ages, of course, matters of crime and punishment, guilt or
innocence were simple enough. The social hierarchies of the time placed
authority and power in few hands and there were no qualifications required
which entitled the privileged to rule. They were just handed the job and the
common folk had to hope their leaders would turn out to be wise and fair.
Sometimes they got lucky, and The Laird
and the Sassenach is a story of one such instance.
I love to write
historical stories. I am especially drawn to Highland fantasies, and why not?
Who can resist the soaring Scottish scenery and sexy men in kilts. I find
myself fascinated by that heady cocktail of honour and lawlessness, the
atmospheric sensuality of the time and the way an all-powerful laird will
reveal his soft centre just when it matters. But the Sassenach in the story
also has her little quirks and faces some unique challenges. And look out for
an unlikely star of the show. Freya the wolfhound has her part to play and I
absolutely adored her.
I hope readers
enjoy The Laird and the Sassenach as
much as I loved writing it
Author Interview
This is entirely
optional, but if you want to make a more individual post, please feel free to
select up to 6 Q&As to include – your choice which ones you use.
1.
So, tell us a bit more about Blair. He’s stern
and sexy, with a twitchy palm, but what else is there to know?
Well, I think you
just about covered the basics there. Blair has a strong sense of duty, and of
justice. He knows that he has to satisfy the demands of the McGregor clan who
expect to see justice done but he is unwilling to do so at the expense of an
innocent woman. Blair is determined to know the truth and to apportion blame
where it should lie, but he is also an implacable enemy. If he discovers that
Roselyn is to blame he will not hesitate to make her answer for her crimes.
2.
How many books have you written? Are they all
historical or spanking fiction?
I have over forty
titles out now, and they are all erotic stories. About a dozen of them are historical
novels. Some have more of a BDSM vibe going on and some are spanking/domestic
discipline. At first I wrote just contemporary stories, then I started adding a
few historicals and sci-fis. I love the variety.
3.
Why do you enjoy writing historical fiction?
History was my
favourite lesson at school, though some periods are more fascinating to me than
others. I always preferred the medieval or even earlier times, though the
Victoriuans were an interesting bunch too. In many ways life was simpler in the
past, if a lot more brutal, and of course some of the moral issues we would
have to deal with in a contemporary setting don’t apply. Inequality was the
norm. Women were expected to obey – or else. A spanking author can have a field
day.
4.
What advice would you have for writers who decide
to try their hand at erotica?
I’d tell them to
have a go, but to have a decent thesaurus to hand. And an internet connection.
Youtube is the erotica writer’s friend.
5.
Do you see writing as a career?
Yes. I try to be fairly ordered about it.
I like to be at my desk (well, more accurately the kitchen table) laptop fired
up and coffee to hand, by nine in the morning and I tend to write for most of
the day then. There are also a lot of related tasks to keep on top of, mainly
to do with promo or research, or keeping in touch with readers and other
authors. It’s definitely a full-time job for me.
6.
Do you recall how your interest in writing
originated?
I think it was always there, though I
only started writing properly about three years ago. I have always tended to
plot stories in my head though, often when sitting in traffic jams on my daily
commute. I now work at home so all that time spent inhaling exhaust fumes is
finally paying off.
7.
If you could have been told one thing that you weren't
told when you were a teenager, what would you like to have heard?
I was given lots of advice as a teenager,
much of it unsolicited and not especially good. I think we all have to make our
own mistakes, but hopefully I haven’t made the same mistake to many times. That
would be sad.
Looking back, I think the most important
thing I picked up along the way was that we all have choices, all the time.
We’re entitled to choose our own way in life, but we should also be ready to
own and accept the consequences of our decisions.
Someone once invited me to cast my mind
forward to a time perhaps sixty years from now when I’ll be long-gone and my
daughter (currently eighteen) is herself entering old age. Imagine she’s
talking to her grandchildren, telling them about me. What would I like her to
be saying? My actions now, today, will dictate what those obituaries might be
so don’t leave it until later to be the sort of person you want to be
remembered as.
8.
If you had to describe yourself using three
words, it would be…
Resilient. Creative.
Calm.
9.
What would you do if you were the last person on
this earth?
Turn out the
lights.
10.
If you were to write a book about yourself, what
would you name it?
I think at some
level or other they are all a little bit about me. I could never write a book
about a heroine I didn’t actually like or identify with in some way. Or a hero
I couldn’t relate to and wouldn’t want to meet. Maybe I’d call my autobiography
Made a Difference, because I hope
that would be true. Perhaps that should be on my gravestone rather than a book
cover, come the day.
Excerpt (18+)
“Will you beat me again?”
“Aye, if you deserve it. For disobedience
or disrespect. I am master here and that will apply to all. But you would not
find me cruel. Indeed, I believe you would find pleasure in what I offer.”
“Pleasure, my lord? I do not quite take
your meaning.”
“Will you not own to the slightest
stirring? You may deny your arousal but your body betrays ye, Roselyn. Your
nipples are swollen, your eyes have darkened as you consider my offer. I
believe if you were to spread your thighs for me now I would find you wet.”
“Wet?” She drew in a shuddering breath.
“My nipples… it is chilly in here.”
“Nay, it is not. I banked up the fire
afore I woke you. Stop making excuses and open your legs for me, Roselyn.”
“I will not.”
“Yes, you will, and you will do it now.”
“I…”
He trailed his fingers the length of her
body, tracing a path between her breasts and across her flat stomach to her
mound. There he teased the auburn curls which protected her most intimate
place.
“Open for me.” He leaned in to whisper
the words into her ear, his familiar male smell overwhelming her senses. He was
spice, and he was musk, heather, pine, and something mysteriously unique, an
essence which was only his.
Roselyn was lost, mesmerised. She rolled
fully onto her back, even managed not to wince as her weight settled on her
punished buttocks. Bending her knees a little, she allowed him to tease her
thighs apart. His slid his hand between her legs and stroked her moist folds.
“Ah, so deliciously damp. Roselyn, you do
indeed delight me.”
“My lord…” She was lost, her words buried
under the waves of pure sensation. “What are you doing to me?”
“I am pleasuring ye, sweetheart. Be still
for me, and open wider.”
As though in a trance, wrapped in fog of
unaccustomed sensuality, Roselyn obeyed. She arched her back and let out a
sharp cry as he slipped one long finger into her wet channel.
He paused. “Did I hurt ye?”
She shook her head. “No. It was… oh,
please do that once more if you would.”
He thrust his finger into her again, then
added a second digit. Unfamiliar sensations assailed Roselyn, both confusing
and exciting. And intense. It was incredible, unbelievable. Her head whirled.
She felt tight, stretched, yet at the same time she wanted nothing other than
to spread her body open, to welcome this intrusion. He was right, this was about pleasure. It was a strange
sort of joy, but she craved it nonetheless.
“That feels good, my lord.”
“My title is laird, not lord, but I
believe we are on first name terms now. You will use my given name, most
particularly when my fingers or indeed any part of my anatomy is lodged within
your sweet cunt.”
“Oh, God…”
“Nay, just Blair will do.” He withdrew his
fingers and resumed stroking her outer lips. He found a spot which brought
Roselyn’s hips right up from the mattress. “Ah, now I see I have your complete
attention. Perhaps you might like to practice using my name.” He paused in his
sensuous rubbing and Roselyn moaned her need.
“Say my name,” he urged.
“Blair.” She whispered it.
He resumed the torturous caress. “Again.
Say it again. Louder.”
She raised her voice a little. “Blair.”
“Better. And you will scream my name when
you find your release.”
“My…?”
He took that most sensitive nubbin
between his fingers and he squeezed. Something clenched within, deep in her
core, and Roselyn longed for his fingers to be inside her tight channel again.
She yearned to be filled, stretched, owned.
“Could you…? Blair, I need…”
“I know.” He continued to roll her
sensitive flesh between his fingers, whilst he used his free hand to open that
most secret place and plunged two digits into her again.
It was too much. Roselyn could no longer
speak, could not even form a coherent thought. She could only feel as
irresistible shudders rocked her slight form and her inner walls clenched
helplessly around his fingers. She arched further, lifting her hips, pleading
for something, anything…
“Oh, Blair. Blair, Blair, Blair!” She let out a keening wail as
the sensations peaked and her body convulsed, then, gasping, she stilled.
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More about Ashe Barker
USA Today best-selling author Ashe Barker has been an avid
reader of fiction for many years, erotic and other genres. She still loves
reading, the hotter the better. But now she has a good excuse for her guilty
pleasure – research.
Ashe tends to draw on her own experience to lend colour,
detail and realism to her plots and characters. An incident here, a chance
remark there, a bizarre event or quirky character, any of these can spark a
story idea.
Ashe lives in the North of England, on the edge of the
Brontë moors and enjoys the occasional flirtation with pole dancing and
drinking Earl Grey tea. When not writing – which is not very often these days -
her time is divided between her role as taxi driver for her teenage daughter,
and caring for a menagerie of dogs, tortoises.
And a very grumpy cockatiel.
At the last count Ashe had over forty titles on general
release with publishers on both sides of the Atlantic, and several more in the
pipeline. She writes M/f, M/M, and occasionally rings the changes with a little
M/M/f. Ashe’s books invariably feature BDSM. She writes explicit stories,
always hot, but offering far more than just sizzling sex. Ashe likes to read
about complex characters, and to lose herself in compelling plots, so that’s
what she writes too.
Ashe has a pile of story ideas still to work through, and
keeps thinking of new ones at the most unlikely moments, so you can expect to
see a lot more from her.
Anita
