Though this is NOT my cover, who can resist a photo of Jay Tavare?? HMM?? Not I!!
Blurb:
Two cultures, two lives, one path.
Rendered helpless, captured and stripped, Elizabeth Smythe is taken away from her privileged life and everything she knows. Her captor, Spirit Walker, treats her with gentle compassion, winning her trust and love. Elizabeth discovers Spirit Walker is so much more then just a strong man and beautiful Earth Spirit.
When Spirit Walker receives word a woman he admires has been given to a neighboring tribe to dispose of, he rescues her. Despite not knowing who or what he is, she shows neither fear nor weakness toward him or her fate. Her strength earns his respect and more important, his heart. Opposition from both of their cultures tries to separate them. Can their love withstand the heat?
Excerpt:
Thick darkness shrouded the world in a stifling and sticky blanket. The ink of night replaced the sweltering heat of the sun, offering little respite. The temperature seemed unaffected by any shift in the earth’s cycles this time of year and not a breath of air stirred the heavy atmosphere. Despite the humid night, a small fire snapped and hissed, struggling to burn the damp, moss-covered logs in the center of a large copse of thick trees. The dancing firelight within a small circle of stones cast it’s eerie flicker, warding off the darkness in it’s small space. Acrid smoke hung in the air, held down by the heavy canopy of leaves and evergreen boughs far above.
Elizabeth Smythe struggled to raise her head, but the agony of it made everything spin and her belly knot in a painful clench. A primal sense prickled over her, foretelling of danger. Despite the pain, she remained quiet and still, listening to the sharp voices around her with clouded confusion. With her chin low, touching her bare, sweat-slicked chest, she dared only to take shallow breaths. Fear kept her motionless, too afraid to move lest she be discovered awake. Foggy awareness slid through her mind as her senses began to awaken and her heavy, grainy lids fluttered to moisten her eyes. She moved her lips in an effort to moisten her mouth and found her thick tongue as dry as her cracked lips.
Foreign and angry sounding words bickered around her. Moving her head as little as possible, she craned her eyes as far as she dared to see. Golden light flickered over naked torsos and faces, illuminating and distorting appearances that bright paint disguised even further. Her blood ran cold and she couldn’t help the fear squeezing the gasp from her lungs. Biting her lower lip to fight back the sob was all she could do without being noticed. Bare thighs crouched around the small circle of smoking flames, some stood in breechcloths behind, guarding their brethren from within the heavier shadows. Terrifying colors of war paint around hard, glittering eyes, marked their dangerous intent as each moved with lethal and lithe grace.
Elizabeth closed her eyes again, letting her head drop down further. She had heard stories, awful stories, of what could happen to a young woman. Her mind ached as she tried to recall how she had gotten here, and why. There was too much pain, too much confusion and all she could draw upon was a blank memory.
Blinking, she lifted her eyes again, this time a little further, to watch the preoccupied men. A pouch handed over to a large warrior with broad shoulders seemed to satisfy him enough to quiet the banter going on among them. He examined the contents, drew the pouch closed and tied it to his breechcloth’s belt. He stood and the others followed. Elizabeth quickly diverted her eyes and dropped her chin. The voices began to die down quickly, along with the fire, and the men began dwindling away, one by one. Uncertainty was the only thing left for her. What were they going to do with her? Would they kill her? How? Why?
