Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another snippet from my story, Chasing the Chambermaid, from Duty Bound – a reverse harem collection featuring stories from myself, Felicity Brandon, Katie Douglas and Lily Harlem. You can buy it or read it as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

“Aye.” He nodded, which flipped some strands of his ginger hair into his eyes. He shoved them away with the impatient scrape of a hand. “Like Frances said, ye were in quite the state when I found ye. Wetter than a loch, shivering worse than anything I’ve ever seen, yer teeth chattering and all. I dumped all me tools where I stood and tried to help ye. Wake ye up—but ye were seriously out of it. I gave up in the end, just scooped ye up and brought ye back here. Thought it was for the best. Frances took over then—she got ye undressed and warmed ye up. And not a moment too soon, I reckon.” He absentmindedly scratched his beard, the same burnished-copper colour as his hair, then gave a decisive nod. “I’m mighty glad ye are all right. Like Frances said, ye had us worried.”

“Will’s right,” Frances put in, drawing Connie’s attention back to her—a shame, really, as she much preferred looking at Will. “You can’t go anywhere now. Well, you can, if you want. You’re not a prisoner here, obviously. What I mean is, it’s dark, it’s cold, and it’s wet. Surely wherever you need to be can wait until tomorrow? You’re welcome to stay here another night. This room is spare at the moment anyway.” She paused. “Is there anyone you need to call? Anyone who will be wondering where you are?”

Connie swallowed hard, hoping her voice wouldn’t betray her. She shook her head. “No. I don’t need to call anyone.” Well, that was true, at least. She deliberately ignored the second question, hoping Frances would think the answer Connie had just given covered that, too.
He would most definitely be wondering where she was, would be out looking for her. Her friends and family, on the other hand, wouldn’t yet know anything was amiss. Not until the letter Connie had posted near King’s Cross Station landed on the doormat at her mother’s house, anyway. And that wouldn’t have happened too quickly, given the sheer amount of post which went through the system in central London, plus she’d deliberately used a second-class stamp, buying herself some time to put plenty of distance between her and her home. Her old life.

She’d worked her week’s notice at her job, so her boss—ex-boss, now—wouldn’t be expecting to see her again. All ends were neatly tied up. Or at least as tied up as they could be when you’d done what Connie had done. Had a mental breakdown, then taken off and left everything behind.

She forced a smile. “Thank you. For everything. Again. And yes, if that’s all right, I will stay another night. Then I’ll be out of your way tomorrow morning.”

Frances watched her for a moment or two, as though assessing her, then nodded slowly. “Of course. You’re very welcome. And welcome to stay. There’s no need to rush off tomorrow, though. Get up whenever you’re ready. The clothes you were wearing have been laundered and dried, and everything in your bag has been dried.” She gave a wry grin. “It wasn’t just you and your clothes that got soaked through.” Jerking her head towards a door off to her right, she went on, “Bathroom’s through there. Plenty of hot water for a shower. In the morning, make sure you go down and get some breakfast. The kitchen is out of this door,” she pointed behind her, “turn left and make your way to the end of the corridor, where you’ll find the stairs. Go down to the ground floor, and the kitchen is your first door on the left. Whoever is in there will find you something to eat and drink. Then please, come and find me before you leave, just so I know you’re all right. Okay?”

Grab your copy now: http://mybook.to/dutybound

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Mid Week Tease! Here’s another snippet from Duty Bound – a reverse harem collection featuring stories from myself, Felicity Brandon, Katie Douglas and Lily Harlem. You can buy it or read it as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription. I’ll be sharing a few snippets from my story, Chasing the Chambermaid.

I wouldn’t? She hoped she’d stifled her surprise. Guess I’m determined to protect myself, even when I’m totally out of it. “I, uh,” heat bloomed in her cheeks, and she shifted uncomfortably beneath the bedclothes, “I’m feeling okay, I guess. Tired, and I ache all over, but it could have been worse, all things considered.”

“Aye,” Frances replied, sterner now. “It could have. You could have been suffering with hypothermia. You’ve been incredibly lucky. So, what’s your name, honey? And why are you so petrified of doctors?”

Petrified of…? The penny dropped. Of course—that was the conclusion they’d drawn when she’d insisted she didn’t want to go to hospital, or see a doctor. Still, it was better to let them keep believing that than have them know that, technically speaking, she was on the run and was desperate to keep her identity, her location, a secret.

And she was desperate. She didn’t want him tracking her down, trying to persuade her to go back home with him. She wanted him out of her life for good, having put up with his shit for far too long. He’d find her eventually, she was sure, but she’d be stronger then, after some time away. More able to stand up for herself. To tell him to get lost and leave her alone. If she could just keep her identity under wraps, not leave or create any kind of trail leading to her, for as long as possible, everything would be all right. It had to be. She couldn’t go back to how things were.

She forced herself to respond before she aroused their suspicions—if she hadn’t done that already, that was. “My name’s Connie Smith.”

The first name was accurate, of course, and she wasn’t carrying any documents which proved the surname to be a lie. So they could either believe her, or not. Their choice. “And the doctor thing… well,” she let out a humourless laugh to buy herself some time to come up with something, “let’s just say I had a traumatic experience as a small child, and I’ve never quite got over it.” They were total strangers, surely they wouldn’t press her for any more information than that? She hoped not—the more complex lies became, the easier it was for them to trip you up. The key to getting out of the other side of this situation was keeping it simple.

Frances’s pretty face creased into a sympathetic expression. “Oh, I’m sorry, honey. Connie,” she corrected herself, “that must have been so awful for you. Of course you wouldn’t want to see a doctor. Anyway, enough of that—you seem much better now. Out of the woods, as the saying goes.”

“Yes.” Connie nodded emphatically. “And I’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible.” She looked around, taking in more detail of the small room, and the fact the light filling it was artificial. The curtains were tightly closed, without a smidgen of brightness shining through or around them. It was night time, then. Shit. She couldn’t very well take off in the dark—not unless she wanted to end up in this situation yet again, but perhaps without anyone finding her. Or someone dodgy finding her, or even someone unsympathetic to her plight and eager to turn her in to the police, who could well be looking for her, if he’d filed a missing person’s report. Hopefully he hadn’t. Hopefully his stupid masculine pride wouldn’t have allowed it. It would mean people finding out she’d left him, after all. “Um, what time is it? What day is it, actually?” She scratched her head, immediately regretting it when she felt the state of the bird’s nest which used to be her hair.

Will laughed, but not unkindly. “Bless ye, hen. Ye’ve had a bit of a time of it, haven’t ye?” He pushed up the cuff of his well-worn sweatshirt and checked his watch. “It’s almost half past eight. At night,” he added, a twinkle in his blue eyes. “Ye cannae go anywhere now, lass. And it’s Friday. I found ye on Wednesday. The Wednesday two days ago, that is.”

Connie gaped at him. “Two days ago? I’ve been asleep for two days?” No wonder I’m dying for a pee.

Grab your copy now: http://mybook.to/dutybound

Don’t forget to check out all the other blogs taking part!