Michelle Willingham - Forbidden Night With The Warrior

One wicked night for an heir!

Rosamund de Courcy has always loved Warrick de Laurent, but was forced to marry another. Now her husband’s dying command is that she must provide him with an heir. To do so, she will have to spend one sinful night...with Warrick!

The powerful warrior was wounded by Rosamund’s abandonment years ago, and Warrick refuses to let her touch his heart again. But this illicit night is impossible to resist, and soon he is determined—he will not only possess her, but reclaim her for his own!

Warriors of the Night

Surrender to seduction…

Let Michelle Willingham sweep you away with her brand-new, thrillingly passionate Warriors of the Night miniseries. Be entranced by these darkly sexy warrior heroes, and follow them as they face their biggest challenge yet—falling in love!

Forbidden Night with the Warrior

Available now

Forbidden Night with the Highlander

Coming soon

Author Note

Forbidden Night with the Warrior is the first in a new series inspired by Indecent Proposal. When Rosamund de Courcy falls in love with Warrick de Laurent as a maiden her father forbids a union between them. The star-crossed lovers try to wed in secret, but Rosamund is forced to marry another man.

In this book I wanted to explore the idea of what might happen if a dying lord desperately needed an heir and offered a night with his wife to the man she’d always loved. It’s a story about second chances and wanting to right the wrongs of the past. And then, too, there is the question of which marriage was real…

Look for the second book in this series, Forbidden Night with the Highlander , which tells the story of Rhys de Laurent and Lianna MacKinnon. If you’d like me to email you when I have a new book out, please visit my website at michellewillingham.comto sign up for my newsletter. As a bonus, you’ll receive a free story just for subscribing!

Forbidden Night with the Warrior

Michelle Willingham

www.millsandboon.co.uk

RITA® Award finalist MICHELLE WILLINGHAM has written over twenty historical romances, novellas and short stories. Currently she lives in south-eastern Virginia with her husband and children. When she’s not writing, Michelle enjoys reading, baking and avoiding exercise at all costs. Visit her website at: michellewillingham.com.

Books by Michelle Willingham

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

and Mills & Boon Historical Undone! eBooks

Warriors of the Night

Forbidden Night with the Warrior

Warriors of Ireland

(Linked to The MacEgan Brothers)

Warrior of Ice

Warrior of Fire

The MacKinloch Clan

Claimed by the Highland Warrior

Seduced by Her Highland Warrior

Craving the Highlander’s Touch (Undone!)

Tempted by the Highland Warrior

The MacEgan Brothers

Her Irish Warrior

The Warrior’s Touch

Her Warrior King

Her Warrior Slave (prequel)

Taming Her Irish Warrior

Surrender to an Irish Warrior

Warriors in Winter

Visit the Author Profile page

at millsandboon.co.ukfor more titles.

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To Barb Massabrook, a bright spirit with a ready smile, a love for Scotland, and gorgeous men in kilts. You are one of the nicest women I’ve ever met, and I am so glad to call you my friend. As you fight this battle, know that we are with you always.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Warriors of the Night

Author Note

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

England—1174

‘You cannot ask this of me.’ Rosamund de Courcy stared at her husband in disbelieving shock. ‘It is a sin.’

Alan de Courcy, the Baron of Pevensham, leaned back against the pillow of their bed. His brown hair hung limply against his face, and his grey eyes were shielded with unending pain. He had grown weaker over the past three months, and though Rosamund prayed each night for his recovery, the shadow of death lingered over him. It terrified her to imagine him gone, for he had been a true friend through her darkest nightmares.

Now he wanted her to lie with another man to conceive the child they so desperately needed. The very idea was unthinkable.

‘We need an heir, ma petite. And I am incapable of giving you one.’ Her husband spoke of the proposition as if it were a business arrangement. ‘I will not let my brother inherit everything I have built. Owen would ruin Pevensham within a year.’

Rosamund paced before the hearth, her heart racing at the very thought of Alan’s command. How could he even imagine she would betray him in that way? She was a woman of honour, not an unfaithful wife.

Whispers of guilt pulled at her conscience, reminding her of the mistakes she had made as a young woman. But Alan knew nothing of them, and she had always been true to him during their marriage. She had paid the price for her sins, but the heartbreak haunted her still.

‘I have been nothing but loyal to you,’ she insisted to Alan. ‘For three years, I have obeyed you. Why would you ask this of me?’

‘Because you do not want Owen to inherit, either. You know what he would do to you when I am gone.’ His voice held a trace of ice, and she understood his unspoken words. If Owen took possession of Pevensham, he would force his unwanted attentions upon her. She suppressed a shiver of revulsion.

‘But...to lie with another man when I am married to you? You ask too much of me. I could never do such a thing.’ She closed her eyes, gripping the edges of her skirt. The union between a man and a woman was not painful, but she had never enjoyed it with Alan. He had been so careful, treating her with such gentleness. But there was no thrill of passion between them, hardly more than a gesture of marital comfort.

Alan had tried to please her, though he’d sensed her distance when he had claimed her body. Because of it, he had not asked that she share his bed often. And in the half-year since he’d fallen ill, she had not lain with him once.

‘I have asked Warrick de Laurent to come to Pevensham. He will be here within a sennight.’

An icy chill suffused her skin, and she felt light-headed for a moment. Warrick was the man she had loved since she was a maiden. Tall and strong, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, she had wanted him desperately. Never had she forgotten the fierce warrior who had haunted her dreams. Or the way his kiss had awakened her body, arousing her blood.

‘I cannot lie with him,’ Rosamund insisted. For if she did, it would threaten the very foundation of her marriage. Her throat constricted with a flood of memories she couldn’t face. She had closed off her heart to what would never be, accepting Alan and becoming a proper wife.