The Consummation, Book 3 in Shay Savage’s Unexpected Circumstances series is now available. Don’t miss this bodice ripper!
The third book in Shay Savage’s EPIC seven part series in out today!
Unexpected Circumstances is a series of historical romance novellas that follows Alexandra, a (former) handmaid, as she begins a whirlwind marriage to Sir Branford Sterling, heir to the throne of Silverhelm.
Alexandra has a lot to learn about being a wife, a lady of the court, and eventually a queen. Branford isn’t the easiest of men, but something about Alexandra softens him. HistRom fans, trust me, you have to pick this up ASAP!
The first and second books (The Handmaid, The Seduction) are already out and book 3, The Consummation, is available today! (The Shortcoming = 7/12/2016; Book 5 = 7/26/2016; Book 6 = 8/9/2016; Book 7 = 8/23/2016).
Thanks to Shay, we have The Consummation‘s summary and cover, along with THREE excerpts. Check them out below:
With steady patience, Sir Branford teaches his young wife the pleasures that are to be found in their marital chambers. Though still unsure of herself, Alexandra begins to open herself to the possibilities of her new life. As Branford expresses his desire to have more than a simple political marriage, Alexandra begins to see a brand new side of her husband.
Alexandra soon discovers there is more to being Sir Branford’s wife that sharing his bed. When the lives of nobles rest in her hands, she finally begins to understand the importance of her position in the court and in her husband’s life.
Excerpt #1
“I desire you so much,” he mumbled into the skin at the base of my neck. “I have never…never wanted a woman this badly.”
His words both thrilled and terrified me, for there was a part of me that was glad to have him say such things—to know he wanted me as a husband was supposed to want his wife—but there was still another that remembered how a man’s lust could overcome him. He may do something he would not have done had he been in his right mind.
Still, my skin tingled beneath his touch, and I told myself he would not hurt me—Branford had promised he wouldn’t—as he began to unbutton his jacket. He only got through the first couple of buttons before he was kissing me again while his hands trailed down my sides. They came around to my stomach and then made their way back up to the ties of my bodice. I offered no protest while he undressed me. As he exposed my skin, Branford stopped for a moment and turned to me sharply.
“You are mine,” Branford said sternly as his hands captured my face. His eyes bore into me, his look so intense I could not speak at first. He looked angry, frightened, and elated all at once. “Only mine—ever.”
“Yours,” I finally said quietly, and his lips crashed back to mine. With an open mouth, he claimed first my lips, then my tongue, then my chin and my throat. I kept my grip on his hair as he worked at the ties of my dress. He was having trouble with the laces and growled at the knots as he pulled at them. When they loosened, he dropped his head to my chest, and I could feel his warm breath as he kissed at the top of my breasts.“So beautiful.” His words touched my bare skin just before he tilted his head to look up at me with half-closed eyes. “I want to see you…all of you.”
I could only nod dumbly as his hands pushed slowly, softly, and the sleeves of the dress fell away from my arms, leaving me bare from my head to my waist. I could hear my husband’s rapid breaths as his dark eyes—somehow untouched by the afternoon light—gazed from my shoulders to my breasts, his mouth open just enough to drag his tongue over his bottom lip. He released my arms and leaned back on his heels, unbuttoning the rest of his jacket and tossing it off to the side, near my riding cloak. His gaze met mine again, and he kept it focused on me as he loosened the waist of his pants and pulled his shirt up over his head.
Even when I had my hands on his chest and his back to wash him, it had been by the dim light of the fire and candles—never in the sunshine. Now I could see him quite clearly, and those wonderful lines decorated his chest and stomach with the outline of each and every muscle. Indeed, his skin was so beautiful, so radiant, he seemed to shimmer in the sun’s beams.
Excerpt #2
“I would prefer to lie here with you all day,” he said, “but I don’t suppose we’ll be given that option since a troop of kitchen workers bearing breakfast will likely be here any moment. Besides, there is something I need to do today, and you will accompany me.”
“Where are we going?”
“I have a tournament at Sawyer Fort in four days,” Branford told me. “My squires exercise my horse daily, but I need to check on him and do some of his exercising myself. Besides, it looks like it will be a beautiful day.”Branford indicated the beams of sunshine already peeking through the windows. I nodded in agreement.
“It does,” I agreed. “Should we rise now?”
“I already have,” Branford said with a smirk, which I didn’t understand.
“What do you mean?” I asked, but Branford only chuckled in response. He placed his lips against my cheek, then across my jaw.“Tomorrow morning, maybe I will keep you here for a while longer,” he said, his mouth kissing slowly against the side of my neck. He slid his hand up my side, and his thumb lightly traced the edge of my breast. I gasped as I suddenly understood what he was insinuating.
“In the morning?” I asked, a little shocked and not altogether sure if he was serious or not.
“I would touch you more now if I didn’t think we would be interrupted,” Branford confirmed.I could not believe what he was saying. I had always assumed such activity was reserved for nighttime, under the cover of sheets and darkness. Would he really wish to do such things when we first awoke? Was it even an appropriate thing to do?
“People…I mean…it’s acceptable to do…that in the morning?”
Branford’s gaze shined down at me, and the corner of his mouth turned up ever so slightly as he leaned in close enough to whisper in my ear.
“Alexandra, if you will allow me to have my way, I am going to want you in the night when we go to bed and when we wake up each and every morning.” His tongue danced across the skin of my throat, and his words became dark and soft. “I’m going to want you after breakfast near the fire in the morning room. I will attempt to seduce you in the stables at midday. I’ll want you by moonlight in the gardens. I would love to take you on Camden’s throne if I thought I could get away with it. Someday, when the throne is mine, I will have you there.”
Excerpt #3
He ran his tongue first over one nipple, then the other, while his thumb and fingers continued touching between my legs and making my hips rise up of their own accord.
Branford’s fingers dipped farther inside of me, and I felt them curl up as I stiffened and cried out in short, panting breaths. His fingers retreated quickly, leaving me suddenly empty and somewhat confused.
At the same time, he released my breast from his lips and made a light trail down the center of my body, stopping at my navel. My fingers moved from his shoulder to his hair, and I let the wonderfully soft strands glide between my fingers. Branford’s gaze tilted upwards, looking at me, smiling his half smile, and making my stomach clench inside. While his eyes were still locked with mine, he reached out with his tongue and ran the edge of it around my navel, and I shivered. Branford grinned, kissed the skin just below the little indentation, then started moving farther down. Much farther down.
“What are you doing?” I breathed, my eyes wide.
“Kissing you,” he responded with an arch of his brow. He tilted his head and kissed first one hipbone, then the other. He slid his hand down my side, over my hip, down my leg, and then curled around my knee. He lifted my leg, laying it over his shoulder while he continued to watch my face. As his intent became clearer to me, my breath caught in my throat, and I whimpered.“Branford…”
“Shh…”I felt his lips brush softly over the skin of my inner thigh, and he slowly continued a line of kisses up the inside of my leg while I lay back, horrified at what he was doing. I remembered the feeling of his fingers between my legs, stroking and fondling me until I was screaming out for him in the middle of the forest, and I remembered the feeling of his tongue across my bare
My breath escaped me in gasps as his tongue reached out and took a long lick from my opening to the tiny, intense spot at the top of my folds. His darkened eyes stayed trained to mine as he swirled the tip of his tongue in a small circle around the little nub. I whimpered, panted, and grasped at the blanket below me as his lips joined his tongue, wrapping around my flesh—licking and sucking as he had done to my breasts only moments before. An instant later, his fingers joined his mouth, and I felt him slide them slowly back into me—moving in and out leisurely as his tongue circled and pressed against me.
Add The Consummation to Goodreads and download your copy today!
You can already pre-order the upcoming fourth book, The Shortcoming, too!
Shay is also taking part in the HUGE July 4th $1100 EXPLOSION Author HOP and Giveaway. Go HERE for more information and to enter!
About Shay Savage
Shay Savage lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her family and a variety of household pets. She is an accomplished public speaker, and holds the rank of Distinguished Toastmaster from Toastmasters International. When not writing, she enjoys science fiction movies, masquerading as a zombie, is a HUGE Star Wars fan, and member of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers. When the geek fun runs out, she also loves soccer in any and all forms – especially the Columbus Crew, Arsenal and Bayern Munich. Savage holds a degree in psychology, and she brings a lot of that knowledge into the characters within her stories.
