Abducted.
Humbled. Claimed.
Blurb
After she is captured by Viking raiders,
twenty-five-year-old Mairead is left with no choice but to depend on Gunnar
Freysson, the battle-hardened leader of the Norsemen, to protect her and her
young children. Though he makes it clear that she is his property to do with as
he pleases, Gunnar shows remarkable concern for Mairead’s wellbeing, and when
she risks her life in a dangerous attempt at escape he does not hesitate to
strip her bare and spank her soundly.
The strict punishment leaves Mairead
thoroughly ashamed yet helplessly aroused, and when Gunnar takes her in his
arms and claims her properly she cannot deny her body’s response to his
dominant lovemaking. As the days pass, Mairead realizes that Gunnar cares for
her deeply, and despite her situation she finds herself falling in love with
the stern, handsome warrior. But can she truly give her heart to the man who
took her from her home?
Publisher’s Note: Her Dark Viking is a stand-alone sequel to Her Rogue Viking. It includes spankings and sexual scenes. If
such material offends you, please don’t buy this book.
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Introduction - From Ashe Barker Herself!
I have always been fascinated by Vikings. Strong, sexy
warriors, ruthless, dominant and determined – what’s not to like? It was only a
matter of time before I wove a story around these fierce raiders who rampaged
through Scotland and England for over three centuries, eventually settling and
leaving their indelible mark on our history.
A Viking raid was indeed a ferocious affair. They
relied on what would nowadays probably be termed ‘shock and awe’ swooping in
from the sea on their fast dragon ships to attack with vicious and deadly
effect. The Nordic raiders would be gone almost as swiftly as they arrived,
leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The modern equivalent would be a
helicopter attack on a sleepy rural village by SWAT teams armed with automatic
weapons– the local people would hardly know what hit them.
I have employed a certain amount of poetic license,
but in writing this series of stories I have been determined to recreate the
Viking era to the best of my ability – their homes, their clothing, what they
ate, how they lived. I hope readers will be as entranced as I am by these
creative and charismatic raiders, and perhaps forgive them their more
outrageous little foibles.
Excerpt (18+)
Would a spanking hurt
as much as his belt had? Did he perhaps intend to use his belt again? He had
not said, she simply assumed he would--
"Lie across my
lap and lift up your sark."
He interrupted her
musings with his curt instruction. Gunnar had seated himself on the edge of the
bed, where just a few moments ago Donald had sat. The Viking regarded her over
his shoulder, his eyes as dark as she had ever seen them and his expression
stern.
She had questions,
her head brimmed with them, but she supposed all would be answered soon enough.
He kept his belt on, which was a relief she supposed. Mairead slipped from the
bed and came around to stand before him.
"Shall I take
this off?" She plucked at the fabric at the front of her undershirt.
"No. I want you
to get in position then raise the sark for me. You will get yourself ready,
bare your bottom for me to spank."
Oh, sweet Jesu. Something coiled and tingled between her legs, and she sensed a
fluttering within which she could not quite name but she knew her most private
places were dampening at his words. It would have been difficult to remove her
clothing for him, but she had done it once and could manage again. This
different approach of his was more intense, more humiliating. She was to aid in
her own punishment by arranging herself just so.
"Mairead, do not
keep me waiting."
"No, Jarl."
She almost flung herself across his thighs, her head dangling down by his boot
and her hair sweeping the floor. She dreaded what she must do next but wanted
to get it over with so she reached back to grab the hem of her linen shirt and
hastily pulled it up to her waist, then tucked the bulk of the material under
her stomach to ensure it remained in place. She was horribly embarrassed,
prayed that no one would see fit to open the curtain and see her thus. Had
Aigneis managed to get Donald out of the longhouse in time?
"What are you thinking?"
His tone was soft, and she took courage from that.
"I am afraid
someone will hear, or come in."
"They might, but
there is nothing you can do about any of that now. None of what is to happen to
you is under your control so you might as well let it go. Relax, if you can,
and surrender."
"I do not mean
to fight you, Jarl. Or to struggle."
"I know
that." He laid one warm, solid palm on her bottom and rubbed a large
circle around her left cheek. "I was thinking more of what is happening in
your head. You need only to feel this, not think overmuch about it."
"I... I will
try, Jarl." Her voice fell to a breathy whisper. Her bottom was still
tender from yesterday and as he pressed her delicate skin those sensations
returned. How much more punishment could she take?
"You know why
this is happening." It was a statement, not a question.
"I disobeyed
you."
"Yes, though I
now rather think you misunderstood my instruction rather than deliberately
disobeyed. You should have checked, asked me to clarify."
"I will, Jarl.
Next time."
"I shall make
sure of it. So, are you ready?"
"Yes," she
breathed. "Yes, I am ready."
The first volley of
spanks were light, teasing almost. Gunnar rained slaps down on both her
buttocks, covering the sensitive globes and causing her to clench and writhe on
his lap, but not to cry out. It was painful, but not overly so and there was
pleasure in it too, especially when he paused to caress her smarting skin. Now
she moaned, but in startled delight rather than pain.
"You like
that?"
She nodded, but then
realised he may not have seen her. "Yes, Jarl."
"Will you spread
your legs for me?"
"Of
course." On one level, she had no choice, he would make her do as he
wanted though he did phrase the command most politely. But on another this was
exactly what she desired, what she had hoped for. Punishment, submission,
sensuality – these were a heady mix and she no longer knew quite how to
separate them, or even if she wished to. So she parted her thighs and lay
still.
"So pretty, and
so wet." He slid his hand between her thighs and stroked her soaking
folds. Mairead tensed under the sudden wave of lust which seemed to engulf her.
"Did I hurt you?" His voice was soft now, and achingly seductive.
"No, it was ...
more pleasant than I remembered."
"I see. And
this?" Now he toyed with the pleasure nub he had awakened yesterday.
Mairead stuffed her fist in her mouth in an attempt not to squeal out loud.
"Answer me. Is
this nice."
"Mmmmm."
Her muffled response
clearly did not suffice. He dropped two hard slaps, one on each buttock.
"I expect you to talk to me, to answer if I ask you a question. If you do
not understand what I want of you, you may tell me that since I know our tongue
is still new to you."
"It is very
nice, Jarl." She blurted the reply out fast, fearing another onslaught of
slaps and craving them at the same time.
"And this?"
Now he circled her entrance with his finger tip.
"That too, Jarl.
It feels so good..."
"This?" His
finger entered her, just to the first knuckle she thought. "Any
pain?"
"No, it feels
wonderful. Perhaps you might... I mean, maybe a little more?"
"Can I trust you
to tell me if I hurt you?"
"You have hurt
me. You are spanking me, Jarl. It is meant to hurt, is it not?"
"The spanking,
yes. Not this." He swirled his finger between the swollen, sensitive lips.
"You only gave birth a month ago."
"I am healed,
truly I am. The birth was easy, and... oh! Ooooh." She let out a sob as he
slid his whole finger into her.
"Tell me,
Mairead. Is this painful?"
"No. No, it is
... wonderful. Please do not stop."
"Greedy wench.
You will take your spanking; then, if I am satisfied you have learnt better
manners, I will give you what you desire."
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.
Ashe loves to hear from readers. Here are her social
media links:
Or you
can email her direct on ashe.barker1@gmail.com
Thank you for hosting me.
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