Cirrus@Austlit

'Be careful when you pick up a whip. Your fingers curl about that seductive handle, your wrist flexes its subtle weight and then… Yes, you wonder what would happen if you plied those innocent leather strips against another’s flesh.

'1348. The Black Death is sweeping medieval London, social order is collapsing and the virtuous Lady Elizabeth seizes a whip to defend her honor. But when death seems inevitable, Bess throws caution to the plague-ridden vapors to save the man she can never have—William de Montague, the handsome, persuasive and soon-to-be-married Earl of Salisbury.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Ragnar Ulfsson must find his king a concubine. His solution is Isolde, captured whilst climbing the sea-cliffs for falcons. Enslaved in his own way, Ragnar has few qualms about binding another to his lord for the greater good. After all, it is an honor to share the bed of a king.

'Isolde does not view slavery so complacently. Like a hawk caged, she is frantic to escape. But the king’s hall is a bubbling stew of political intrigue and Isolde is an essential ingredient in the mix. Her only hope out is Ragnar, who captured her but also promises to free her—eventually. But there is something strange about this dark Viking, oddly withdrawn and controlled, and their growing bond will lead her into greater danger still.

'For Ragnar doesn’t touch women. For good reason.'

Source : publisher's blurb