Black Falcon's Lady (Celtic Rogues Book 1) (43 page)

She felt his fingers curve beneath her chin, and the worshipful light of his eyes made her cheeks burn with pleasure and pride.

"I know not what the future holds, Maura, or to what shores it will carry us. But I do know this. Wherever we sail to carve out a new life, it will be joy for me, a joy such as was never present within Nightwylde's dread walls."

Maryssa's gaze turned toward the distant horizon, her heart filling with the memory of the castle's daunting towers, the cold walls and vast chambers filled with nothing but her father's hate. "As long as you stand beside me, milord Falcon, I shall possess the courage to ride any highroad you might name."

Her heart was bursting with love as she flung her arms about her dashing rogue, banishing the dream haze of Nightwylde's shrouded turrets as she turned her gaze to the future.

T
hank
you so much for reading BLACK FALCON’S LADY. I’m honored you have chosen to read my book. I hope you enjoyed reading Tade and Maryssa’s story as much as I loved writing it!

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Kimberly

A
S ENGLISH CONQUERORS
SET THE EMERALD ISLE AFLAME, THESE HEROES WILL FIGHT FOR IRELAND. . . AND FOR THE WOMEN THEY LOVE.

I
've always adored
Irish heroes and the legends that weave through the breathtaking landscape of the Emerald Isle. When I return to this home of my heart, I spend time perched on the ledge of the castle ruins I describe in
STEALING HEAVEN
and
HER MAGIC TOUCH
, a fairy-kissed place called Rathinaine.

I've always sensed the stories in the stones-- . Echoes of the men and women who fought for Irish freedom when the English outlawed the religion of the native Irish and made it impossible for them to buy property, pursue a profession or educate their children.

As I wrote the Celtic Rogues series, I asked myself what happens in a land where a man must break the law to meet his family’s most basic human needs? He can turn his back on his heritage to survive. He can surrender to poverty and degradation, or he can choose to defy the conquerors and risk execution, imprisonment or deportation. Each of my Celtic Rogues must choose what path to take. But it is one thing for a lone hero to sacrifice himself in a blaze of glory. Will he dare to risk the woman who wins his heart? In a land filled with such turmoil, perhaps the most dangerous choice anyone can make is to fall in love and risk dreams of forever in Ireland’s struggles to be free.

I
n addition
to
BLACK FALCON’S LADY
, there are four more books in the series— each stands alone. Each is part of my love song to Ireland.

F
ALL IN LOVE
WITH THE HEROES OF KIMBERLY CATES’S UNFORGETTABLE CELTIC ROGUE SERIES:

F
ALL IN LOVE
WITH THE HEROES OF KIMBERLY CATES’S UNFORGETTABLE CELTIC ROGUE SERIES:

H
ER MAGIC TOUCH
: (1808)

A Desperate Magic:
On Beltane eve, Mary Fallon Delaney steals to a castle ruin where her mother’s allegedly magical brooch has been hidden all these years, waiting for the right moment to summon “Ciaran of the Mist,” a mythical Celtic warrior promised to appear at the hour of Ireland's greatest need. A legend to be sure, but Fallon is willing to try anything to save Ireland from the marauding English. When she waits for the moonlight to work its magic with the brooch, a naked stranger stumbles out of the mist and she stares in disbelief.

A mysterious stranger
: As much as he insists he is no Celtic warrior from the fairy realm, this mad Irish beauty insists on calling him Ciaran. He knows nothing of his life before he stumbled out of the mist, his head gashed, and he has no intention of getting swept up in the clash between the Irish and the English. However, when Ciaran encounters the villainous Captain Lionel Redmayne, who is fascinated by Fallon, Ciaran finds himself caught up in Fallon's world of rebellion, wishing he could be the hero she longs for.

A sacrifice foretold
: But whatever his identity, Ciaran knows how the story will end. He will walk into the mist alone— unless the passion he finds in Fallon's arms is strong enough to ransom him from the secrets locked in his past. Yet does Fallon have the courage to love an all too flawed mortal when she’s spent a lifetime in love with a dream?

B
RIAR ROSE
: (1810)

A fairy-kissed Irish healer:
Rhiannon Fitzgerald has no memories of her heritage, only her father's claim that fairies bestowed her gift for healing. Traveling the Irish countryside alone, she cares for any wounded creature in her path. When she stumbles across a half-dead English officer amid the standing stones of Ballyaroon, she senses the turmoil in him—and the danger.

An English rogue beyond hope:
Shot in the standing stones above the ruins, Captain Lionel Redmayne expects to wake in hell for his numerous sins. But when he regains consciousness in a gypsy caravan under the care of a winsome Irish woman and her motley pack of animals he is impressed with the devil’s resourcefulness. Dumping the meticulous Captain into such chaos is far more torturous than flames.

A chance at redemption:
Rhiannon knows there is no place for a free-spirited gypsy in Redmayne’s rigid military world. Redmayne worries that Rhiannon will pay the ultimate price for his sins when his enemies stalk her for daring to help him. And though he wants nothing more than to allow this Irish beauty to lead him from the dark and twisted maze of secrets that imprison his heart, he fears that the only way to save her is to let her go. Or is it possible that a little chaos is exactly what Lionel Redmayne needs to save him from a cunning foe who stalks him still?

S
TEALING HEAVEN
:

A dangerous deception
: Spinster Norah Linton gambles on a last chance at love and travels to Ireland to wed—sight unseen—Sir Aidan Kane. Upon her arrival at Castle Rathcannon, she is horrified to learn that the tender letters that won her heart were actually penned by Sir Aidan's high-spirited daughter. Not only is Sir Aidan Kane not the tender-hearted widower she thought, he is a scoundrel rumored to have murdered the first Lady Kane.

A dedicated bachelor
: Aidan Kane loves his daughter, Cassandra, and would do almost anything for her—except give up his rakish ways to become leg-shackled to the overly prim Miss Linton. But his past comes to haunt him when Cass longs for a London Season. He knows she’ll be ostracized for her parents' sins. When he discovers that the very proper Norah Linton is the granddaughter of a famous general, he realizes that her honorable lineage could save Cass from humiliation at the hands of the haute ton. But is that worth putting his head through the matrimonial noose?

A devil’s bargain
: They each agree to the marriage—eyes wide open, both knowing it’s not for love. And just as they settle into their fragile world, the rumors surrounding the mysterious death of Aidan’s first wife rear up again. As unknown enemies seek revenge, striking at the heart of everything Aidan holds dear, he and Norah must learn the truth of what really happened before all is lost.

L
ILY FAIR
: (Medieval)

In an Ireland divided between druid mystics and the faith of St. Patrick
…

A dark prophecy:
It was foretold that Caitlin of the Lilies would one day destroy the Irish chieftain Conn, who sends her to be raised in a far-off convent. Caitlin trustingly awaits the bridegroom Conn has promised her—and at last a handsome warrior arrives to escort her home. Cailtin wonders if this proud, silent man is to be her husband, until she awakens to find him looming over her, his sword at her throat.

A knight errant:
Niall of the Seven Betrayals has sworn fealty to Conn, the chieftain who promised Niall a final quest that will win him honor. When Conn orders him to escort Caitlin of the Lilies home, Niall resents being charged with such a mundane task, not suspecting that the crafty Conn has carefully honed him into the perfect weapon to do the unspeakable.

A test of loyalties:
When Niall attempts to carry out his mission, the defiant Caitlin makes him question everything he believes. He faces an unimaginable dilemma. Kill the innocent maid who trusts herself to his protection or betray his king and have all hope of regaining his honor snatched away—along with his life.