The Substitute Bride by Samantha Cayto
Book 4 in the Treaty Brides series
General Release Date: 21st Mar 2022
Word Count: 50,438
Book Length: NOVEL
Pages: 182
Genres:
EROTIC ROMANCE,FANTASY,GAY,GLBTQI,MULTICULTURAL,ROYALS
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Book Description
Being a bride is a state of mind, not of body.
Lord Carwyn has come to the royal palace of Moorcondia to support his beloved cousin, Nora. The princess has been promised in marriage to bind a treaty between her country and the archipelago nation called The Southern Chain. Carwyn’s efforts to help her turn into a daring plan when he catches his first sight of Nora’s intended. The foreigner captivates him in a way no other man ever has.
Kai Aleki feels the fate of his people on his shoulders. As his nation’s military leader, he understands how duty always comes first and that a strong alliance is crucial to fight the vicious marauders known only as the Swarm. He has no interest in marrying a woman, but the delectable and attentive Carwyn captures his attention.
Carwyn has a solution that will satisfy everyone. He secretly takes Nora’s place and marries Aleki himself. A delighted Aleki sets off, determined to protect the known world from the Swarm after safely delivering Carwyn to his new home. Their imperative journey holds hidden dangers, forcing Aleki and his bride to join forces to defeat a common enemy.
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of violence, death and ordered suicide.
Aleki felt a line of sweat slide down the middle of his back under the frightening gaze of the dowager queen. The woman was as formidable as the prima kailisa. And that made him experienced in letting nothing of his feelings show as he sipped her surprisingly strong tea from a delicate cup. He understood this custom of eating something between dinner and supper, because Rei had schooled him in it. But nothing of the dainty sandwiches or oversweet cakes appealed to him, so he ate only as much as good manners dictated and kept his attention on his hostess and her questions. He appreciated how this matriarch of the royal family held sway and that she chose to scrutinize him in her own domain rather than with the crushing crowd of the court surrounding them. Here she had his undivided attention, and he dared not do anything to jeopardize the treaty. However much he disliked the idea of marrying a woman, the safety of his people demanded he do nothing to hinder what was best for them.
The princess yawned delicately next to him, something she’d been doing with some frequency, despite her purported nap. He suspected it was more out of boredom than sleepiness yet hoped that it would spur the dowager queen to end the tea soon. His hopes were dashed a moment later.
“Nora.” The dowager queen’s tone was brusque. “You’ll do no one any good if you are exhausted by the time of your wedding. Go back to your suite and get some rest before supper.”
The princess practically slammed down her cup and jumped to her feet. “Yes, Great-Grandmamma, you are quite right as usual. I will take my leave.” Turning to him, she added, “I look forward to seeing you at supper, Kai Aleki.” She was well-trained. One might even think she was sincere. With that, she curtsied to them both and fled.
When Aleki put his own cup down in a bid to follow her, the dowager queen squashed that intent with a hard stare. He settled into his chair with as much nonchalance as he could muster, but he’d be damned if he’d swallow more tea. He was practically swimming in it already. Besides, if he gave himself too much time to think, his mind would wander back to the stolen moments with Carwyn in the lovely bower of tree limbs and flowers. The taste of the boy lingered on his tongue, no matter what he drank or ate. And if he didn’t shove those thoughts aside, his body would embarrass him, regardless of how much his tunic and kilt covered his groin.
“You’re not interested in marrying my great-granddaughter, are you?”
The question, which was more an accusation, caught him by surprise. “Madam, I…”
“Don’t bother to lie.” The woman waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m too old to fool and too experienced in the ways of people to believe otherwise.”
Aleki picked his words carefully. “Princess Eleanora and I are newly introduced. It would be disingenuous of me to profess an affection that I cannot feel on such a short acquaintance.” Even as he said those sensible words, an image of Carwyn popped into his head. Desire and love might come that quickly to someone…with the right person. He cut that train of thought off quickly. “I’m sure after time enough for us to know each other better, affection will come. She’s a very intelligent and interesting person.” That much was true.
The dowager queen pursed her lips and craned her neck to shout, “Elspeth! The boy is lying to my face. Can you believe such cheek?” When no one answered, she turned her stare back to him. “When a man of your age is neither married nor widowed, it tells me that he has no interest in women. Don’t bother denying it,” she said before he could say anything. “At my age, I have no time or patience for games.”
The woman sighed and sipped more of her tea. “So the girl is to go into a passionless marriage. I would have wished better for her.” It was almost as if she were simply speaking to herself.
Because he was part of the topic of conversation and the sadness in her voice tugged at him, Aleki tried to ease her mind. “Queen Margrette, I am a man of honor. Whatever I might prefer, I take the giving of my marriage vows seriously, and I will not embarrass her in the eyes of others by seeking pleasure elsewhere. She will have my respect and as many children off me as she wishes. I hope in time, we will form a bond of some affection. What more would you have me do?” His tone was almost plaintive, and it made him cringe inside. He’d thought he had made peace with his fate. Obviously not. Because I hadn’t met Carwyn yet, a reminder of what I want and can never have. Having the boy there in his home and not being able to act on his desire was going to be unimaginably difficult. But if it eased the princess’ mind to have her cousin live with them, it was the least kindness he could show her.
The dowager queen said nothing for a long while, making that line of sweat down his back increase. Finally, she said, “Nothing. This is beyond your control.” There was a steeliness in her eyes that had they been facing each other in battle would have made his knees weak. She smiled suddenly. “You are dismissed.”
Aleki hesitated only a moment before standing. He bowed and left with steady steps. When the doors to her suite closed behind him, he let his shoulders droop for a second before straightening again and heading back to his apartments. Life was what it was, not what one wished for. By the morrow, he would be husband to Princess Eleanora. They would leave for his home, and he would plot in earnest to find a way to use the Moorcondians who would be following them to crush the Swarm.
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Samantha Cayto
Samantha Cayto is a Boston-area native who practices as a business lawyer by day while writing erotic romance at night—the steamier the better. She likes to push the envelope when it comes to writing about passion and is delighted other women agree that guy-on-guy sex is the hottest ever.
She lives a typical suburban life with her husband, three kids and four dogs. Her children don’t understand why they can’t read what she writes, but her husband is always willing to lend her a hand—and anything else—when she needs to choreograph a scene.
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