All Chapters of Wild Adventures In Bed: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

A young woman in her early twenties with a nice body shape knelt down on the floor and bowed her head in prayer. Her hand slipped to the small cross hanging from a bit of leather around her neck, and her thumb rubbed a familiar path over the now smooth surface.For several long minutes, she whispered the words she’d recited since when she was a child, and then she ended it as she always did. “Please, God. Don’t let them find me.”She pushed herself from the floor, her knees scraping the uneven stones. The plain, brown garb she wore signaled her place along the other novices. Though she’d been here far longer than the others, she’d never taken the vows that would complete her spiritual journey. It was never her intention.She went to the basin in the corner and poured from the pitcher of water. She smiled as she dampened her cloth, and Mother Serenity’s words came floating to mind. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.She wiped her face and started to remove her gown to extend her wash wh

Mary stroked his hair as his warm breath blew over her breast. He sounded so much older than his tender years. And so proud.“I escaped and hid in the cart of a traveling merchant. I rode for a day before he discovered me.” He tilted his head up, bumping her sore jaw again. “Where are we, Mary?” he whispered. “Are we very far from home?”“I’m not sure where your home is,” she said ruefully. “But we are in the lowlands, and I would wager we’re at least a two days’ ride from your keep.”“The lowlands,” he spat. “Are you a lowlander?”She smiled at his vehemence. “Nay, Crispen. I’m a highlander.”“Then what are you doing here?” he persisted. “Did they steal you from your home?”She sighed. “ ’Tis a long story. One that began before you were born.”When he tensed for another question, she hushed him with a gentle squeeze. “Go to sleep now, Crispen. We must keep our strength up if we are to escape.”“We’re going to escape?” he whispered.“Aye, of course. That’s what prisoners do,” she said

“There’s my bride now,” Duncan said, as he turned from his conversation with the priest.His smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he studied her intently, almost as if he were warning her of the consequences if she refused.God, help me.The priest cleared his throat and focused his attention on Mary. “Are you willing?”Silence fell as all awaited her response. Then slowly, she shook her head. The priest swung his gaze to Duncan, a look of accusation in his eyes.“What is this, Laird? You told me you both wished this marriage.”The look on Duncan’s face had the priest backtracking. The priest hastily crossed himself and positioned himself a safe distance from Duncan.Then Duncan turned to her, and her blood ran cold. For such a handsome man, he was, in that moment, very ugly.He stepped toward her, grasping her arm above the elbow, squeezing until she feared her bone would snap.“I’ll ask this only once more,” he said in a deceptively soft voice. “Are you willing?”She knew. She knew that

“I won’t hurt her, lad,” Alan said softly.He knelt down and brushed aside the hair from her face and realized she was unconscious. There was a bruise on one cheek, but otherwise she didn’t look injured.“Where is she hurt?” he asked Crispen.Tears filled Crispen’s eyes, and he wiped hastily at them with the back of his grubby hand.“Her stomach. And her back. It hurts her fierce if anyone touches her.”Carefully, so as not to alarm the boy, Alan pulled at her clothing. When her abdomen and back came into view, he sucked in his breath. Around him, his men alternately cursed and murmured their pity for the slight lass.“God in heaven, what happened to her?” Alan asked.Her entire rib cage was purple, and ugly bruises marred her smooth back. He could swear one of them was in the shape of a man’s boot.“He beat her,” Crispen choked out. “Take us home, Uncle Alan. I want my papa.”Not wanting the boy to lose his composure in front of the other men, Alan nodded and patted him on the arm. T

It wasn’t until he stared back at her in astonishment that she realized she’d babbled her entire thought process aloud. The entire courtyard had gone silent and looked at her as if she’d pronounced a curse on all of them.“Alan?” she murmured, not turning away from the laird’s gaze.“Aye, lass?”“Will you catch me if I faint? I don’t think a fall to the ground would be good for my injuries.”To her surprise, he grasped both of her shoulders and held her tightly. His hands trembled the slightest amount, and he made the weirdest sound. Was he laughing at her?Edward advanced, his astonishment replaced by that dark scowl again. Did no one in the Woods clan ever smile?“Nay, we don’t,” Alan said in amusement.She snapped her lips shut, determined she wouldn’t say another word, and prepared herself for the laird’s censure.Edward stopped a single foot in front of her, forcing her to crane her neck upward to meet his stare. It was hard to be brave when she was sandwiched between two hulking