Synopsis:
All
of his life, Caden DeMott’s mismatched eyes have made him the target of
superstition and scorn. Though he is the son of a nobleman, he’s been allowed
to run free over the hills and moors, mostly ignored by his family. No one ever
thought to inform him that he had been betrothed since infancy, until the day
his fiancé, Prince Rhys Gwyther arrived to marry him.
Rhys
is the prince of the small island country of Mauritania, a land rich in gems,
rose oil, and pearls, but poor in skilled artisans and seeds to grow crops. In
order to further cement the trade route to the mainland, he’s been sent to
marry a man he’s never met, and bring him back to Mauritania. Unfortunately, an
accident years before has left Rhys with a lot of emotional baggage and very
little trust in strangers.
But
trust is exactly what Caden and Rhys are going to need if they are to make a
life together, and help unravel the mystery of who’s been smuggling valuable
gems and pearls off the island. Add in the realization that Caden’s stepmother,
Mildred and her island representative, Maxwell, have been importing inferior
goods for years, forcing Mauritania to become more dependent on them, and trust
becomes even more difficult.
Caden
possesses the knowledge to finally allow Rhys’ father to unravel the plot to
ruin Mauritania, but only if the king and his son are willing to put their
faith in Caden’s loyalty to his new home. Something that is difficult to do
after Caden is accused of cheating on his marriage vows to Rhys with his guard,
Luc. Will Rhys believe him innocent? Or will their marriage be over before it
truly has a chance to begin?
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And now for the cover reveal:
Excerpt:
Jackson
growled with hatred in his eyes as he pushed past his wife. His steps were
heavy with anger as he ascended the stairs to the second floor, fists clenched
so tightly that half crescent indents were forming on his palms. Outside his
eldest son’s chamber, he paused and took several deep breaths, desperately
seeking some small measure of calm before delivering the life-altering news. If
only there were a way to be certain Rhys would be kind and understanding of
Caden’s odd, distracting behaviors, but sadly, few had ever truly given the
young man a fair chance. If he could, Jackson would have spared his son the
kind of bitter, miserable marriage he himself endured, but he held little hope
that Rhys would be any different from those who had ridiculed Caden in the
past.
Knocking
on the door, Jackson mentally prepared his speech while waiting for Caden to
answer. When he did not, Jackson pushed open the door and let his eyes drift
around the dimly lit chamber until they came to rest on the figure curled upon
the bearskin rug by the hearth, two large hounds on either side of him. Jackson
couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the trio before a sudden thought
abruptly wiped the smile from his face.
Would
Rhys allow Caden to keep the animals, or would his son be forced to leave his
two closest companions behind? Jackson crossed the chamber quietly, stopping
near the hearth. When one of the hounds growled low and raised his head, the
white splotch of fur around his left eye identified him as Titus. When Titus
saw that it was Jackson he laid his head back on his paws and closed his eyes
again while the other hound, Brutes, snored on.
With
a sigh, Jackson knelt and placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, gently shaking him
awake. Caden blinked sleepy, mismatched eyes up at his father, and as his son
sat up, Jackson wondered what Rhys’ reaction to seeing Caden’s eyes would be
and whether the prince was yet another superstitious fool who believed Caden’s
one green eye and one white were a sign that he was devil-touched.
Fools,
Jackson through to himself as Caden reached out and placed his hand on Brutes’
head, rubbing the dog’s ears. Caden’s head was cocked to one side, and he made
a soft, clicking sound with his tongue that let Jackson know he was listening.
While his son could speak, Caden used words sparingly and only after careful
thought. It was one of the many things that made the boy so endearing in his
father’s eyes. In another’s eyes, however, Jackson knew it was just another
sign that Caden was different from others his age.
“I’m
sorry I had to wake you. Were you up late wandering the moors again?”
Caden
grinned and nodded, mismatched eyes lighting up and darting to the heavy
curtains that were blocking out much of the sun and the moors that lay just
beyond the window.
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About the Author:
LAYLA
DORINE lives among the sprawling prairies of Midwestern America, in a
house with more cats than people. She loves hiking, fishing, swimming, martial
arts, camping out, photography, cooking, and dabbling with several artistic
mediums. In addition, she loves to travel and visit museums, historic, and
haunted places.
Layla
got hooked on writing as a child, starting with poetry and then branching out,
and she hasn’t stopped writing since. Hard times, troubled times, the lives of
her characters are never easy, but then what life is? The story is in the
struggle, the journey, the triumphs and the falls. She writes about artists,
musicians, loners, drifters, dreamers, hippies, bikers, truckers, hunters and
all the other folks that she’s met and fallen in love with over the years.
Sometimes she writes urban romance and sometimes its aliens crash landing near
a roadside bar. When she isn’t writing, or wandering somewhere outdoors, she
can often be found curled up with a good book and a kitty on her lap.
