The Nymph and the Outrider

Cleona should have had an entirely boring walk in the woods whilst picking herbs. However, the appearance of a dark, rough hewn man bathing may have tempted her towards more alluring sights than she'd ever imagined even on her loneliest night. It was entirely his fault. Could she really be blamed for stealing a peek? Especially when what started off as a routine washing somehow degraded into a filthier deed. Yet something as insignificant as a snapping branch reels her entire life on a path she'd never dreamed of with a dashing man who holds his mysterious past nearly as close as he comes to hold her.

All Bryden wanted was a wash and a rest after sweating leagues on horseback escorting rich merchants from one side of the province to the other. Well, maybe his cleansing diverted into a baser indulgence with his own hand, but that didn't give that red-headed herbalist an excuse to spy on him from the brush. Despite being too quick to catch in his initial chase, the outrider does capture his crafty and quite comely peeper only to find himself a captive of her wiles.

What starts off as a series of passionate trysts blossoms into a bond that tangles two unlikely people together… for better or worse. An obligation from the outrider's past only serves to plunge the newfound lovers into a journey neither are prepared to embark.

Will the freshly forged relationship bend or break under the inflexible hammer of noble duty?