The Reiver

Book excerpt: This short story (8,500 words or 25-30 pages, depending on your ereader) was originally published in the Mammoth Book of Scottish Romance. Excerpts from The Lesson Plan and Hot Under the Collar, also by Jackie Barbosa, are included at the end. Note: It is the author's intention to offer this book for free. If it is not currently free on Amazon, you can download a copy in mobi (Kindle) format at no charge from Smashwords or All Romance eBooks. COVER COPY Duncan Maxwell, laird of Lochmorton Castle, gets the shock of his life when he discovers the reiver captured in a raid on his lands is not a boy, but a young woman. Although she flatly refuses to tell him her name or how she came to be riding with a raiding party, Duncan cannot countenance imprisoning a woman in his dungeon but neither can he release her without compensation. Unable to ransom her back to her family, he treats her as an honored—though exceptionally well-supervised—guest. He takes to calling her Reva and determines to seduce the truth of her identity from her. There’s just one problem—the reiver may steal his heart before he can reveal her secrets.