Belgium is overrun.Lieutenant Lucien Duplan is wounded and trapped behind German lines. To reach the Dutch border and freedom, he needs Madeline Thevenet—a woman who eases his pain but is destined to become a nun.
Aiding the man responsible for her parents' death is the last thing Madeline wants to do. But to get her young brother safely to Holland, she will do anything to avoid being caught by the Germans and tried for treason, including putting her heart on the line.
Madeline and Luc must stay one step ahead of the enemy. But the war around them is nothing compared with the battle raging inside. For honor and duty demand one action; and love requires another.
Love’s Great War: Belgium, 1914
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Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three children and a menagerie of domesticated animals.
While she started writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her love of fiction and science. DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other.
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Linda Andrews lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, three children and a menagerie of domesticated animals.While she started writing a decade ago, she always used her stories to escape the redundancy of her day job as a scientist and never thought to actually combine her love of fiction and science. DOH! After that Homer Simpson moment, she allowed the two halves of her brain to talk to each other.
WEBSITE *** BLOG *** FACEBOOK *** TWITTER *** GOODREADS
WIN - Linda has a $25 Amazon gift certificate up for grabs over on her Facebook Event today! Head over there and join the fun to get your name in the hat!
Good morning Linda and super congrats on your new release!!! I love historical romance and I love the title you came up with - excellent!
ReplyDeleteTell us all about this new book of yours. Why did you pick this time period and this war? And is this the start of a new series?
What's up next for you?
I hope you enjoy your Cyber Launch Party here and over on Facebook today and here's to HEARTS IN BARBED WIRE being your biggest seller yet! Have fun!
Good Morning Everyone! It's still a bit early here, but I thought I'd ask a trivia question. I'll choose one name from those who answer correctly for a free copy of Hearts in Barbed Wire. Ready?
ReplyDeleteIn this 2006 movie, James Franco plays an American who joins the French military before the US enters the war. What is the name of this movie?
In this scene the hero and heroine meet for the first time. Neither makes a particularly favorable impression.
ReplyDeleteLieutenant Lucien Duplan eased the hammer of his revolver into a safe position before pointing the gun at the ground. He hadn't become an officer of the Belgian army to shoot his fellow countrymen, or women. The lamp in the open window flickered, scattering the shadows across the dead grass beneath his feet. The gunshot wound at his side throbbed.
With her back toward him, the stocky woman stiffened. The shawl covering her head melded with her bulky dress until her shadowy figure resembled a black spirit. The man puffed on his pipe and smoke cast a veil over his coarse features. Neither said a word.
Glancing in the glowing windows, Luc searched for signs of his men. This had to be the correct house. Beyond the lamp, he made out the black beams of the low ceiling and the green bundles of drying herbs. Or had he lost his way? He shook himself. No, this was the right house. She had mentioned treating soldiers and Cocard. The skin at the base of his neck itched. Still, he couldn't be too careful. "Monsieur Thevenet?"
The old man removed the pipe from his mouth before holding out his free hand. "Lieutenant Duplan?"
The woman inhaled sharply.
Ignoring her, Luc slid his palm against the man's. Calluses indicated the farmer's strength. Thank the Almighty, Luc had found the correct house. "My men?"
"Inside." Thevenet jerked his head to the rectangular farmhouse. "They said there'd be two of you."
"Mille requires assistance to complete the journey." And nursing. And rest. And so many other things. Luc sighed. He wouldn't lose another man. Couldn't lose another one. Thevenet may not be happy his daughter wasn't a nun, but to encounter a nurse out here was nothing short of a miracle. “Mille has a leg injury, Sister.”
Luc skimmed her bulky frame and offered her the traditional title of respect although she didn’t wear a nurse’s uniform.
“I have not yet finished my nurse’s training, but have some experience with injuries.”
Hearts in Barbed Wire takes place during WW1 and the danger is everywhere, especially when helping allied soldiers was punishable by death. In this scene, Luc doesn't like that his life is in the hands of others or that he's put Madeline in danger.
ReplyDelete"Shh." Luc held his finger to his lips, a useless gesture given the darkness of their coffin. If they could hear the Boches, then the reverse could also be true.
Boots crunched. The grain rustled. They were searching the wagon with bayonets.
Luc scrunched closer to the center. Mille held his breath.
"His daughter is very pretty." The man switched back to German. "Perhaps we should let her entertain us while they unload."
Daughter? Madeline! Luc's heart slammed against his breastbone. She would never entertain a damn cabbagehead! He squirmed toward the bottom of their coffin.
Mille fisted his shirt. "Don't."
"What is the delay?" Another male voice boomed. Deeper than the first, steel laced this voice.
"I am just checking their papers, Colonel."
Luc stiffened. Why was a German colonel at a flour mill? Had one of their wagon cortege told about the two Belgian soldiers hidden under a pile of wheat? Was the countryside infested with Germans looking for two men?
"Are all their papers in order?"
"Yes, Colonel." Heels clicked together.
Luc flinched.
"Then let the peasants through. I want that wheat unloaded before we leave."
No. No! Luc resisted the drive to pound his fists through the wood. Unloading the wheat would expose their hiding space.
At the heart of every romance is the caring between the hero and heroine.
DeleteMadeline draped the quilt over her brother and crawled onto the pallet beside him. “Sleep Mathieu. Tomorrow will be better.”
Please, Lord, let his brain paralysis end tomorrow. She wanted her brother back. Closing her eyes, she hugged him tight.
A stair creaked. Footsteps sounded on the wood floor. Warmth flared along her back.
She glanced over her shoulder.
Braced against the half wall, Luc sat behind her. He rested his hand on her hip. “Rest. I’ll keep you safe.”
And what is a romance without attraction and yearning?
ReplyDelete"Now let me see yours." She turned to Luc, her knees settled against his thigh. Her gaze swept down his chest. Heat shimmered just underneath her professionalism.
He resisted the urge to puff out his chest. Barely.
Clearing her throat, she stared at the bandage just above his hip. A orange-sized dot of blood marred the white fabric. “Barely any blood. You’re healing. I might just let you fetch and carry for me.”
Leaning forward, her fingers skimmed his belly. They stopped just above the bandage wrapped around his gut.
He sucked in a breath.
Her hand stilled. "Did I hurt you?"
Yes. No. Damn, say something, preferably something intelligent. "Your hands are cold."
"Fresh spring water. The office has the only stove." She eased her finger under the bandage right above his navel.
"I might use it to wash up later." Luc thanked God that he'd placed his shirt in his lap. Given today's ordeal with the Boches, she didn't need a reminder of a man's baser desires.
She slipped another finger under the bandage and spread them wide.
His mouth dried. She couldn't know how erotic that gesture was. Maybe he should dump the cold water down his pants now and forget washing up.
Easing the scissor blade between her parted fingers, she snipped through the bandage.
The constriction in his gut migrated to his lower regions. He needed a distraction. Fast. Or he would embarrass them both. "You should return to your studies after the war."
“Will you lean forward a bit, so I can unwrap the dressing?” She paused. A heartbeat later, she rocked closer and eased the bandage free of his wound. "I'll have to join an order where the sisters are permitted to nurse."
Luc studied the shell of her ear, the curve of her jaw and the flare of her nostrils. Unwinding the bandage, she skimmed his spine, sowing heat in her wake. If she just turned her head a little, their lips would be only centimeters apart. Such a small distance. Her words penetrated the haze inside his head. She'd promised to become a nun.
Although there are no sex scenes in the book, there is plenty of yearning as duty wars with desire.
ReplyDeleteMadeline recited the Lord's Prayer as she hovered over Luc’s bare torso. She shouldn't notice his flat stomach, brown nipples, or dusting of dark hair forming a tee-shape on his chest. Nuns had pure thoughts. Nuns didn't think of kissing or falling into a man's bare-chested embrace. Her body quickened. She bit her lip and swallowed a cry. She hadn't been a good novice the first time, what made her think she would be this time?
War is a dangerous time. To reach safety in Holland, Madeline and Luc must evade the German Army.
ReplyDeleteLuc and Mathieu crouched low.
Madeline slipped on the mud. Her fingers raked the side of the ditch as she slammed to a stop next to him and her brother. Crouching below ground level, she groped for Luc's hand.
He threaded his fingers between hers and squeezed gently.
The light tracked over the burned fields, skimmed along the edge of their hiding spot, before stopping above Mille and Helene's position.
Please, don't let them discover us. Please, don't let them discover us.
A man stepped in front of the light. His distorted shadow twisted over the guide and private. "Come out now and I won't shoot."