Claimed by the Viking Chief Blog Tour! @sarahrodiedits

She can be his lover

…but never his wife!

Forced into servitude, Wren is quietly miserable…until Jarl Knud arrives at her settlement, seeking an alliance through marriage. Despite their initial sizzling attraction Wren despises everything the Jarl represents—and he needs a high-status bride to save his people, not a servant like her. As Wren uncovers the man beneath the fierce Viking chief she’s tempted to claim one forbidden night of passion…but will it ever be enough?

Purchase Links

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Claimed-Viking-Chief-Mills-Historical-ebook/dp/B0BKK839SF

https://www.amazon.com/Claimed-Viking-Chief-Mills-Historical-ebook/dp/B0BKK839SF

 Sarah Rodi has always been a hopeless romantic. She grew up watching old, romantic movies recommended by her grandad, or devouring love stories from the local library. Sarah lives in the village of Cookham in Berkshire, where she enjoys walking along the River Thames with her husband, her two daughters and their dog.

She has been a magazine journalist for over 20 years, but it has been her lifelong dream to write romance for Harlequin/Mills & Boon. New for 2023, she is the New Writers Scheme Coordinator for the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Sarah believes everyone deserves to find their happy ever after.

Social Media Links – @sarahrodiedits www.sarahrodi.com

Follow Sara Rodi on Twitter -https://twitter.com/sarahrodiedits

Extract for Sarah Rodi’s Claimed by the Viking Chief

She can be his lover… but never his wife!

Forced into servitude, Wren is quietly miserable…until Jarl Knud arrives at her settlement, seeking an alliance through marriage. Despite their initial sizzling attraction Wren despises everything the Jarl represents—and he needs a high-status bride to save his people, not a servant like her. As Wren uncovers the man beneath the fierce Viking chief she’s tempted to claim one forbidden night of passion…but will it ever be enough?

Context: Jarl Knud and Wren are making their way to Nedergaard with an injured Jarl Ingrid, Wren’s ruler and Knud’s bride-to-be. They are falling for each other, despite their different stations in life and the fact it is forbidden. In this scene, they have been attacked by men at a market and manage to escape…

When they finally neared the boathouse, away from the crowds, where there was nothing but the sound of the water and the leaves rustling in the trees, he suddenly stopped and spun her around, so her back was facing him, and he swept her hair out of the way.

‘We need to get this off you. Now!’

He struggled with the lock of her collar, tugging it this way and that.

‘Knud, stop!’ she said, the metal grazing the skin of her neck.

When it wouldn’t budge, he instead started trying to prise the metal apart with his fingers. But it was too strong. ‘Helvete!’ he cursed, slamming a hand into the side of the hut, making her jump.

She turned around to face him, resting her back against the wall, her eyes wide.

‘It’s all right,’ she said, trying to calm him.

‘It’s not all right!’ he exploded, raking his hands through his hair, which had come loose during the fight. ‘The things they said about you, the way they treated you… None of it is all right. If I could just take it off…’ His fingers came up to curve over the metal at her throat again.

She placed her hand on his chest, shocked at the waves of anger rippling through him on her behalf. He really was a good man. Earl Ingrid was a lucky woman…

‘You saved me. And those other women. We’re here, we’re alive,’ she said. ‘They’re gone now. They can’t hurt me any more. It’s over…’

Her hand moved up from his chest to hold his bruised face, her thumb moving over the gash on his right cheekbone. And he stared down at her, the wrath seeming to drain from his veins, and he nodded, as if finally hearing what she was saying. He took a step towards her, so their bodies were nearly touching, and he gently rested his forehead against hers. He was so close, she stopped breathing.

‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he said raggedly.

‘You didn’t. You haven’t.’

His fingers strayed down from her collar and his palm flattened over the top of her chest, over her racing heartbeat.

‘I thought I’d lost you,’ he said raggedly.

‘You didn’t. You haven’t.’

His fingers strayed down from her collar and his palm flattened over the top of her chest, over her racing heartbeat.

‘I should never have taken you there in the first place. It was foolish of me. Forgive me. When those men circled us…’ He shook his head. ‘I didn’t care what happened to me. But the thought of those men laying even a finger on you…’ He stared down into her eyes and she knew all the hideous, appalling things he was thinking. ‘They had no right to do that.’

‘I know. But they didn’t. I’m back here, with you. Safe.’

‘Did he hurt you?’ he said, his voice raw with emotion.

‘Just a few bruises, but I’ll survive.’

Her heart began to pound faster as his hand came up to cup her cheek, inspecting her face where he saw the trader had hit her. And when he tenderly stroked her hair, her eyes drifted shut, letting him comfort her. She had never wanted a man to touch her before, but his touch was different to all others she had experienced. It was firm but gentle. Careful.

She realised this was what desire must feel like—to want a man to put his hands on you, to want to press up against him and create more of the spine-tingling feelings he was causing. But why did she have to feel this way about him—a Danish chieftain? The man who was meant to be marrying her ruler?

UP FOR GRABS! A 'VIKING' BUNDLE (Open to UK Only)To mark the launch of her latest book, Claimed by the Viking Chief, author Sarah Rodi of Harlequin/Mills & Boon is giving away a signed copy of her latest historical romance, PLUS a bottle of Nordic Spirits Valhalla liqueur, A Melt In Time wax burner and Viking wax melts.

*Terms and Conditions –UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random