Allegra Gray

The Devil's Bargain Allegra Gray

Publisher Marketing: Savoy, 1202 The daughter of a lowly merchant, Celia Lyndon has no business falling in love with a nobleman-especially not the very nobleman who has taken her father captive. But when she offers herself up to gain her father's freedom, she learns that some bargains aren't as simple as trading goods and coins. The winter months she must spend at the castle show her that Nicolas of Savoy is far more than a fierce knight. He is a powerful ruler, a fair judge, and, most intriguing, he is lonely. Every day her heart betrays her a bit more-but can Nicolas see past their circumstances and let his feisty prisoner breach the walls that guard his heart? Nicolas of Savoy has trained for knighthood his entire life-a good thing, because the lands he inherited upon his brother's death are under constant attack. Nicolas usually makes an example of anyone who would do him harm. He has no way to distinguish marauder from merchant-that is, until a brave maiden steps forward to offer herself in place of one of the men lined up for execution. Intrigued by Celia's proposition, he agrees, only to discover his new prisoner is even more dangerous-how can he desire someone so much, when he isn't even certain she can be trusted? Contributor Bio:  Gray, Allegra I grew up in a creative family. Musicians, entrepreneurs, poets, you name it. I dabbled in all of it, and read books so avidly that I think my parents viewed the local bookstores and libraries as the equivalent of babysitters. Perhaps all those stories inspired a spirit of adventure, because at the age of seventeen I embarked on a career journey that has (so far) included serving as an officer in the U. S. Air Force, grad school at Virginia Tech, teaching English, and managing defense contracts in the Middle East. The best thing about this breadth of experience? When I tried my hand at actually writing-not just reading-novels, I knew at once that I'd found a true passion.