{"product_id":"2940013353091","title":"Master of the Elements","description":"As Elsbeth says goodbye to her father at the foot of the forbidden mountain, he places a bride’s garland on\u003cbr\u003eher head and then refuses to let her go.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“I won’t leave you,” he insists. “Not to what lives up there.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Elsbeth has always known that her fate can only be found at the crest of the forbidden mountain in the master’s castle, a place shrouded in legend and kissed by the clouds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery hundred years, on the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of the new century, a virgin from the town is led to the foot of the mountain and sent up to her destiny at the master’s hands. None of the virgins are ever heard from again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs the time for the sacrifice grows near, the master’s protection against the elements begins to falter. Drought, wind, cold. Crops fail. The people are suffering, and only Elsbeth can put a stop to it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut at what cost? Is Elsbeth a blood sacrifice? Or a companion to ease the master’s isolation? \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEXCERPT FROM MASTER OF THE ELEMENTS\u003cbr\u003e“Don’t question me. Do it.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe nodded and obeyed. How odd to sit on the lap of someone who might end her life. She’d crawled into her father’s lap as a child, and now she sat on the knee of a man who seemed no more than a mask, robes, and a hand. The hand in question poured some liquid from a pitcher into a tiny glass and handed it to her.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Drink this.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe tasted it and found it sweet. Some sort of fortified wine with the scent of flowers. She drank the rest and handed him the glass. As he set it aside, a rush of warmth coursed through her. Pleasant, it made her limbs feel heavy. Her vision blurred, but her other senses came to life. The smell of the oil burning in the torches, the distant sound of waves crashing outside. Even the master’s breathing, which had become labored. Her own heart hammered in her chest, and her skin tingled. Especially at her breasts and the spot between her legs. Her body craved something. It grew restless and hot, but for what?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen his hand went beneath her skirts and found the skin of her calf, she had her answer. She needed his touch. His fingers could make her complete. She sighed and closed her eyes, the better to enjoy the feel of his hand against her skin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSlowly, he moved higher up her leg to her knee and above. When the stone of his ring grazed the other thigh, she let her legs fall apart. At home, she’d never have allowed a touch so intimate. Such a caress would have mortified her. The heat that now burned her cheeks had nothing to do with embarrassment. It took her back to dreams she’d forgotten — images she hadn’t understood. Dark and sinful and delicious. And always accompanied by an ache between her legs.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe throbbed now. He’d drugged the wine, and she ought to be frightened. Instead, every bit of her mind and body focused on the path of fire he was laying now over her upper thigh. Close, so close.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen he finally touched her, she gasped with shock and pleasure. Her hips jerked, pressing her harder against his hand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“Hot,” he murmured, his voice husky.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStrange, but somehow touching her had moved him, as well. His breath came faster, as did hers. Somehow, they’d formed a connection, and he’d caught her fever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith no suitors, she’d never learned much about what went on between men and women. Some part of a man’s body would get hard, and then he’d put it inside his wife. The master would do that with her now. He had the right.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e© RED SAGE PUBLISHING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED","brand":"Red Sage Publishing, Incorporated","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47177459663088,"sku":"2940013353091","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013353091_p0.jpg?v=1763591363","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013353091","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}