#MySexySaturday The Devil Himself Gard Marschand

Welcome to the 32nd week of My Sexy Saturday.

 
We’ve always loved the song Underneath It All by Gwen Stefani. To us, it has always been about the beauty on the inside of a person. Outsides are important but if the inside is rotten to the core, what does a pretty face matter? Share with the readers just why your unlikeable characters are likeable and redeemable.

You know the ones we’re talking about. The demon who loves a woman. The vampire who will do anything to save the human he loves. Or just the plain Jane next door who becomes the most desirable woman on the planet. Share just what is underneath the surface.

As soon as I read Lynn's prompt for this week's My Sexy Saturday, my first thoughts went to Gard Marschand. The anti-hero from my Scottish Highlander historical romance The Devil Take You. He's really not a nice guy, but I fell in love with him while writing his story and every reader that has reviewed this book or contacted me personally, fell in love with him too—badass or no, Gard is the man. That's what I wanted to create when I started this story. A man with seemingly no redeemable qualities. The classic anti-hero. 

Excerpt: The Devil Take You:

"Come, I will teach you to use the dirk.”
 
“T'is fairly straight forward, is it no’?” she asked.
 
“Nay. It is not. An attacker will be stronger, faster, more savage than you. His
determination will be more than yours. You will have to be more cunning to make up for the lack of strength.” He moved toward her, pulling her up to stand. “Do you have it on you?”
 
“O’ course.”

“Remove it.”
 
“Ya told me na ta.”
 
“I would prefer neither of us run afoul of it. Remove it.”
 
She lifted her skirt and slid the dirk from the leather, placing it on the pallet.
“Remove the leather,” he instructed, his voice deepened at the sight of her long
shapely legs as she did so.
 
“You will wield to kill, Braelynn.” Her eyes widened at his words. “You cannot simply wound a man, you must aim for the kill. An injured man is like a
wounded animal. First he will be angry that you wounded him. Then he will seek his revenge and he will punish you and probably turn the weapon upon you, after he is done with you. You cannot give him the chance.”
 
Gard handed her a wooden rule from his desk to act as a dirk. “Now, if he
should come for you head on, most like his arms will come from above or mid-level. You must go underneath and aim upward.” He raised his muscular arms and came at her.
 
She did as instructed and ducked under him aiming the makeshift blade toward his ribs.
 
“Excellent. The ribs, the stomach are good places. The heart will be
instantaneous, the throat as well. Aim here.” When he placed his thumb to her
jugular, her gaze met his as he touched her lightly, belying his ferocious nature. He slowly scanned her face halting to focus on his own hand at her throat. He stroked his fingers lightly over her neck, sweeping over her breastbone before surprising her with an unprovoked attack. He had her flat on her back before she knew it, smothering her with his weight, out muscling her with his strength. Taking the wooden blade from her with ease, he flung it away from her.
 
“Now what will you do, Braelynn?” He continued to overpower her raising her
heavy skirt. She fought and kicked as she had in the lean-to. “Come, you must stop me. My will is stronger. I will get what I want and take it because you are not strong enough to fight me. My will to get inside you is stronger than your instinct for survival.” Deliberately, he tried to provoke her so that she might turn her anger into something useful. She made all the same mistakes again, ending in the exact same position with him—her skirt up around her waist and Gard with his granite-like hips thrust between her thighs.
 
“Will you let me do it to you again?”
 
She went completely still. “Ya willna hurt me.”
 
“Doona be too sure.” He spoke as a Scotsman to her. For some reason it
seemed to disarm her. He would use all the tricks to show her how deceptive an
opponent could be. “I told ya ta keep tha’ dagger on ya fer a reason. Yor first
mistake was lettin’ me so easily convince ya ta relinquish it. Do ya think I possess any more control o’er my cravings than Cowan does? I am goin’ ta take wha’ I want from ya, Braelynn. Stop me.”
 
“Yor word. Ya willna hurt me. I trust tha’.” Was she daft?
 
“Well, ya shouldna,” he roared, diving for her neck. Their impassioned mock-battle had him acutely aroused. Viciously, he seized her hips, his fingers biting into her enough to make her cry out. Surging against her, pulling at her bodice he exposed her and raked his teeth down her bared flesh.

The Devil Take You  MuseItUp Publishing    

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I hope you enjoyed this week's excerpt. Dont forget to check out the rest of the My Sexy Saturday authors from the list below.

Have a Sexy Saturday!