The Cottage by the Lake

A woman with no memory. A cottage with secrets...

One man will search to the ends of the Earth for her...another one will stop at nothing to possess her.

After waking up in hospital with no memory, the last three months have felt like the beginning of a brand new life for Lucy. But why do strange dreams of men in armor and horses in battle haunt her nights? Then there's the stranger who lives in the old cottage across the Lake. Why does he watch her with such longing and intensity?

Burk is a Royal Guard, sent to find Lucy and return her to her father. Finding her was the easy part—convincing her she’s the missing Princess Syeira, is a whole other matter!
Quotes:
• "I’m trespassing—murder me.”
• “I told you to be careful around him—not to go anywhere by yourself.”
• “I’m the proof love can transcend the greatest of life’s obstacles."
Excerpt:
Holding her breath, a loud rumble of thunder overhead made her jump and a scream broke free as the figure stepped out from the mist. Burk.

She barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before he growled out a command to follow him. He ducked beneath a bridge, dragging her in behind him to shelter from the storm.

Lucy’s breath came in ragged gasps after their mad dash, and sounded unusually loud in the confined space. The bridge was small, barely high enough for him to stand upright and he stood with one arm braced against the rocks that supported the structure, watching her silently.

“How did you know I was out here?” she asked, once she’d caught her breath once more.

“I followed you,” he shrugged as though it were completely obvious.

They were crammed together in order to stay out of the worst of the rain, and with each breath she breathed in his scent. He smelt like rain and earth and...man. Tiny droplets clung to the small spiky strands of his hair and reminded her of plump dew drops clinging to blades of grass in the early morning.

The storm outside intensified and lightning cracked, making Lucy flinch as a loud bang of thunder followed. Her hands shook and she felt chilled to the bone. She jumped again as a second crack of lightning flashed across the sky nearby. “Apparently, I don’t like thunder storms,” she murmured, as a shiver ran through her body. This in fact was a new revelation, as she hadn’t experienced a storm during the months since she’d been found.

“I know.”

After a moment she felt him relax and his arms drew her firmly against him. “You’re safe now, Syeira.”

An image flashed before her eyes and she saw another place, similar to where they were sheltering from the storm now. It was only a glimpse, but Lucy was left with an unsettling feeling of déjà vu.
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