Tananguard 02 - To Love a Lord by Diedre Clark

right it felt, and it was nice. He’d been thinking it was time to quit his roguish ways, thinking how wrong they were. That wasn’t the kind of man he wanted to be, moving from woman to woman. Not that he was anything compared to Lucas. But he had his moments.
    He was nearly home when a group of three men cornered him in a dark street.
    “You’re valuables, please,” one of the men said . He motioned for the other two to flank Connor.
    Connor eyed the three, taking in the situation. None held pistols. Pistols were too loud if discharged, a sure call for the authorities. The leader, though, held a knife, casually flourishing it to let him know they meant business.
    Connor presumed they wanted to scare him more than anything, and one man with a knife was not enough to do that. “You can have my wallet if you can take it from me,” Connor told them.
    The leader laughed. “You’re a foolish one, aren’t you? There are three of us and one of you. We are armed, and Jonas has been known to kill from time to time.” He nodded to the smaller man on Connor’s right who grinned when Connor looked at him.
    Connor flinched, but not in fear. The man’s teeth were a yellowish-black color with spaces between where some were missing. He shook away the sight. Then he stepped swiftly to his right and side-chopped the edge of his hand into Jonas’s throat hard. The man’s hands came up automatically. Connor undercut him in the gut, doubling him over. Then Connor shoved his boot into the man’s shoulder and kicked him to the ground. By then, the other two men were reacting to Connor’s aggression.
    The leader came at Connor from the front, swinging his knife wildly at Connor’s throat. Connor caught the wrist and thrust his other hand upward into the man’s elbow, causing it to hyperextend. The man dropped the knife, but before Connor could do more damage, the third man jabbed him hard in the right side just below the ribs.
    Connor grunted then bowed sideways as the fist found him again and even a third time. He knew how to fight through the pain. He was quite practiced at it, but it was still difficult not to want to curl in and protect his body.
    He twisted and right hooked the third man in the face. From the corner of his eye, he could see the leader searching for his dropped dagger. Connor coul dn’t let him get it. He kicked blindly at the leader and received a fist in the eye from the third man and another fist in the jaw that sent him stumbling backwards. With one step, he stepped on the leader’s hand that was reaching for the knife, and with his other step backward, he accidentally kicked the knife out of reach. He flailed backward three more steps before gaining his balance. By then the leader was on his feet cursing Connor. He lunged at him recklessly. Connor sidestepped and shoved the man hard as he went shooting past him. The momentum sent the man headfirst into the side of a building where he slumped to the ground.
    Connor turned just in time to see the third man coming at him with a knife now. Connor dodged several attacks before finding an opening to throw two, quick right jabs in the face then a left jab, and finally a very solid right hook that sent the man to the ground. Connor eyed the three assailants, waiting for the next attack. The first man was still on the ground, clutching at his throat and eyeing Connor uneasily. The third man was groaning in pain, not attempting to get up, and the leader was unconscious. Satisfied they weren’t going to bother him further, Connor continued on his way as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 3
    Josephine moaned as she tried to open her eyes. Oh, her head hurt! This was the first time she’d truly been drunk. But even small amounts of alcohol made her queasy. She should have known better than to let Rebecca’s hurtful words cause her to do something so foolish! And wine of all things. It made her emotionally unstable and always left her with a headache if she drank