The Calm Before the Storm
by Danielle L. Jensen
Self-Published
Book 3.5 in the Bridge Kingdom series
Set in the world of The Bridge Kingdom series, The Calm Before the Storm is six chapters of extra content that take place after the events of The Traitor Queen and The Inadequate Heir.
Ithicana has been liberated from the Maridrinians, but not everyone holds peace in their hearts. Revered by some as a savior and despised by others as a curse upon the kingdom, Lara must navigate treacherous waters as she resumes rule alongside her husband, Aren. Her only certainty is the bond between them, but long overdue conversations will put the strength of their marriage to the test. They must decide what their future will hold, all while dark clouds gather in the south. A storm that no nation, not even the Bridge Kingdom, will escape unscathed.
Genre:
Fantasy Romance
Novella
The Calm Before the Storm by Danielle L. Jensen was a pre-order incentive for The Inadequate Heir, but is now for sale through her website. It is a six chapter novella centering around both Aren and Lara, after the events of The Traitor Queen. While Lara may have stopped the war by killing her father, not all of Ithicana is willing to forgive her for what she did. Aren and Lara will need to get ready, because the fight is long from over.
I won't lie, when I saw Danielle Jensen post about this novella on her social media, I was excited. I loved these two in The Bridge Kingdom and The Traitor Queen, so I can never seen to get enough of characters I truly enjoy, so I was stoked. With her teases of it being much steamier than The Bridge Kingdom and The Traitor Queen, but equally steamy to The Inadequate Heir, I figured it was going to be six chapter of straight up fan service smut. I wouldn't have been upset. But I was equally thrilled it wasn't just sex. It's not all rainbows and sunshine, and this novella shows that, and hints at what may come for the future of the series. It was like .... a bonus, way longer epilogue of The Inadequate Heir, and they end at the same time. It made me even more excited for the future books.
If you misses Aren and Lara, you won't want to skip The Calm Before the Storm ... but you have to read The Inadequate Heir before. You just have to. I promise you will love it.
This is only available for purchase through Danielle L. Jensen's website. Click here to get to it :)
Aren: "I love you, Lara. Nothing in this world short of death will ever take me from your side, and even then, it would only be until I could find you in whatever comes after. I will never leave you."
He hesitated, then added,
Aren: "And I know that I said all these words before only to cash you aside. Not once, but twice."
Lara turned her face away from his, eyes squeezing shut.
Lara: "You know I don't blame you for that, Aren. What I did was unforgiveable. I lied to you."
Aren: "I said nothing would take me from your side but then allowed something to do so. But I didn't stop loving you. Not once, Lara. Not once. And I never will."
Aren: "Piss off!"
Silence.
The door exploded inward, revealing a scowling Nana framed by the lamplight. She leveled a finger at them and snarled
Nana: "I knew it!"
Aren: "Get out!"
Nana: 'Get off of her!"
Nana roared back, storming into the room.
Nana: "I didn't nurse this woman back to health only for you to break her because you couldn't keep your idiot cock in your trousers!"
Area: "I'm not doing anything to her!"
A blatant lie, given he was still very much inside her, but Lara said nothing. It was about time Area stood up to his grandmother on something, even if in this, he had little ground to stand on.
Nana: "Oh? Then you won't mind if I take this?"
Nana reached for the blanket and Aren cursed, snatching at the bedding, the two engaging in a vicious tug-of-war while Jor and the other guards gaped in the doorway.
Nana: "You do Lara no favors by ignoring your duties to Ithicana in favor of your husbandly needs."
Aren: "I am not ignoring my duties."
Nana: "Oh?"
Nana reached down to pick up Aren's discarded clothing.
Nana: "Then why is there a council meeting going on right now while you stand, naked as a jaybird, arguing with your grandmother about whether you can hump your wife?"
She threw the clothing at him.
Nana: "Get dressed and go rule."
Lara: "How can you be thinking about sex after that meeting?"
Aren: "Because ..."
He kissed her, his cock hardening as her lips parted. Her tongue tasted like wine.
Aren: "I'm finally alone with my beautiful, brilliant, and fierce queen, and that leaves no room for any other thoughts."
Lara: "You should know better than to expect obedience,"
she said, sliding her hand into his trousers and taking hold of him. He groaned as she stoked his length, his eyes on her parted lips, memories of her mouth around his cock nearly pulling him over the edge.
Aren: "There are consequences to disobedience, Your Grace."
he growled, his heart thundering as she pumped him hard.
Her eyes were full of challenge as she said,
Lara: "Are there?"
Ripping his belt loose, he held it up, weapons sliding off the length to clatter to the floor. Catching hold of both her wrists, he bound them together and then pushed her down against the table, hands above her head. Lara let out a gasping moan as he kissed her throat and then her collarbone, her legs wrapping around his waist.
He could feel the heart of her naked sex through the fabric of his trousers and she ground against him, making his cock throb with need.
Aren: "Behave,"
he said, pulling down the bodice of her dress to reveal her full breasts, pink nipples hard,
Aren: "or I'll rip this pretty dress of yours apart and use the pieces to tie you to this table."
Lara: "Is that a promise?"
Jor: "Feeling sated?"
Jor asked as they walked down the harbor
Aren snorted and cast a dark look at the older man.
Aren: "That's none of your fucking business."
Jor: "You want to keep your encounters secret, you're going to need to gag that queen of yours."
Jor said, kicking at a rock.
Jor: "Lass has a set of lungs on her, so the whole damn palace was reminded over and over again of your name."
Aren: "Kiss my ass. Thank you though."