If You Dare (MacCarrick Brothers Series, Volume 1)

Kresley Cole is a very nice writer who does great character descriptions. I always enjoy her books and this one is no exception.

A handsome, overbearing Scottish mercenary with a deadly curse and a passionate, hot-blooded Castilian beauty with a family scandal come together in an intense story of desire while fleeing from treachery. The beautiful Annalia Elisabet Catherina Tristan, daughter of the Llorente family lives with her brother Aleix high in the Pyrenees Mountains, where the evil General Reynaldo Pascal is holding Aleix as blackmail so that Annalia will marry him. He has already taken over the Principality of Andorra and wants the beautiful Annalia for her Castilian blood so he can claim more power and direct conncetion to the throne of Spain. Little does he know that Court MacCarrick, the hired Scottish mercenary would turn against him. When attempts at killing Court fail, it is Annalia who discovers his unconscious body and takes him to her home in the mountains to care for him. Upon awakening he discovers immediate desire for his beautiful healer and soon comes to discover her connection to Pascal. Annalia is disturbed to discover an attraction to Court as well, but remembers how her mother's passionate nature resulted in her being banished from the honorable Castilian family in scandal. They both fight against this attaction and their deep passions, as Annalia wants nothing to do with another one of the many barbarian Scots who have come to her land to hire on with Pascal and Court does not desire the complications of a woman, as a deadly family curse hangs over the MacCarrick's that states any woman the MacCarrick men fall in love with, death follows. When Annalia requests Court's help in rescuing her brother and he refuses, she has no other alternative but to go to Pascal and agree to the marriage. It is then that Court decides to rescue Annalia and Aleix both. But when the rescue attempt for Aleix fails and Annalia is shot, Court has no choice but to protect her and flee alone with her. It is Olivia, Pascal's daughter that eventually rescues Aleix. Upon the escapes Pascal sets his assasins called Rechazados upon them all and as Annalia and Court race to London and then onto Scotland to safety of his family, Aleix and Olivia follow. While on the run Annalia and Court's desire builds and they come together in many passionate encounters. Once in London they both realize they love each other, but Court is reminded by his brothers of the deadly curse and he comes to the hurtful realization that if he wants Annalia to live he must let her go. Eventually everyone comes together to fight off the evil Rechazados and Pascal, but it is the MacCarrick curse that is left hanging over everyone. The story ends with the discovery of the missing lines of the curse and what the MacCarrick brothers will do with this information is going to make for interesting sequels to this passionate trilogy. If You Dare is an excellent start to the the exciting adventures of the MacCarrick Brothers. If You Desire and If You Deceive are two further stories to look forward to.