Welcome to my First Kiss Friday blog with today’s guest Ruth A. Casie. Ruth has an excerpt from her new release A Redemption for the Baron. Isn’t the cover just stunning? We hope you enjoy this excerpt. Happy reading, my lovelies!

A Redemption for the Baron – Book Three of Barrington’s Brigade

Redemption isn’t given. It’s earned through truth, trust, and love.

Lady Bridget McConnell is drawn into a dangerous mystery at Alastair Court and into the path of Captain Thomas Grenville, the type of man she swore to avoid. When a cryptic journal reveals a hidden legacy tied to a centuries-old conspiracy, they must set aside their past to uncover the truth.

But as passion ignites and secrets unravel, Bridget and Thomas discover that some legacies demand more than answers. They demand courage, forgiveness, and redemption, which neither of them knew they needed.

Setup

In A Redemption for the Baron, Bridget McConnell is a fiercely independent Scottish woman thrust into the dangerous legacy left behind by her late cousin, Alastair. With her clan’s future hanging in the balance, she’s determined to uncover the truth behind his death even if it means working alongside the guarded and ever-watchful Captain Thomas Grenville.

Thomas has seen war, betrayal, and the high cost of misplaced trust. What he doesn’t expect is Bridget. She is intelligent, fearless, and utterly impossible to ignore. As they follow a trail of secrets hidden in ancient texts and torn pages, their mutual respect gives way to something far more dangerous: desire.

This kiss doesn’t happen under moonlight or by accident. It erupts in the heat of discovery, when truth and danger collide. Bridget is incandescent with certainty. Thomas, for the first time in years, wants more than duty. The moment is earned. It’s raw, breath-stealing, and, for both of them, inevitable.

Excerpt

Bridget ran her fingers over the worn parchment. “This is the book Miss Gray read Friday evening. She said it was disturbing.”

Together, they paged through the book. The script was painstakingly written, archaic in style, the meaning just out of reach. Then they stopped. Several pages had been violently torn from the binding, leaving ragged edges where words had once been recorded.

Bridget inhaled sharply. “Whatever he found in here,” she murmured, “he believed it was worth risking everything.”

Grenville studied the missing pages, his brow furrowed. “And whoever wants it back will kill again if necessary.”

Bridget let out a sharp breath. A sound that carried shock, fury, and wild exhilaration. “We were right,” she said, her eyes blazing. “We bloody well—” She struck the desk with her open palm, her energy sparking into motion. “He left a trail, and we found it. We did.”

Her voice rose with conviction, and Grenville turned toward her, staring not at the parchment now, but at her.

It wasn’t just the Order. It wasn’t just danger. It was the way she stood before him, fierce and unyielding, her voice still ringing in his ears. It was the way she believed. The way she knew.

She was the fire that made the storm make sense. And suddenly, Grenville didn’t want sense at all. He wanted her.

The Order. The threat. The choice Alastair had made and what it had cost him. But also, Bridget.

Her voice. Her fire. Her belief in this moment. In him.

Grenville’s control, so carefully kept, broke. Not violently. Not wildly. But with absolute clarity.

He reached for her, one hand catching her waist, the other rising to her cheek. His lips captured hers in a kiss. It was fierce and breath-stealing, born of too many held-back thoughts and the pounding rush of truth finally seen. Her breath caught, then melted into his, her fingers gripping the front of his coat.

When they broke apart, just long enough for air, Grenville saw her, truly saw her. Flushed. Her green eyes were wide, flickering from surprise to something deeper. Certain. She reached for him, fingers fisting his coat, and kissed him back.

This time it was slower. Richer. A question asked and answered without a word.

When they finally parted again, the silence that followed was no longer heavy. It vibrated with something new. Something neither of them had dared name until now.

The room hadn’t changed. But everything had.

Bridget drew in a shaky breath, and Grenville watched her chest rise, the color still high in her cheeks. Her fingers had curled slightly at her sides, as if part of her wasn’t ready to let go.

Neither was he.

His thoughts reeled, but one truth shone through like firelight. He hadn’t meant to kiss her. Not yet. Not now. But holding back had become impossible.

The heat of her lingered on his lips, and behind his ribs, something kicked to life, something too unruly to name. Not just desire. Not just relief. But recognition. As if something in him had been waiting for this, for her, without realizing it until that very moment.

She stood before him, flushed, breath unsteady, and utterly unafraid. And Grenville felt… undone. Not weakened. Not distracted. Just… honest, in a way he hadn’t been in years.

He opened his mouth, searching for the words that might make sense of what they’d just done. But there were none.

“I didn’t plan—” he started. Then stopped. His voice wasn’t steady enough.

Bridget’s lips curved into the barest smile, soft and knowing. “I know.”

The silence that followed held no regret. But he recognized it was something new, something fragile, just born.

Without thinking, he reached for her hand. Not to pull her close again. Just… to feel her warmth, the proof that she was real, and so was their kiss.

Bridget didn’t flinch. She didn’t step away. Her fingers curved around his, not tightly, not possessively, but deliberately. As if anchoring them both.

It lasted only a second. Then the moment shifted, and the room came back into focus with the books, the torn pages, and the truth still waiting in the shadows.

But Grenville would remember that second. The way her hand felt in his. The fire behind her eyes. The kiss that had stopped time.

Purchase Link: https://books2read.com/BB-Redemption
Available on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback wherever books are sold.

Barrington’s Brigade

Barrington’s Brigade follows six war-forged officers who return to England as titled gentlemen, only to find themselves embroiled in a secret society’s dangerous legacy. Bound by loyalty and haunted by the past, each must navigate peril, politics, and passion in pursuit of truth and love.

Book 4, A Vow for the Viscount, is scheduled to release in October 2025.

About the Author:

Ruth A Casie writes historical adventures from the shores of medieval Scotland to the cobblestone streets of Regency London. Her stories embrace strong woman and the men who deserve them. Within the pages you’ll discover ‘edge-of-your-seat suspense, mind boggling drama, and heart melting emotions. Grab your favorite cup of tea, or an ale if you prefer, and join her heroes and heroines as they race across the pages to find their happily ever after. Ruth hopes her stories are your next favorite adventures!

Learn more about Ruth at:

Website: www.RuthACasie.com
Email: Ruth@RuthACasie.com