Author: Tina Donahue
Genre/Age: Historical Romance/Adult
Series: Pirate's Prize Series (Book Two)
Publisher: Lyrical Press
Links: Goodreads
Synopsis: In a pirate’s lair, nothing is as it seems...
Shipwrecked! When Royce Hastings is found washed up on the shore of a verdant tropical island, he tells the natives he is a merchant headed for Mozambique. The truth, however, is far more mercenary. Noble by birth, the once favored Royce has lost his fortune and family; now he is a hired henchman on the trail of an elusive pirate. His “shipwreck” was a fake. He’ll stop at nothing to infiltrate the island and capture his prey. His mother and sisters’ lives depend on it.
The last thing Royce expects is to be captured himself. But the lovely young woman who tends to his wounds in the tropics quickly takes hold of his heart. Simone is the island’s healer, and her skilled ministrations not only awaken his soul but disturb his conscience. His path has been predetermined; his identity must remain concealed at all costs. Yet the passion he feels in Simone’s sultry, loving arms cannot be denied. With his loyalties torn, Royce must make an agonizing, unthinkable choice...
Mozambique—1717
“Diana Fletcher is mine.” Benedict Bishop pinched snuff generously between his stout fingers. “You will make certain to deliver her.”
In times past, Royce Hastings would have dismissed Bishop as the swine he was. Not now. Circumstances were not in Royce’s favor, his loved ones’ future in his hands. If he made a wrong move or didn’t do everything Bishop demanded of him, his mother and sisters would pay with their freedom, virtue, and perhaps their lives.
Quelling his outrage, he simply listened and endured.
Bishop sniffed the tobacco. Face contorted, he sneezed explosively into a lace-edged handkerchief then blew his nose. The resultant honk mingled with the din outside the shadowed room. Horse hooves clopped, carriage wheels clattered, merchants hawked their wares. Slaves were among the items purchased.
A nude young woman, her skin as dark as night, fanned Bishop with ostrich feathers. The air she produced did naught to relieve the oppressive heat and humidity flowing through the open windows.
Sweat bathed Bishop’s ruddy face and numerous chins. He blotted each. Another female slave knelt on the polished stone floor, kneading his fleshy calves and naked feet.
He cleared his throat. “Tristan Kent will hang, of course, along with Diana’s brother, Peter.” His beady eyes gleamed. “That will teach her to try to get away from me.”
Only a woman gone mad would willingly be at Bishop’s side. Old and ugly, he stank of rose water, the scent heavy and cloying. “Have you considered Diana never joined you here because she and the others might be dead?”
“Impossible.” He set his powered wig more firmly on his head. “Natives have heard of a white man and others on an island off Madagascar. From the description they provided, that man has to be Kent and his pirate crew. They also mentioned a white woman. Who else but Diana could be with them?”
“How can you be certain the natives spoke truthfully?”
“Woolding.”
Nasty business that consisted of a rope wrapped around a victim’s skull, then tightened until his eyes burst out. The perfect torture chosen by barely civilized men. “How many did you have questioned and killed?”
“Enough. Once my agents dispatched several, those remaining were eager to divulge everything. Except the island location, which they swore they didn’t know. I believe them.” He flicked a persistent fly from his brocade coat. “Even a witless savage wouldn’t willingly die or risk his children’s deaths to keep such a secret. The whereabouts are for you to discover. My crew will help you capture Diana, the others, and islanders, if there are any. The natives should bring a fair slave price, compensating me for losing the Lady Lark. However, if the vessel’s about, you’ll return it with everything else.”
As easily as that. The man was either stupid or insane. “Have you any idea who Tristan Kent truly is? Not romantic rumors on how he treats his crew and captives, but fact. Mainly, what he’s capable of.”
“He’s taken enough ships from me to prove he must hang. I will not rest until he does.”
“If he’s had Diana for as long as you say, she could be with child by now.”
Bishop curled his upper lip. “Until I discard her, she belongs to me, no other man. If she’s conceived, once she births the bastard I’ll give it away or send it to a workhouse. Not my concern.”
Tina Donahue is an Amazon and international bestselling novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary, and historical romance for traditional publishers and indie. Booklist, Publishers Weekly, Romantic Times and numerous online sites have praised her work. Three of her erotic novels (Freeing the Beast, Come and Get Your Love, and Wicked Takeover) were Readers' Choice Award winners. Another three of her erotic novels (Adored; Deep, Dark, Delicious; Lush Velvet Nights) were named finalists in the 2011 EPIC competition. Sensual Stranger, her erotic romance, was chosen Book of the Year 2010 (erotic category) at the French review site, Blue Moon reviews. The Golden Nib Award at Miz Love Loves Books was to created specifically for her erotic romance Lush Velvet Nights. Deep, Dark, Delicious received an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. Take Me Away captured second place in the NEC-RWA contest. And The Yearning was honored with an Award of Merit in the RWA Holt Medallion competition. She’s featured in the 2012 Novel and Writer’s Market. Before penning romances, she worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.
No comments:
Post a Comment