A Pirate's Curse (Legends of the Soaring Phoenix) (36 page)

“Doc ordered she be taken below along with the other wounded.”

Kane ran his hand through his hair. “How many dead?”

“Doc says we lost half dozen men. One of them was Michael.”

He exhaled a weary sigh. He’d lost a good man and a good friend. Palmer would pay for each soul he killed.

He needed
to seek out Hannah, needed to feel her arms around him.

Doc was in the crew’s quarters, tending to the wounded, one being Ronan.
Ronan lay on a hammock, his eyes closed.

K
ane surveyed the cabin. “Where’s Hannah?”

“I stitched her first, Capt’n,” Doc answered. “The shot went through her. She won’t be able to use her arm for a bit, but other than her shoulder, she’s good.” He wiped his brow. “She’s in your cabin, Capt’n.”

Kane nodded and exited. He should be tending to his men, but Hannah came first. In his cabin, Hannah sat on the bed, a strip of cloth tied around her neck to support her wounded arm. Her tired doe eyes slowly lifted and locked on him. Kane had never seen her look so beautiful. He cradled her to him, wrapping his arm around her waist and claimed her with a rough impatient kiss that branded her to him. He raked his hands through her hair, imprisoning her, but she surprised him. Her hungry and demanding lips moved over his, ravaging
him
with a fierceness that left him dizzy with a longing.

He pressed
her down onto the mattress, his male hardness pushing against her thigh. Her small hand moved up his chest and ran through his hair.

She eyed him suspiciously
if expecting him to do battle with her. “So, Captain?”

He s
tretched out onto the bed. Blood thundered through his veins, through his fingertips, through the raw endings of his skin. But when he sat up to rip off his shirt, her nimble fingers were already unbuttoning it. She slid her hand down his naked abdomen, fumbled with his belt buckle and reached her hand around, slowly tugging down his trousers. He hissed as she set his erection free. Soft fingers circled his rock hard cock and slowly slid up and down. He groaned and kissed her luscious lips, drawing her inside, his kiss deepening, tasting her honeyed sweetness and moving down her neck, nibbling, feeling her pulsing blood. But he only wanted her as a man. He trembled as her fingers moved along his shaft. “You ever run onto an enemy ship alone again,” he gasped, “and I’ll turn you over my knee.”

She
squeezed gently and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Don’t threaten me Captain. I’m not a simpering fool.”

“No, you’
re not, but I don’t want to lose you, lass.” Kane had had enough of her tantalizing ministrations and moved his hands up to her waist. He ripped her already tattered shirt and chemise. She gasped. He gazed at round bosoms, nipples budded. She arched her back, offering him a sample. He licked his lips and indulged her offering. His mouth captured her perfect breast, sucking and licking her nipple. She moaned.

“
You’re my life,” he muttered.

Her hand threaded through his hair.
“Meaning?”

He gazed up
into her hooded eyes. “Meaning, I love you, Hannah.”

She cupped his face, her thumbs caressing him, sending his body into tremors
. “I love you Kane O’Brien. I want you inside me now.”

He quickly unbuttoned her trousers and in one fluid motion, he yanked
them off. Her nakedness sent his blood quickening. She spread her legs apart and touched herself. “Now, Kane.”

He had never seen any female so beautiful, so
seductive, his for the taking. He climbed on top of her, removed her hand and nestled his hips between her inner thighs. Slicked wetness begged for him to enter her sleek opening and she arched her hips, taking him inside her.

Raising his hips, he
thrust inside her, again and again. Her hips matched his rhythm, their skin slapping together, their hearts pounding together. His pleasure came in dark twirling torments as she tightened around him. She locked her legs around his hips and screamed. He soon followed spilling his seed into her. He collapsed onto top of her and kissed her throbbing neck.

“I want to be with you, Kane.
Promise me you’ll never send me away again.” 

“Even if I turn into a vampire during every full moon?”

She laughed, her fingers twirling in his hair. “I’m beginning to grow rather fond of vampires.”

“Hannah, I—”

“I know, Captain. You want to break the curse. Together we’ll find a way. I promise.”

I’m delighted you decided to read
A Pirate’s Curse
. This book has a special place in my heart since I have a love for the supernatural and pirates. Thus, the
Legend of the Soaring Phoenix
was born. I hope you enjoyed the first book.

I know I took liberties in writing this story. The term vampire wasn’t used until a much later date, but I’ve always wanted to write about pirates, especially vampire pirates.

I’m currently working on
A Pirate’s Revenge
which is William and Mariah’s story which will be released around Valentine’s Day 2014.

I love to hear from readers. I am on all the social media sites, (
Facebook
,
twitter@m_mlguida
and
Good Reads
).  I respond to emails, Facebook posts and tweets, so don’t hesitate to contact me. If you’d like to contact me, you can reach me on my website
http://www.mlguida.com/contact/
or you can follow me my blog
http://www.mlguida.com/blog/
 

Book loaning and reviews are ways that readers can help authors get the word out about books they love, so don’t hesitate to spread the word about
A Pirate’s Curse
. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

I have
written some other books, and if you liked my work, I have an excerpt of
Betrayal
, the first book in the
Angels of Death
series through Passion in Print.

In the next couple of months, I’ll be releasing
several new stories, including
A Pirate’s Revenge
, and if you’d like to receive a new email release, please sign up at
http://www.mlguida.com/
 

Sincerely,

M.L. Guida

If you’ve enjoyed
A Pirate’s Curse
, I have another series called
Angels of Death
with Passion in Print. 

Betrayal, Angels of Death
is the first book in the series. Scythe tracks his demon brother to Serenity House, a drug and alcohol treatment center.  His brother wants to destroy the director, Heather Bowen, but Scythe is shocked to discover she is his angel-mate and now, he must not only save his brother’s soul, but stop him from killing the woman he loves.

The second in the series is a novella,
Sinful Delight
.
Poison has two hours to fulfill orders received from the Archangel Michael: Locate and retrieve the dark Evil Board and capture the woman has been using it to grant wishes. She is determined to succeed. Ringmaster is on a search of his own.  He is pleasantly surprised to discover not only the Spell Board he has been tasked to find, but also the fledgling Angel of Death he has yearned to sample.  When he learns Poison wants the same woman and board, the persuasive demon makes her a tempting offer – sleep with him and have both.

I also write a paranormal young adult series,
Dare to Heal
, under the name, J.L. Bowen, published through Featherweight Press. These are not romance stories, but the stories of young adults coming to age and learning how to be resilient.

Healer
is the first book. Fourteen year old Armond Costa’s two questions – No matter the abuse, why can I heal in three days and no else in my family can?  What am I?  – are finally answered. But now he must figure out who is telling the truth – his cruel aunt and uncle or the mysterious Golden Demons.

Ryker’s Revenge
is the second book in the series. Gunnar, the Healer of the Dark Demons, wants to escape from his sadist father, the King of the Dark Demons, and return to the Golden Demons, but his father brands him with a dragon tattoo designed to kill Golden Demons. The choice to stay away from his friends is taken from his hands when they launch a rescue operation to save him, only to have one of their own injured by the dragon on his chest while another is captured by his father. Can Gunnar trust his sister, their father's lapdog, and the dragon on his chest to help save his friends and keep him free?

Excerpt from
Betrayal
:

Chapter One

In her pink nightgown and barefoot, she stood on a rough pebbly ground. A harsh male voice said, “Now, you’ll know what true pain is.”

The red-eyed man glared at her with undaunted hatred. Her feet were rooted on the black tar pavement. Her legs trembled. She shrunk from his glare and wanted to hide, but couldn’t move.

Sweating and moaning, twenty-five year old Heather Bowen tossed and turned on her queen sized bed. The dream faded, and she woke with a start. Perspiration drenched her night gown, and tears streaked her face. The sheets wrapped around her legs. Her thighs throbbed. The iPod alarm clock read three a.m.

She scanned the room, but there was no sigh of the red-eyed man. She sighed, but her relief was short-lived. What did he mean by she would know true pain? Was he kidding? Seriously? Her life sucked.

In her dream, there was something familiar about the bright and buzzing green, red and white flickering lights. But what? She frowned. Gas. She had smelled gasoline in her dream. Oh, shit. 7-Eleven. The bastard was with Rosemary.

She flicked on the lamp and snatched her phone and dialed Rosemary’s cellular. Answer, answer, answer, but a recording came on—“The number you have reached is…”

“Damn it,” Heather said. Why did Rosemary have to have such a piece of crap phone?

She called information.

“This is information,” a bored female voice said. “City and State, please.”

“Westminster, Colorado for 7-Eleven on Seventy-Second and Lowell.”

“I’m sorry I don’t have a listing for this address.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the operator said, “but there’s no listing.”

“Fuck,” Heather slammed the phone onto the oak nightstand.

She jumped out of bed. She tore off her Minnie nightgown and gasped. Three long scratched marred her inner thighs. She winced and wobbled to the bathroom and wet a wash cloth, and dabbed the bloody river on her thighs. How that the hell did that happen? God, her legs looked like Freddy Krueger swiped her with his razor fingers.

Within minutes, she slid into her gray Pathfinder. “Ouch.”

The damn cloth seats pulled on her thighs that still pulsed from the antiseptic. She stepped on the gas. The street lamps glowed in the darkness, and the abandoned street stretched forever as her tires ate up the pavement. She glanced at the clock. Three fifteen. She gripped the wheel and turned on Kipling Street and roared down the road. At the stoplight, there were no cars, including cop cars, so she gunned the pedal. “Hang on Rosemary. I’m coming.”

Except for her speeding SUV, the dark houses remained quiet on the empty streets. With his fluffy tail curved around his body, a red fox sat on the sidewalk and watched. She shook her finger at him. “You stay there.”

Maybe this was a good omen. In animal symbolism, a red fox meant passion and desire, and God knows, she wanted her sister alive.

She peeled onto Seventy-Second Avenue, running another stoplight. Huge green cottonwood trees reached for the sky along the way. Lilium, orange pixie lilies, and long ornamental grasses with whitish plums lined the vacant street. At the end of the street, a streetlight darkened at Majestic Park. Hidden in the shadows was a car. As she sped by, red lights flashed on.

“Shit, no!”

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A Pirate’s Curse: © 2013 by M.L. Guida

Cover design © Kim Killion (Hot Damn Designs)

Digital Edition 1.0

All rights reserved. Where such permission is sufficient, the author grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.