Hot for Friday: Hot Encounters

Despite a painful-looking sunburn on his face and neck,he managed a grin. “Oh, thank God, you saw my signal.” A hint of fear rushed across his face. Could he be one of
Gaspar’s men?
She crept closer to him. Her women, armed and ready, followed two paces behind. Soot covered his face, but the deep turquoise of his eyes stood out and locked on her. No human could have eyes blue like his, as if they were made from the very waters they sailed on. Could he be a merman? Even
though the tales embellished her and the crew as mermaids, she had heard of real sea creatures capable of growing a pair of legs instead of their fish tail and venturing out onto dry land. In all her twenty nine years she had never seen one, but she feared the tales nonetheless. Those breeds between men and fish possessed powers that could bewitch them all and take their souls to the depths of the sea for all eternity.
“Water,” he whispered hoarsely. “Please.” The young man raked sooty fingers through his blond curls and stared at them as if they were the mythical water nymphs called Rusalki. “Do you understand my tongue?”
He couldn’t be a merman. Every tale she had heard depicted the sea creatures as mute. This one spoke, not in pirate’s lingo, but as an educated man. Still, she must exercise caution. Her sword slashed the air between them as she pressed the blade to his neck. “Are you a man?”
His eyebrows arched. Tattered lace rolled from his wrists as he threw his hands up. “What in the name of god—”
“Answer!” Sirena barked putting a hint more force to the blade.
Hands above his shoulders shook while his Adam’s apple twitched with a hard swallow. “Last time I checked, I was,” he said with high pitch voice, but as he continued, he seemed to regain his composure. “And in the presence of beautiful maidens, I am always a gentleman.”
Giggles came from the women standing on the shore. Pebbles crunched under Sirena’s boots as she stepped behind him, sliding the blade to the back of his neck. Facing her crew gave her the advantage of rear and frontal attack, if need be. A few of the women covered their sheepish grins with their
hands and ogled him. She flashed a look around, half expecting to see his comrades stepping out from the pine trees a few paces from the beach, but no one appeared. This was no man. She had seen the bravest of them shaking in their boots under her cutlass. This one had barely flinched. “Why are you here?”
His shoulders lowered with his exhale. Hands still in the air, he turned to her. His eyes traveled along her blade now pressed to his chest. “My crew abandoned me on this desolate island.” But his casual tone didn't match his tensed body. He could be lying. Hmmm, but she had thought his cockiness had cost him his ship. Unable to stand the intensity of his stare, she lowered her glance to his bare feet on the sun-bleached pebbles. Shiver her timbers, never before had she succumbed under a man’s gaze. Even her late husband, god bless his soul, had always said she’d made him work hard for a morsel of her love. With great difficulty, she forced herself to look at the marooned sailor’s piercing eyes. “You are seeking safe passage, I presume.”
“You presume right.” He lowered his hands to his hips. “To Ragusa, if that is your heading.”

My second novel, a pirate’s romance titled “Treasured Chest” released on November 24th is available at Black Opal Books Amazon Barnes & Noble AllRomance eBooks Smashwords and Kobobooks

BLURB

The last thing Captain Sirena expected to find on a desolate island was...him!

When Carmen Ventura takes up her post as commander of the Strega, she becomes the new Captain Sirena, the legendary pirate most people think is just a myth created to scare children. Her first quest is to search for the “treasured chest” hidden by her predecessor. But before she can even begin the hunt, she runs into Marko Lucin, captain of the Levant and Carmen’s most insane adventure yet.

How can the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen be a bloody pirate?

Never one to pass up an adventure, especially where pretty women are concerned, Marko finds his ultimate challenge in Carmen. Not only does he fall for her courage, spunk, and intelligence, but the lady pirate can also help him get what he wants—the famous treasure everyone whispers about. His only problem—how long can he play the charming captain before she discovers his true intentions?

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