DAYS OF
DESIRE
by
Tina Donahue
Genre: Historical Romance
Pub
Date: 7/4/2017
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. . . .
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Prologue
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.”
Even the Devil wasn’t as foul. “Her reaction
to your plan should worry
you deeply. The moment you give her infant
away and see her brother’s
neck broken, prepare for her to plot your end.
I promise it won’t be pleasant.
Females are curious like that when it comes to
their families. As far as
Kent goes, you believe he’ll be easy to fight
and win against? A pirate
no one has yet to catch?” Royce leaned up in
his chair. “If he’s alive, has
an island, and Diana, he will protect both,
especially if she’s carrying his
child. A frontal attack would be suicide.
Should anyone escape death, he
would hound them and you to the ends of the
earth.”
“You sound afraid.”
“Sensible.”
“I would expect daring from a man who is
willing to engage in the
foulest deeds for much-needed capital. It
would seem your reversal of
fortune has affected far more than your
appearance.”
Royce suppressed a retort at how common he
must look to a windbag
like Bishop. Wigs were for fools who had gone
bald or cared what others
thought, not him. In this clime, silks and
velvets were a torment only a
simpleton would suffer. Royce’s wool breeches
and linen shirt clung to him,
providing enough discomfort. “Unlike some
others, I value good sense.”
“You should have thought of that before your—damnation.”
Bishop
jerked his leg from the slave. “You scratched
me.” Rage tightened his
features. “Filthy savage.” He slammed his cane
on her shoulder.
The crack and her shriek tore through the
smallish space. Moans
followed. Trembling, the slave drew her arms
and legs into herself.
Royce gripped the walking stick before Bishop
hit her again. “Beat her to
death and you lose valuable merchandise.” All
that mattered to men like him.
“She deserves punishment.” Bishop tugged his
cane.
Royce held on to it. “You’ve succeeded in
drawing blood and proving
your superiority.”
“I’ll do far worse to her and to Diana. She’s
the one who should be naked
and cowering at my feet, and she will be with
your help.”
Royce wrested the cane away, then hurled the
thing. It struck the
whitewashed wall and clacked against a table.
He dropped to his chair.
“Any woman will fight to her death if you
threaten her child or family.”
“Diana has no power. No female has.
“You.” He threw his buckled shoe at the beaten
slave. “See to your task
and take care this time, lest I kill you.” He
stuck out his portly leg.
Tears slid down the young woman’s ebony
cheeks. She crawled to his
side and stroked him.
He sighed noisily. “See what a strong hand
does? It instills fear and
obedience. No matter what you may believe, you
have no control over
this situation, any more than a slave, Diana,
or Kent does. You will do as
I demand or risk everything. Tell me, what
would you do if harm came to
your mother and sisters?”
Bile rose in Royce’s throat. He swallowed the
hideous taste. On Bishop’s
word, Royce’s sisters and mother could be lost
to him forever because he
hadn’t the funds to buy back their freedom. To
bring them home.
His determination to succeed grew icy, his
calculation cold. Having
Bishop’s neck in his hands was going to be
heaven. A murder he promised
himself once he had the money to rescue his
family. “Care to find out?”
Fear registered in Bishop’s dark eyes. He
fiddled with his lacy collar.
“You best see to your undertaking. If nothing
else, Diana’s enslavement,
along with Kent and Peter’s deaths will ensure
your loved ones’ well-being.”
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.
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1 comments:
Thanks for hosting me today! :)
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