Her Wicked
Captain
River
Rogues #1
By: Sandra Jones
Releasing November 4, 2014
Samhain Publishing
She played right into his hands.
Possessing uncanny people-reading skills like her mama, Philadelphia “Dell” Samuels has spent thirteen years in her aunt’s rustic Ozarks home, telling fortunes over playing cards and trying to pass as white. But the treacherous Mississippi River childhood her mama dragged her away from finally catches up to her on a steamboat captained by her old friend Rory Campbell.
Known
to his crew as the Devil’s Henchman, Rory is a gambler in need of a miracle.
Following the cold trail of his boss’s wife and bastard daughter, Dell, Rory
has only one goal in mind: saving his crew from the boss’s cruelty by ruining
him. The only one who can defeat the Monster of the Mississippi is the man
trained to take his place. Rory’s convinced he can lure his boss into a
high-stakes game against a rival, and with Dell’s people-reading skills, the
monster will lose everything.
Under
Rory’s tutelage and protection, Dell agrees to the tortured captain’s plan.
Passion and peril quickly bring them together as lovers. But when Rory’s plan
goes awry, the lives of the innocent depend on Dell’s ability to read the
situation correctly—and hopefully save them all.
“What sort of danger are
you bringing me into?”
“Nothing for you to worry
about. I’m good with pistols. I’m good with lots of things.” His voice held a
smile, and he flicked the top button of her dress open with the tiniest motion
of his index finger.
“Stop that.” Shock zinged
through her. She planted her hands on his shoulders to
push away, but he resisted,
anchoring her in the circle of his brawny arms. “Let me go!
Stop teasing. You’re trying to
distract me. I demand to know what trouble you’re bringing Jeremiah and me
into.”
“You demand?” His laughter
vibrated his chest beneath her palms. “Lady, you can’t make demands on my ship.
The cardsharps who frequent Moreaux’s gaming salons are a different breed than
the fur traders and muleskinners you know. They’d as soon put a bullet in your
chest than lose a hand of cards, but as long as you’re with me, you’ve got no
one to worry about.” He ran his index finger gently along her cheek. “’Cept
maybe me.”
A sharp retort sprang to
her tongue, but the hungry look in his eyes froze her. His gaze fell to her
mouth, and he eased forward. Anticipation held her captive as his lips brushed
over hers, warm and gentle, fitting like the missing half of a pair. Her
eyelids fell shut against the sparks in her mind, and she swore she felt them
ignite, the heat flowing up her chest and neck.
When he sat back, she
opened her eyes to find him regarding her through dark eyes of his own. Wanting
more, she folded her lips together, savoring the wondrous sensation of his
mouth on hers a moment longer.
“Did you see that coming,
angel?” he whispered.
His teasing words were like
ice water in her face. “I see everything I want to see. Be serious.” Truth be
told, she was glad she wasn’t standing at the moment. His surprising kiss
could’ve swept her feet out from under her. She looked down at him haughtily.
She’d show him she wasn’t to be played with. There’d been other men who’d tried
to spread her legs, who’d kissed her first—though never as sweet and seductive
as Rory’s kiss. But she’d bested every man, found their weaknesses, turned
their superstitions against them. Rory wasn’t any different. He thought to
bring her back to his boss like a prize? Well, she was nobody’s trophy! “What
makes you think you can kiss me, Captain?”
His hand slid behind her
head. He smirked. “You’re the one who came to me. Now”—he twined his fingers in
the back of her hair and murmured—“let me kiss you properly.”
Dell refused to come any
closer, but he bent his knees, propping his feet up on the
other chair and causing her to
fall against his body. Her hands flattened on his chest, feeling the solid
muscle beneath the linen of his shirt. His lips covered hers again, and his
hand caressed the back of her neck in a gesture so tender and intimate, unlike
anything she’d ever felt before. The tip of his tongue touched her bottom lip
in request. She couldn’t deny her curiosity a moment longer, so she opened for
him, allowing his tongue to seek hers.
He tasted of smoke and rum,
provocative and forbidden as he coaxed her, melting her inside and out, until
she gave way and parried, matching movement for movement.
When she fell fully into his
erotic dance, he purred low in his throat. His fingertips
trailed up and down her neck,
stroking her skin with care, but his lips were urgent. She
drank him in, following her
instinct to dissolve in his embrace, allowing him to deepen his exploration.
Her fingers fumbled under his open shirt, questing for his skin and finding the
fine hair of his chest.
Rory turned his head,
taking in a deep breath. His hands covered hers. “I was wrong. Maybe you’re the
dangerous one.”
Dell bit her bottom lip as
she tried to corral her racing heart. Suddenly uncomfortable in his lap, she
readjusted, and he groaned. She discovered the reason for her discomfort—his
rigid organ strained against her backside.
Rory tapped her chin with a
light fingertip. “If you’re after respectability like you claim, you’ll not
find it with me. Understand?”
Dell nodded and untangled
herself from him. His arms fell away as she cast off his blanket and stood.
Perhaps it was the wine she’d drunk or the heady comfort of his warm body, but
she immediately wished she’d stayed put, enjoying more of his kisses. She
hugged herself, looking at his boots, the deck, anywhere but at him that he
might know her thoughts.
“Unless”—he shifted and
spread his arms across the back of the chair in an invitation for her to feast
over the naked muscles of his chest—“you’d rather lower your standards like
your mama and wallow in decadence with the rest of us.”
“Like my mama?” Dell
huffed. “Damn you! My mama was a decent woman. That’s why she got me out of
that kind of life. One kiss—two kisses—doesn’t make me one of your tarts, Gory
Rory. And you kissed me. I never asked you, I never gave you permission.”
He lifted a mocking brow.
“You sure didn’t try very hard to refuse me.”
Dell spun away and headed back
to the captain’s quarters. She heard him mutter an
indignant “Gory Rory?”
His
laughter rang in her ears as she closed the door.
* * * * * * * * * *
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.sandrajonesromance.com/events.html
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22922437-her-wicked-captain
Buy Links
Author Info
Historical
romance author Sandra Jones was born and raised in Arkansas. She loves living
in a cabin overlooking White River where she enjoys watching eagles and
dreaming about the adventurous frontiersmen who once traveled past in
steamboats. When she’s not reading, writing or researching, she’s the cook for
her cranky old tom cat, her husband of more than 25 years, and her two grown
sons. She also loves to chat with her fans.
Author Links
Website: http://www.sandrajonesromance.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SJonesRomance
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/SandraJones
My father, he passed away when i was 15. I miss him.
ReplyDelete