Jesse had been sent to bring the Black Widow in, trouble was, he was falling for her fast. Years later Maggie and Jesse meet up again and Maggie has a surprise for Jesse.
Confederate officer, Lieutenant Jesse Coleman is ordered to bring in the most dangerous spy in the area, the "Black Widow." Problem is, Jesse's already gotten a look at Maggie and decided she's about the most alluring woman he's ever seen. When he meets her, she stirs every lustful thought he’s ever had. Despite their attraction, he still has a duty, but if he obeys orders, he'll lose the one thing he wants most….Maggie.
When the war ends, things have changed, although a lot of people haven't, and Maggie is on the run for her life. She has a big surprise for the man who promised to help her.
Once Maggie shows up again, Jesse seizes the chance to have a life with her, but even if they survive all the dangers ahead of them, can he live with her Love Rules?
Excerpt
“Take a good look out there, son. That’s what killed nearly five thousand of our men yesterday morning,” the sergeant said, spitting his tobacco out and squinting from the rising sun.
Lieutenant Jesse Coleman adjusted the spyglass and propped himself on his elbows. The air rushed from his lungs as he licked his lips, wiped his spyglass, and shifted on the grass. He watched the vision of a woman near the creek bed. He couldn’t take his eyes from her. Although he should, it just wasn’t going to happen. He’d never seen a naked woman before. Not like this one. This woman was a mullato, the best parts of each, he decided. Her skin was almost a golden brown. As though God himself had baked her bronze. Her hips were round and full and firm looking, her legs long and thin, her waist tiny, her bosom titillating as though seeking a kiss from the sun. The only things marring that perfect body were the huge whip marks on her back, about ten of them. Cut to the quick at one time. The very thought of the beautiful creature enduring such pain made Jesse want to protect her from all harm. She intrigued him in the most basic way, but there was something more than the physical that made him watch her. Gazing upon her excited him more than he could say.
She drew a breath and his mouth fell open as his tongue seemed to lick the air. Throwing back her head, the woman let her long hair fall against her back and hips. Her breasts hardened and grew as she inhaled the glorious day. He’d never seen hair that long on a Negress. She basked in the pre-dawn of morning. The warmth of sunrise kissed her skin. He wasn’t sure he could stand much more of her torture. His muscles tensed, relaxed and tensed again. A man could endure many things, but seeing a beautiful woman and not being able to touch her was excruciating.
The long fringe of her lashes cast shadows on her glowing cheeks.
As a gentleman he shouldn’t stare at her so, obviously she didn’t realize anyone was about so early in the morning. Pre-dawn and the dew still dampened the grass. However, he couldn’t put the spyglass down. No man could! Her beauty was God given, and not to appreciate it would be a sin.
Her long, dark hair dangled about her shoulders and back, and she tossed it to the side to brush it. Her hair wasn’t too curly, but hung more in a long wavy mass. Black and sleek and shiny. Her face was sweet, innocent almost, her wide eyes like almonds, her mouth full like a ripe peach, her nose straight, flaring just a bit. He licked his lips. With each stroke of the brush her full breasts jiggled, creating an ache in Jesse that was sure to cause marching problems later. He dropped his chin to the ground and groaned.
Professional Reviews
Love Rules review by Jen Karalf
Desere's original review can be found at www.romancing-the-book.com!
I was completely enthralled by this truly lovely tale of love. The book was set in the Confederate war time period ,and really blew me away. The “Black Widow” is used by the Federals to spy on the Rebels. And Jesse is the one assigned to bring her in at all costs!
The book tells of love and betrayal and I really do not want to give away too much here as it would ruin the book for those who have not read it yet.
What I will give you is that you will find yourself rooting for Jesse and “The Black Widow” all the way and find yourself in scenes where it is almost unbelievable what happens but you can’t help yourself from going “What next?”
And yes like in movies and other books of War there were some truly horrific scenes that had me wanting to rather page forward to the romance scenes. But in the end it was a very good book and well written. I did however have trouble with forgiving Jesse, and it is that reason that very reason that keeps me from giving this one a 5 roses review.
Great Read By Punkin8187
Set in the 1800s during the Confederate war, here is a tale of love, and the people who fought for it.
Maggie or 'Black Widow' is a young, beautiful, mulatto woman who is on her own, living in a run down shack on the mountain. In order for her to stay on the mountain unharmed, she is used by the Federals to spy on the Rebels. Because of this, many blame her for the many deaths that the Rebels sustained since the Federals were able to find their camp.
Jesse is considered to be the most handsome man for the Rebels. He was commanded to try and seduce Maggie and bring her back to the Rebel camp. While he does succeed in finding her, he didn't expect to fall in love with her. Even their passion was not enough for him to not bring her in.
I do not want to tell the whole story but this was a GREAT read! To me, it had everything; love, sex, violence, laughter and sadness. Both main characters were well developed and you had a sense of why they did/thought the way they did. Although the story could be considered a historical romance, it was told in a modern sort of way. I LOVED this book! I usually don't write reviews so consider this, my humble opinion. :)
Interesting Story Reviewed By Aries Hylton
I found this myself captivated by the characters in this book. I wanted to give it 5 stars but I guess I am still less forgiving of Jesse. The only down side was it took guts to be that forgiving of finding and losing a lover to the evils of war so soon. I loved the energy between Jesse and Maggie! Lots of too good to be true moments and lots of feel good or horrified moments. I still could'nt help but root for Jesse and Maggie to have their wonderful ending. Loved it!
