Category: Historical Fiction Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
ISBN-10: 1601548885
Type: Fiction
Pages: 314
Copyright: 4/15/2011
Julia Anderson is on a perilous quest to find the man who murdered her brother. Hot on the killer's trail, she stumbles into the arms of a man who resembles a fearsome pirate from her childhood nightmares. But when this dark haired, blue-eyed pirate kisses her, the only thing he steals is her heart.
Captain Payton Tyler is on his own quest. He's distracted from his goal when an innocent, blond-haired beauty materializes out of the misty fog. When she disappears just as suddenly, he follows after her.
From the hellhole of the Barbary Coast to the refined society of old Sacramento, danger and intrigue thrust Julia and Payton together--and into each other's arms. As their desire for each other grows, so does Julia's suspicion. She fears the man who holds her in his arms, the man who holds her heart, may also be the man who killed her brother.
Excerpt
He turned to Julia. "It looks like I'm your man."
A cold, hard glare of anger lingered on his face. She sucked in her breath at the chilling sight. She didn't doubt he could protect her from the other men, but who would protect her from him?
Quickly, she gathered her wits. A man's ego could be a powerful thing. She'd boost it up so if he felt tempted to fall short of her expectation of him, he'd be in fear of crushing his own ego.
"I can see that you're a man of courage and honor...and decency," she added to boost her own courage. "I know I can depend upon you to see me safely away from here."
The coldness vanished from his face. "Courage, yes," he said as a warmth gathered in his eyes, "but if you want a man with honor and decency, the Devil's Lair is the wrong place to look."
"I was relying on you to help me."
"That I shall do," he swore. His gaze wandered over her face and body. "Just as soon as we agree upon a price. And I don't want your money."
As the leering crowd snickered, her anxiety grew. "What do you want as payment?" she asked, although fairly certain what he desired.
The captain touched her hair. Slowly, he pulled a handful of the long strands over her shoulder. His fingers slid the length of it until the back of his knuckles touched the swell of her bare breast.
A queasy feeling gripped her insides. Her heart beat so rapidly she thought it would burst from her chest. She shifted her gaze from his face and focused on a neutral object on the far side of the room in an effort to keep her body from trembling violently.
Any hope of getting away from here unscathed rapidly dissolved. She knew what price this pagan, savage pirate would demand.
Ireland 1947. Seven weeks of relentless snow. Guard Eamon Foley is searching for a missing child.
At Toby Appleyard’s farm, he discovers the kitchen littered with dead cats. And the skeletal remains of a woman. Upstairs, Toby is dead in his bed.
Ireland 1944.. A young man’s body is pulled from the River Lee. He’s wearing a distinctive silver ring that belonged to Paudy Daly, the eldest son of the notorious Mixer Daly. Why?
