Pirates, Passion and Plunder Read online

  Copyright

  All seventeen books within this anthology are works of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. With the exception of well-known historical figures and places, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, now known or hereafter invented, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the applicable author, except for the use of brief quotations in a critical article or book review.

  The license granted herein is to read this ebook for entertainment or literary criticism purposes only. Without limiting the generality of the forgoing, any use of this work for machine learning or artificial intelligence training purposes is not included under the license and is expressly prohibited.

  Copyright © 2019 - applicable to all authors listed within this boxed set.

  Full copyright remains with each author.

  Stock Photography by Period Images

  Cover Design by Victoria Cooper

  The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, or distribution of this book without explicit written permission is theft of intellectual property. Thank you for your support of our authorial rights.

  Our authors, hailing from all over the world, are thrilled to have come together to create this dazzling set of historical romances.

  Being an international collection, you’ll find both American and British conventions for spelling and punctuation in this edition. No error is intended. Each author has written according to their preferred (and usual) style.

  This copyright applies to the following authors’ stories: Victoria Vale, Lee Savino, Sue Lyndon, Marie Hall, Ashe Barker, Felicity Brandon, Golden Angel, Mariah Stone, Celeste Barclay, Celeste Jones, Emily Tilton, Measha Stone, S. Cinders, Vanessa Brooks, Jane Burrelli, Simone Leigh, Jaye Peaches and Sky Purington

  Contents

  Title Page

  Your Invitation

  Foreword

  Seventeen Wicked Novellas

  The Captain’s Captive

  Raven

  Rogue Booty

  The Blond Devil of the Sea

  Bought by the Buccaneer

  Taken by Sin

  The Sea Wolf

  Edward’s Law

  Pirate’s Ruin

  Owned by the Pirate

  Troubled Waters

  Pursuing her Pirate

  His Stowaway

  His Wicked Ways

  Cut and Thrust

  Pirate’s Pleasure

  Lady Evangeline's Piratical Persuasion

  More Pirate Shenanigans

  Reviews

  Your Invitation

  Your Invitation

  FROM THE HISTORICAL HARLOTS

  Love steamy historical romance?

  Come and join the Historical Harlots reader group.

  Behind the scenes chat with your favourite authors, exclusive giveaways and secret snippets, early eyes on new releases and sales, and lots of fun!

  We’d love for you to join us.

  Click HERE to find out more.

  Dear Reader

  Welcome to ‘Pirates, Passion & Plunder'—an anthology of seventeen scorchingly spicy historical romances.

  We hope our stories provide welcome entertainment, that they inspire you and transport you—and give you a bit of a giggle along the way, with their hair-raising shenanigans!

  Here, you'll find masterful pirate lords (and mistresses), courageous heroines and heroes, adventure and thrills—spanning many centuries on the wild, windswept seas.

  Once the scourge of the oceans, pirates plundered more than two thousand vessels on the Atlantic trade routes between 1718 and 1722 alone; yet, one look at Errol Flynn's Captain Blood (1935), Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) or the cast of the marvellous mini-series Black Sails is proof enough that we have a secret admiration for their rebellious lifestyle.

  In fact, captains held their position more through respect than fear, and along surprisingly democratic lines. Their mini-kingdoms on the High Seas tended to be more egalitarian (and multi-cultural) than anywhere on terra firma.

  They may represent cut-throated ruthlessness, but also some romantic notion of freedom, self-determination, and escape.

  Pirates make their own rules.

  Have fun.

  We wish you happy reading…

  What's a lady to do when she's boarded by ruthless brigands and barbarous buccaneers, kidnapped on the lawless High Seas?

  Stripped to the skin by piercing eyes.

  Captive and claimed by rough, strong hands.

  She knows it's forbidden but how can she resist... a pirate's pleasure.

  *Warning : Bodices will be ripped!*

  Browse the teasers which follow, to decide where to begin... if you dare…

  THE CAPTAIN’S CAPTIVE

  by Victoria Vale

  Captain Drew Reeves returns to the island of Jamaica to reclaim the woman he once loved. Arabella promised herself to him but is now set to wed another. Taken as his captive, she is subject to his every dark desire, his to do with as he pleases. But as he searches for answers, he will find that Arabella’s betrayal wasn’t what it seemed.

  RAVEN

  by Ashe Barker

  Dismissed from her job, no references, destitute, Paulette Vêrtine embarks on a desperate quest to find her only living relative. Lacking funds to pay for her passage, she stows away on the only vessel she can find bound for Santa Natalia, her brother’s last-known whereabouts.

  Unfortunately, Raven’s Claw is a pirate ship, whose dark and dangerous captain does not take kindly to uninvited passengers.

  When Paulette is discovered, the Raven himself vows to teach her a lesson she will not forget.

  ROGUE BOOTY

  by Golden Angel

  Determined to avenge her husband's death, a very desperate Blythe teams up with Captain Mack and his first mate Jake Raw to take down the corrupt governor of Antigua.

  But sailing the high seas with two roguish escaped-slaves-turned-pirates will be for more than just revenge, as Blythe discovers that both men want to unfurl more than just their ship's sails.

  THE BLOND DEVIL OF THE SEA

  by Celeste Barclay

  What happens when a lady smuggler meets a ruthless pirate?

  Caragh Pedrick is used to smugglers, but she is unprepared for the pirate captain who captures her during a raid.

  Rowan MacNeill was forced from his home and into a life of piracy. Now the captain of his own ship, Rowan expects obedience from the minx he unwittingly captured.

  The question is: will she submit?

  BOUGHT BY THE BUCCANEER

  by Vanessa Brooks

  A woman who craves adventure receives an unexpected offer which takes her to foreign climes. Headstrong and wilful, evading her chaperone she finds herself kidnapped and sold into slavery.

  Bought by a buccaneer!

  TAKEN BY SIN

  by Sky Purington

  Captured by Blackbeard and tied to a bed in a brothel, Hannah awaits the inevitable only to be rescued by
a pirate with whom she shares a forbidden past. Eager to exact his revenge for Hannah's taunting letters, Luke becomes her new captor.

  Will she submit long enough for him to defeat their pursuers? Find out on the wild seas of their sinful, indecent adventure.

  THE SEA WOLF

  by Lee Savino

  On the eve of my wedding, I’m stolen away on a ghostly ship by a warrior trapped in time.

  Legend tells of a Sea Wolf who must sail the northern seas until he finds the woman who can break his curse and lead him home.

  The legend is real. The Sea Wolf has come for me.

  The Sea Wolf is a standalone fantasy romance starring a huge dominant warrior and the woman he will claim as his own.

  EDWARD’S LAW

  by Felicity Brandon

  The Dexterity—designed to be the pride of the King’s navy, is mine. Or, at least, she should have been, had the scoundrel Edward Law not waltzed into Christy’s auction house and stolen her from right under my nose. But if Law thinks he can claim what rightfully belongs to me, then he has another thing coming.

  No man can make demands on me, be he gentleman, or otherwise. I won’t concede to his dark, brooding eyes. I won’t surrender to his iron will.

  Edward Law means nothing to me…

  PIRATE’S RUIN

  by Marie Hall

  Winning a beautiful woman in a game of chance was a mere diversion for Mason Stiles. Little did he realise that Jane Rutherford is anything but simple, and there's nothing straightforward about his growing feelings for her. Falling in love could ruin his lifelong plans, but are some prizes worth the risk?

  OWNED BY THE PIRATE

  by Sue Lyndon and Celeste Jones

  Desperate to escape an arranged marriage, Lizzy creates an elaborate scheme to disappear—on her wedding day, no less. When her carefully laid plans go awry, Captain William “Sea Lord” Marshall swoops in to save the day.

  Can a high-spirited mademoiselle and a high-handed pirate find love?

  TROUBLED WATERS

  by Jane Burrelli

  No one dares defy the Black Scot - except his own wife!

  Years ago Marie disappeared without a trace.

  Now a twist of fate brings them together, and this time she is not getting away. Nothing will stand between Jack and the answers he seeks.

  It’s time to remind Marie what it means to wed a pirate.

  PURSUING HER PIRATE

  by Jaye Peaches

  Esme has her heart set on one man. Unfortunately, he’s a pirate. Her only hope in catching his attention is to do something drastic and risk her life. Relying on the loathsome act of pressganging, she uses her disguise to gain access to his ship. However, Captain Flynn Bartoc has other plans for Esme, and she’s not going to win anyone’s heart if she’s tied up in his cabin.

  HIS STOWAWAY

  by Measha Stone

  With no choices left to her, Elizabeth embarks on an adventure to save her friend from a lifetime of slavery. Unknowingly, Captain Sebastian Treach comes to her aid. When she’s found stowed away on his ship, Elizabeth learns what it means to be truly beneath the authority and care of a man.

  HIS WICKED WAYS

  by S. Cinders

  It had been ten years since Eliza had heard his voice, felt his arms around her, and knew the devastating affect he had on her person. In those ten years she had learned the hard way to never rely on another individual, especially a man. So when James shows up on the cusp of her escape from the brothel, she wants nothing to do with him. However, James, after being impressed into the navy and clawing his way tooth and nail back to her, won't take no for an answer. It's clear the choice he must make--kidnap the chit and fight it out on the high seas.

  CUT AND THRUST

  by Simone Leigh

  Doomed by her mother's machinations to be wife to the detestable Mr Melville, can Josephine escape her gilded cage? And when she discovers Fate has dealt her a new hand, will she have the courage to play the cards?

  PIRATE’S PLEASURE

  by Mariah Stone

  While on a Caribbean trip to forget her ex, an inexperienced, modern woman Lisa is transported back to the 18th century, into the arms of pirate Captain Cole the Black. Raiding ships and pillaging experienced women is his way of life. But when Lisa appears in his bedroom, everything changes. She’s not his type, but he’s never wanted a woman more. The two strike a bargain. Cole will give her the necklace which will transfer her back in time if she will submit to his dark and forbidden pleasures. The problem is, neither would want this night to end.

  LADY EVANGELINE’S PIRATICAL PERSUASION

  by Emily Tilton

  Lady Evangeline Stratford has run away from her engagement to a detestable gentleman—straight onto a pirate ship she thought a merchantman. Worse, she has come into the clutches of a crew who like to keep their girls naked and ready to gratify their every shameful whim. Will the handsome first mate responsible for her dire circumstances prove the man to rescue her, as well?

  The Captain’s Captive

  by Victoria Vale

  Prologue

  Falmouth, Trelawny

  Jamaica

  1791

  The warm waters of the Caribbean Sea washed over Arabella Baines as she knelt on the shore, shaking like a leaf in the wind. She was chilled to the bone, as if her heart had turned into a ball of ice pumping arctic waters through her veins. She hardly registered the height of the tide as it swept over her. The gentle waves that had lapped at her skirts that afternoon now crashed high enough to splash her bodice, sending tiny crystalline droplets through the air and scattering over her neck and face. She wished the waters would rise high and strong enough to drag her into the depths of the cruel sea.

  Hot tears splashed her cheeks, her throat hoarse and raw from weeping. She’d been out here most of the day, mourning what had once been and what would never be now that the love of her life had been taken away.

  “Oh, Drew,” she moaned, burying her face in her hands. “How can I be expected to live without you?”

  On this very beach, bathed by silvery moonlight, she had lain in his arms and pledged her heart and soul to him for eternity. A vow whispered in the night, an oath sealed with blood, a promise that could never be broken. Had it only been two years since she’d stood here with him, whispering her hopes and dreams for the future—a future in which he would be her husband the father of her children?

  This morning the moment had felt like only yesterday, but that was before she’d received the devastating news of the death of Andrew Reeves. Now, it seemed like a lifetime stretched between the hopeful girl she had been and the broken one she was now. An eternity ago, she had pressed her cut and bleeding palm against that of another and spoken words that bound her to him for life. It hadn’t mattered to them that their little ritual could be considered pagan and sacrilegious, that their union was no real marriage and it meant nothing to anyone but them. But, Arabella wouldn’t have cared, for on that night she and Drew had been the only two people in the world. If it was real and true to them, what did it matter what anyone else thought?

  He was supposed to have made her his wife by now, after earning the funds needed to purchase shares in his uncle’s shipping company. With those shares and the security of owning part of a business, he would be ready to approach her father with an offer of marriage. The man had refused Drew twice before, insisting that he would not give his daughter over to a landless, penniless carpenter’s apprentice no matter how much he claimed to love her. So, Drew had made it his mission to change his circumstances.

  “Your father is right to want a secure future for you,” Drew had told her after the second refusal.

  “My dowry is more than enough to provide such a future,” she’d argued. “He is simply being unreasonable.”

  He had chuckled, the sun creating prisms of gold in his honey-hued eyes and glinting off brown skin baked to deep umber by the sun. He reminded her of a lion sunning itself o
n the sand, all golden skin and eyes and a wide, plush mouth. The most beautiful man she’d ever seen.

  “It isn’t unreasonable. He wants to keep the fortune hunters at bay by ensuring the man who weds you has something to offer. It is no more than I would want for my own daughter, if I had one.”

  “Someday you will have daughters of your own, and sons too,” she had vowed. “I will give you as many of them as you like.”

  That had led to him tumbling her onto her back, laughing as she’d put up a fuss over the sand in her hair but paying her no heed as he’d bent his head for a kiss. As always, the joining of their lips had led to the caress of his hands, his deft fingers pulling her garments loose and searching out the parts of Arabella that sent pleasure spiraling through her body.