The Pirate's Dream

Pirate captain's daughter Nancy Black walked away from her childhood sweetheart Heath, whom she loves and hates in equal measure, after realizing he would never let her seize command of the Briar Rose from him. Her pain at losing Heath, and the Briar Rose, which is the only home she has ever known, is soothed by a marriage proposal from the kind and handsome Rufus Hardy. But can she really turn her back on Heath, and her old life as a pirate?

Advisory: This 10,000-word erotic romance is the fifth in the Briar Rose series. Contains explicit sexual material and is not suitable for under-18s.

Excerpt

I stepped into the tender piloted by a young feller in ragged trousers who smiled broadly at Rufus's gold coin which he flipped to him. He did not bat an eyelid at my unconventional dress, and I thanked the Lord I had decided to wear britches instead of my wool skirt when it came to stepping off the quay into the little wooden clinker.

Instead of waiting for one of the men to lift me inside and seat me, I was able to take a flying leap from the steps into the tiny craft, landing like a cat in the middle so as not to destabilize it and tip out our pilot.

"The lady is a sailor, then?"
"And what a sailor!" added Rufus. "Good man, we have bought a ship and we would appreciate being ferried out to her. If you collect us some time soon after sunrise tomorrow, I will make it worth your while."

I whistled admiringly.

"She's not the Briar Rose, but I bet she can't half run when her sheets are flying in a breeze."

"So you are the folks who have bought the Eliza Jane? She's one fine vessel if you don't mind me saying so."

"Is the lady happy with her gift?" Rufus winked at me.

"More than happy. She's fast and reliable and she'll do the trip backwards and forwards to Virginia in the blink of an eye. I can't wait to get her under sail. We'll have to organize a crew, of course..."

"We can start tomorrow, once we are married. I do not think it will be difficult to find men to crew a pretty ship like that."

Once aboard, I could see that my first impressions were justified. Every inch of her was tight and polished, smoothed and shiny. In many ways, she was the antithesis of the Briar Rose and I wondered if I would ever come to love her the same.

I inspected the sails for tears and rot, gave the planking a good kick to ensure it was sound all the way through and scrutinized the pilothouse to make sure the wheel was comfortable to use.

Below, she was just as I had expected. She was barely half the size of the Rose, and her slim shape made her feel smaller still. The captain's quarters were but a single room in the stern, but she was fitted out prettily enough and there were even some clean blankets for bedding down and a fresh straw mattress. I had feared we would be spending the night before our wedding in separate hammocks, so this was a certain improvement.

Once in the cabin, I clasped Rufus's hands between mine.

"You have done us proud," I said softly. "I could not have chosen a better little ship for us had I spent a year searching. It is true that she does not have the memories that the Rose has for me, but we will make our own."

"We shall, starting from tonight!"