Once upon a time, this vampire ran into
this pirate….
Ah, the love of pirates! Okay, of Captain Jack Sparrow…The Pirates of the Caribbean holds the
attraction of many fans across the world. And vampires…the following of The Vampire Diaries and True Blood still continues to this day.
But what if these worlds collided?
Three years ago, I began my historical romance novel about a
pirate in the West Indies (Caribbean) and set it during one of the eras I love
to read about – Regency (c. 1800). But the story needed a twist, a different
approach. I liked the above vampire stories and many more so why not make my
hero Alexander, not only a pirate captain but also a vampire pirate?
The make that one elementary change plunged the tale into a
new sphere. Sailors of that era and before and even later, believed the seas
were home to many monsters and evil spots that lay waiting to devour them and
their ships. The kraken was one of the well-known creatures, known to seep up
and take everything down into the inky depths of the sea. Mermaids were sirens,
also leading men to the deaths. In the Caribbean, voodoo was born during the
European occupation as a way to strike fear into the white oppressors. Plus the
tales of vampiric creatures prevailed in Europe for centuries since the Black
Death. Therefore, why not make the superstitious sailors of the sea, who feared
these evils along with the scourge of the seas, pirates, come to face their own
evil – a vampire pirate?
Her Eternal Rogue is a historical fiction steeped in romance
of Alexander and Lavinia, based on historic research of pirates and vampires in
the structure of Regency England. Step into the depths of the period in the
West Indies where Alexander ruled the seas as the infamous pirate, Captain
Sword, his rescue of Lady Lavinia and their return to her home in London in a
tale of the unexpected!
Her Eternal Rogue –
Excerpt:
Alexander sat at the table and
finished another glass of rum, mentally assessing the damage to his ship. And
his unwanted guest. Though attempting to drown himself in three-fourths of a
bottle of rum, he wasn’t nearly inebriated enough to dampen his growing desire
for her.
Ian sat across the table from him,
staring. Alexander knew the Scotsman too well to believe he’d stay silent much
longer.
“So,” the Scotsman began. “When
will ye tell the lassie she’s gonnae home?”
Alexander looked at him hard and
poured himself another glass. “I’ll not be goin’ close to any British port with
a damaged ship...”
“Ach, I see,” the Scotsman
speculated. “So, you thinkin’ about keepin’ her fer yerself, then?”
“No,” Alexander answered too
quickly, downing a gulp. An absurd thought, he knew, but so tempting.
“Well,” Ian continued. “Wi’ her
stayin’ here, that’ll leave many tae believe we’re cursed wi’ a woman onboard and
no charges lifted.”
Alexander laughed. Cursed by having
a woman onboard? He’d tell them about curses…
“Fine, put her in the aft cabin
till we’re through with…”
“Capt’n, ye cannae be placin’ her
there,” Ian scolded, sounding like a father reprimanding his son. “Be pirates
on this ship, sair, and puttin’ her there is more or less tellin’ the boys
she’s fer sharin’.”
“What would
you have me do?” Alexander barked. When Ian didn’t respond, Alexander downed
another gulp. “Keep her where she is?”
“Aye.”
“Fine, then I’ll sleep in the aft
cabin.”
“Capt’n,” Ian said quietly. “Ye
cannae be doin’ that either.”
Alexander
glared at the glass in front of him. Damn, the man was right. Pirate ships had
no assigned quarters. Sleeping areas were open to all. But on The Lily, Alexander’s curse and the
pirates’ fear of it, enabled him to claim the larger cabin exclusively. But he
was furious at having to house the English aristocrat there. Too far below her
station when he’d lived in England, he would have been denied access to her but
here… He shook his head. He and his crew had a reward for her safe return, and
he had to remember that. Ah yes, the reward. A clean slate—for the moment. A
few months with no law in pursuit, leaving them open to rob whomever they
wanted. A laugh but one both sides held for the British navy remained heavily
occupied across the ocean with the French, too busy to chase every pirate on
the seas.
Sharing quarters with her, being so
close to her, was too dangerous for them both. Her body was designed to entice
any man to wanton desires. A temptation he couldn’t ignore since he’d kissed
her the first time he saw her. Truly decadent on his part, but piracy did allow
deviations to any plan. He’d wanted to kiss those ruby lips, to invade her
mouth and, as he’d plunged his tongue into her, she’d tasted sweet, like
strawberries and cream. Everything about her made him want to bury himself deep
inside her. He downed another mouthful of rum. He feared if he was alone with
her for too long, he’d lose all his control. He’d never love her. The idea of
him ever loving a woman had been squashed that night years ago. But lust
remained…
No,
he thought, she had to go and soon.
Furious at the situation and how
the rum had failed to diminish his desires, Alexander slammed his glass down
and left the galley.
When he opened his cabin door, he
readied himself for her demand that he release her. Prepared for her verbal
assault, he sighed with relief when he saw Lavinia curled up tight in the
wingback chair, asleep. She did not even move at the sound of the door. The
moonlight gave her an angelic glow. So young and full of life. Asleep, her
blond hair tumbling over her shoulders and her bare ankles and dainty feet bent
partway beneath her. His cock twitched with longing. A fairy asleep in the
devil’s den. There’d be no arguments, no demands nor screams of protest coming
from her tonight. But he could make her scream in ecstasy. He closed his eyes,
burying his thoughts.
The boat swayed slightly, and he
stumbled. Leaning against the doorframe, he felt his tension drain. His eyes
shut, and he allowed the rum to overtake him, sliding to the floor and into the
arms of oblivion.
Amazon: http://amzn.to/19NmEQ7
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/17NluHb
iBook: http://bit.ly/14HnLyL
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| Author Gina Danna |
