An excerpt from Emma & Captain Lakehorn:

At some point, the lack of air from keeping my breath shallow must’ve made me pass out or the sheer exhaustion after such an exciting evening made me drift off to a dreamless sleep that abruptly ended with a sharp “Who’re you?”

The slight accent had a gruffness to it that surprised me, but was also much lighter than how I imagined a pirate would talk. My eyes fluttered open and I jumped to my feet, smoothing my dress out as I stammered out an apology. I kept my eyes down at the ground and hoped this wasn’t the last day of my life.

A warm, weathered thumb caught the end of my chin and lifted my eyes upward. My breath caught in my throat as I made eye contact with the lightest blue eyes I had ever seen. They were brighter than the warmest summer day with no clouds in the sky and I found myself getting lost in them. I also felt my body tingling in a way I had never experienced before.

“I said,” the voice belonging to the blue eyes began again, “who’re you?”

“Emma.” I managed to squeak out.

“Great. And do yer parents know yer here?”

At this I became indignant, tired of being under my parents’ rule.

“I am an adult.” I practically spat out.

The man’s eyes narrowed and my stomach flipped as I remembered it was a pirate I was talking to. My mind raced for ideas on how to get out of this situation. I started to apologize, but his thumb moved to my lips briefly, silencing me.

“I like the spunk. No one ever talks to the captain like that. Especially not young spying girls.”

I started to defend myself before realizing the futility of it. I was spying. But I wasn’t a girl.

“I’m not a girl. A woman. One with great prospects, just so you know.” I clasped my hand over my mouth to stop any more words from coming out. I cringed, awaiting the captain's response.

To my relief, he laughed and then lowered his voice.

“I can’t take ye back to the dock now. We’ve been sailing all night and it wouldn’t be fair to the crew.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “It would be a certain mutiny.”

Continue reading for a hot, steamy pirate encounter with a deliciously happy ending.