“Stop that
filthy little bugger! He stole my purse!”
The Sea Angler
Tavern was noisy and crowded with men tipping back tankards of ale and shots of
whiskey after long hours working on the docks of the busy Port of Charleston.
Many of them, already deep in their drinks, would probably have made a better
target for Ginny Blackwood but when she spotted the portly man standing among
his friends, his purse openly displayed on his belt which was slung below his
belly, she knew she’d have no better chance. She had not expected him to be so
alert to her hands at his side when she cut the purse free.
Now, with escape
foremost in her mind, Ginny grumbled a curse through gritted teeth as she
tucked her head. Pulling her oversized hat over her eyes, she kept her eyes on
the floor just ahead of her as she moved quickly between the crowded tables.
When a round bellied man reeking of sweat and whiskey stepped in front her, his
gluttonous middle jiggling as he laughed at a humorous tale, she quickly
changed her direction and skirted around another crowded table.
“Somebody do something - that
wharf rat stole my money!” The shout went out again through the noisy room.
Ginny silently prayed that no one was paying attention to the drunk’s alarm.
Scrambling past another group of merry makers, she nearly sighed with relief
when she noted that there was only one more table between her and the door to
freedom.
Her heart pounded in her ears as
she scurried past the last table, her hand clutching the stolen purse tight to
her middle. Thievery was not her strong suit but Ginny was desperate for
currency. She’d taken a great gamble pinching any purse but if she was going to
survive alone in this city until she could gain passage home, she needed money.
More than that, she needed to find the thing that would save her father.
The noise of the hot, crowded
room seemed to fade away as the beating of her heart filled her ears. A
satisfied grin teased at her lips when she saw the door to the street so close.
However, when a large hand suddenly grabbed the front of her patched jacket and
pulled at the dirty linen blouse beneath it, that satisfaction vanished. Yanked
to a sudden halt from the side, she slammed against something hard. The air in
her lungs exhaled in a great whooshing sound.
Caught red-handed, panic
descended on Ginny as every sound disappeared around her. Fear forced
her focus on the broad chest inches from her face. A hard wall of flesh over
muscle covered in fine embroidered cloth and surrounded by soft, tanned
calfskin. Her gaze slowly slid up the façade of the mountain of masculinity
standing before her. The scent of sandalwood and soap filled her nose as her
eyes caressed fine linen and a neatly tied cravat. Just above the edge of fine
fabric, a strong jaw shifted and a full mouth curled slightly. Her eyes widened
when a set of smiling dark eyes that looked like melted chocolate surrounded by
thick curling lashes came into view. The full shapely lips beneath a straight
perfect nose parted exposing straight white teeth. She fought back a smile when
the tall man furrowed his black brow slightly before lifting one dark slash as
if he was trying to resolve his curiosity about the creature he’d captured.
“What have we here?” The brick
wall asked with a chuckle that sounded overly loud in Ginny’s ears. Heat
flushed her cheeks and beads of sweat formed on the back of her neck and when a
couple of drops slid down her back, she shivered. “Did you steal old Pete’s
purse, poppet?”
Laughter from
nearby joined the brick wall’s chuckles and for a brief moment, Ginny was
tempted to join in with a giggle in response to the man’s use of so many pees.
His voice was smooth, deep and strangely soothing. It sent a ripple of warmth
through her body pooling in her gut. She almost relaxed against him for comfort
but as the pounding in her ears began to wane, her panic and a desperate need
to escape came rushing back.
In that moment, Ginny knew what
she needed to do. She pressed her fists against a rock hard chest and pushed
until she could swing up her right knee even as his grip on her clothing caused
her blouse and ragtag jacket to climb over her ears. Her intended aim was for
the softer parts of this tower of muscle whose firm hold on her kept her
prisoner but his legs were so long that her knee connected with the man’s inner
thigh instead. It mattered not, for her assault on his body was enough for him
to react as any man would. The man quickly bent to protect his manhood and his
hold on her clothing loosened.
Pain stung her
knee on impact. She caught herself wondering if he had a wooden leg beneath
those black britches. It mattered not for her maneuver had worked. With a loud
groan and exhalation of air, the tall dark-eyed man with a captivating smile
stopped smiling and backed away slightly. His grip on her clothing loosened
just enough to give Ginny the edge. She yanked herself in the opposite
direction. A ripping sound filled her ears. A moment later, she was falling
away from the brick wall. Caught off balance, she quickly found her footing, raced for the door and into the street.
#
Rubbing the
inside of his thigh where the curious urchin had caught him off guard and
slammed him with his knee, Daniel Embry cursed under his breath. For all of his
well-intended efforts, all he’d succeeded in doing was getting a bruised leg
and a handful of cloth from the wharf rat’s filthy coat. He glanced at the
piece of cloth in his hand. Something glittered in the glow of the hanging
lanterns sprinkled throughout the rafters of the tavern. He looked more
closely. It was slim gold chain.
“Old Pete ain’t
going to be happy about you letting the brat get away, old man!” Finn McShane
exclaimed, laughing heartily. The red-haired man slapped Daniel on the back
nearly knocking the piece of gold from hand. The jolt caused something attached
to the chain to drop and dangle just below his wrist - a delicate gold charm.
Daniel eyed the elongated charm and thought it strange that a lad would be
wearing such a thing. Then when the image of deep blue eyes the color of the
deepest seas fringed by long dusky lashes flashed through his mind, he wondered
if it had been a boy at all.
“You all right,
Daniel,” Finn asked with a worried frown. For the first time, Daniel noticed
weathered wrinkles had begun to groove his old friend’s forehead.
Daniel snagged
the gold chain and its charm from the cloth and pushed it into his coat pocket.
Turning to face his first mate, he grimaced at the tightness in his thigh.
“The bugger
kicked me too close for comfort,” Daniel growled before raising his mug of ale
to his lips. His gaze caught Finn’s puzzled look. Daniel grinned at the man
whose bushy red hair glowed like blood-tinged cotton around his head.
“Fortunately, all is well and intact.”
Loud shouts from
the back of the tavern where some of his crew, including the victim of the
urchin’s crime, had spent the last couple of hours drinking and eating drew their
attention. Daniel recognized one of the men as his quartermaster who was
standing over a smaller unknown man. The men were nearly growling in each
other’s faces.
Finn McShane ran his thick
fingers through his red mass of curls and groaned. “Want me to break that up?”
Daniel gave his
first mate’s question some thought then smiled. His men deserved a chance to
blow off some steam after a long day of loading cargo into the hold of the Falcon. Of course, he preferred they
take it outside so that he wouldn’t have to bail them out of jail or pay for
damages but he doubted that would happen as he watched the rest of his crew
join the men intent on fisticuffs.
“If it looks
like they’re going to bust the place up or kill someone - yes,” Daniel
announced with a loud guffaw as he grabbed a nearby serving girl and switched
his empty tankard for a full one. He winked at her, receiving a giggle and
blush in return. “Otherwise, let ‘em be.”
Daniel and Finn
watched the somewhat attractive young woman saunter away swaying her hips
deliberately before glancing over her shoulder at them as she moved through the
crowd.
“You need to get yourself a
woman, old man,” Finn remarked leaning close so only Daniel would hear his
words.
“No. Thanks.”
“Gad, man, you
can’t go on mourning a woman who wasn’t even yours yet,” Finn groaned then
immediately regretted his words when he saw Daniel’s eyes narrow and blacken.
“I … uh … I just mean,” he stammered.
Daniel dropped his gaze to his
tankard. Finn had touched on something that was too close to the mark. His
betrothed died four years earlier in a tragic carriage accident leaving his
heart broken and empty. It wasn’t as if Daniel had shunned women completely
from his life for he’d partaken in the occasional tumble but with no promise of
a future.
“Never mind, Finn,” Daniel said
before taking a long draught on the tankard. “I’m tired is all.”
Raising his
hand, he clapped it on the firm shoulder of his right hand man and friend. Finn
McShane had been his friend since they’d played together as children at Green
Mount Farm. Finn’s father worked with Jason Embry, Daniel’s father helping
build his shipping business while his mother worked as one of the cooks at the
Embry farm. When Daniel and Finn were old enough, the two lads went to work on
the ships learning all they needed to know from their fathers. Several years
ago, Daniel became the captain of the Falcon
and he’d immediately named Finn his first mate. Daniel put his full trust in
his old friend. He knew Finn would always put his safety and that of the crew
before anything or anyone. He also new his old friend had his best interest at
heart when he suggested Daniel’s pursuit of feminine companionship, even if
only for a night. As a man, married to his first sweetheart, Finn suggestion was
well intentioned but Daniel’s heart was still broken and filled with pain and
betrayal.
“That sweet
morsel over there is eager to make your acquaintance,” Finn murmured as he
nodded his head in the direction of the serving girl who while delivering
tankards of ale to a table of patrons, glanced over her shoulder at Daniel.
When she noticed Daniel glance in her direction, she moved to the next table
and while setting a tankard before a man who slid his hand along her backside,
the girl bent low over the table, which allowed Daniel a purposeful display of
her full bosom. “Very eager, it seems.” Finn winked at Daniel.
Turning his back
on the girl’s obvious seductive pose, Daniel drained his tankard and set it
down heavily on the table. “Like I said, I’m tired and frankly, not interested.
You think her so delectable, why don’t you go for it, Finn?”
The red-haired
man threw his head back with a loud guffaw then shook his head, his curls
bouncing around his head. “My Molly would have my head on a pike if I were to
even sniff after such a young thing.”
“Oh, so you’re
saying she’d be okay with you tupping her if she were older?” Daniel teased his
friend. At first Finn must have thought him serious for his laughter ceased and
his brow furrowed into deep grooves. Then the man widened bright blue eyes and
laughed again.
“Ha, she wouldn’t
care the girl’s age! Molly would cut off my xxxx and feed it to me with
biscuits and gravy,” Finn grumbled as he restrained his laughter but his
twinkling red-lashed lined eyes belied his humor.
Daniel slapped his friend on the
back.
“You’re right about
that,” Daniel laughed along with his friend even as he envied him his loving
wife and two little girls. If Christina had not died, he was sure they would
have a family together as did Finn and Molly McShane. “I’m heading out. I’ll
see you in the morning. I’d appreciate you keeping an eye on those fools,
Finn.”
Finn glanced toward
the men. They were no longer growling at each other but laughing as the
quartermaster held the smaller man in a bear hug, bouncing him up and down. He rolled his
eyes and smiled at Daniel. “Of course - get some sleep, old man.”
Daniel always
got a kick out of Finn calling him old man since this red-haired son of an
Irishman was one year older than his own twenty-six years. Daniel nodded his
head, turned and strolled to the exit. The inn, where he’d taken a room while
in the port of Charleston was just two blocks away. As he strolled along the
street, his thoughts went to the wharf rat that had stolen Pete’s purse. His
hand slid into his pocket, he fingered the charm secreted there, and his
thoughts turned to wide azure tinted eyes and pale clear skin with a flush of
pink riding high on delicate cheeks. A pink moist mouth that opened and pulled
into a pucker as captivating eyes blinked just before the mischievous urchin
kneed him in the groin. Was it possible that cherub face and this charm
belonged to a boy? If it had then perhaps, Finn was right and Daniel had best
see to finding some female company for an attraction to a lad was not something
he wanted to consider.
* * * * *
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone and Happy Reading!
I am a huge supporter of
the romance community. I read romance, I review romance, I participate in
events within the romance community, and I openly give support and thanks to
authors who write the books that I read and enjoy. It's why I loved being an Avon Addict for Avon Romance, and as an Avon Addict Alum, I continue to be involved and show my love to all the Avon Authors and folks behind the scenes. As I get to know more and more indie authors, I see the need to support all authors growing exponentially. I do my best to cheer them all on.
So what do you do for
your favorite authors? Have you ever sent them a thank you note for a fabulous
read? Do you follow one of your favorite author’s blog or Facebook page, visit
and comment often? The Internet has opened up the world of literature and
allowed authors to interact more easily and more readily with their readers. Do
you take advantage of this marvel of the modern literary world?
Sydney Thomas may be the
newest Rodeo Queen on the circuit, but she's more than just a pretty face and
fabulous horseback rider. If only her new boss could see it! But the
frustrating, bossy, drop-dead gorgeous man seems bent on pushing her away every
chance he gets.
