Available June 15th at Ellora’s Cave: http://www.jasminejade.com/m-683-cindy-jacks.aspx

Blurb:

For ten years, Kathryn has struggled to survive in a war-torn region that used to be part of the United States. Her country ripped apart and her husband presumed dead, she and her son need a miracle to find safe passage to the West. She’s not expecting that miracle to come in the form of Captain Brett Logan when he stumbles, injured, onto her front porch.

A privateer for the Republic of Texas, Logan keeps one eye on the horizon and one hand on his sidearm, knowing the life of a modern-day pirate is often short. When an enemy bomb nearly ends him, Kathryn nurses him back to health. Against her better judgment, she’s drawn to the enigmatic man with his tattoos and battle scars.

Kate finds shelter in Logan’s arms””and his bed. The captain navigates her body with the same skill that he sails the seven seas. The heat of their passion gives way to deeper currents. But with danger surrounding them, they must struggle to stay together and survive.

Excerpt:

Logan swallowed hard and she expected him to go quiet again, but he didn’t. The story of his youth came pouring out of him, a waterfall of words and anger. His father ran the household like he ran the ships he commanded. If Logan forgot to take out the garbage, he’d get a beating. If his grades dropped below a B average, he’d get a beating. If his bathroom floor wasn’t clean enough to eat off, he’d be forced to eat off it and then get a beating. Better him than his mother or younger brother. Michael was too delicate to endure the Admiral’s wrath, so Logan took the brunt of the old man’s rage.

At seventeen, Logan joined the U.S. Merchant Marines””no way in hell he was signing up for his father’s Navy””and sent his mother most of his paycheck. It wasn’t much, but it helped her and his brother move from shelter to shelter. Brett Senior always hunted her down, but it was the best Logan could do at the time. If only he could convince himself of that now. A voice inside Logan’s head””in the quiet of the night””would hiss at him that he should’ve killed the Admiral.

Once the son of a bitch died of liver cirrhosis, Logan sold the old family house and turned all the money over to his mother. But he kept his father’s boat””The Yellow Rose. Sailing The Rose, he felt free. He always felt free of the old man’s ghost on the open water.

“That’s why you hate the name Brett. It was his name too,” she murmured.

Nodding and tossing back the last of his drink, he gave her a humorless smile, “My father gave me only one valuable piece of advice””they don’t respect what you don’t inspect. Well, that and never bet to an inside straight. Fifteen years he’s been gone and his memory still scares me to death.”

She covered his trembling hand with hers. “He terrorized you. You have a right to be afraid of him.”

“Not afraid of him.” He shook his head. “Afraid of becoming him.”

Kathryn’s mouth fell open, she sought out his gaze. “No. No, that’s not something you need to worry about.”

“I’ve done terrible, terrible things in my lifetime, Kate. Your friend Roy is right. I’ve got blood on my hands.”

Placing a hand on his chest, she felt his strong pulse against her palm. “You have a good heart, Brett. I’ll admit I didn’t see it at first, but underneath that tough guy exterior”¦ You’re so good with Marcus. You risk your life to help the Resistance. You’re a good man.”

“I’m really not.” He clasped her hand, moving it from his chest to the seat of the chair.

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because here we are talking about the worst things that have happened to us and you’re trying to comfort me,” the lamplight flashed in his eyes, “and all I can think about is”¦”

Her pulse racing, she murmured, “Kissing me?”

His tone dusky, he replied, “More than that.”

Again, Kathryn ran her tongue over her lips. The heat in his words set her body on fire. Ever since that first kiss, she’d craved more of him. She’d done her best to ignore it, but it was always there, like the background hum of an engine building up steam. Tonight, the roar was deafening.

Without another word from her, he stood, pulling her to her feet. Was he going to send her back to bed? Panic flared in the pit of her stomach. They couldn’t leave it like this, she couldn’t stand it””the aching, the unresolved need, her body burning for him. Not for one more minute. She tightened her grip on his hand, pleading with him silently, the words refusing to form in her mouth.

One finger under her chin, he tilted her head up, grazing his nose along her cheek. Then he kissed her. Not like the first time, not in a heated rush, but slowly, gently, just tasting her lips. She melted against him. His arms around her and the heat of his torso pressed to hers felt like heaven. How long had she been left alone with her fantasies? Five years. Longer than that perhaps. Too long.

Running her hands over his back, she could feel the ropes of muscle beneath his skin. Though she’d seen every inch of him at some point since he’d been here, she longed to rediscover his body as a lover.

Mouths pressed together, they stumbled through the house to her room. He stopped to lock the door and scooped her up, depositing her on the bed. A predatory grin on his face, he covered her body with his, hips settling between her thighs. A flurry of kisses drew out into one long exploration of each other’s mouths. Like a woman on a hunger strike finally breaking her fast, Kathryn couldn’t get enough of him””the weight of his solid body, the sweet flavor of his tongue, the hint of whiskey on his breath, the rasp of his unshaven chin””she was lost, overwhelmed by him, and she liked it.

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Available June 15th at Ellora’s Cave: http://www.jasminejade.com/m-683-cindy-jacks.aspx