The Captain’s Rebel
C.B. Halverson
Publication Date: April 3, 2017
Genres: Adult, Entangled: Scorched, Erotic, Historical Romance
Land. Power. Influence. Mary O’Malley knows these are the only things that matter in her war-torn country. Determined to win back her ancestral home, she must embark on a journey across the Atlantic disguised as a cabin boy. But her ruse brings her under the control of a dangerous sea captain who demands from her the one thing she will never give—complete and total submission.
Captain Richard Grant runs a tight ship, and he didn’t claw his way up through the ranks of the Royal Navy to be undone by a headstrong Irish girl hell-bent on jeopardizing his mission and his crew. If she insists on dressing like a man, then she can take his punishments. He demands obedience, but his insatiable need for her leads to a complex game of sex, desire, and dominance not even he can control.
Awakened by the passion Grant stirs in her, Mary finds herself falling for the stern captain. But when her false identity leads to rumors of her spying for the French, she must choose between her love for Ireland and the man who commands her body—and her heart.
Captain Richard Grant runs a tight ship, and he didn’t claw his way up through the ranks of the Royal Navy to be undone by a headstrong Irish girl hell-bent on jeopardizing his mission and his crew. If she insists on dressing like a man, then she can take his punishments. He demands obedience, but his insatiable need for her leads to a complex game of sex, desire, and dominance not even he can control.
Awakened by the passion Grant stirs in her, Mary finds herself falling for the stern captain. But when her false identity leads to rumors of her spying for the French, she must choose between her love for Ireland and the man who commands her body—and her heart.
“What are you doing aboard my ship?”
I
swallowed hard, my lip trembling as I fumbled for the words. I didn’t even
know where to start, and my face burned as I tried to gather my thoughts. No
matter how I told the story, it all seemed so ridiculous.
“Tell
me!” he commanded.
“I’m
searching for my fiancé.”
He
took a step forward, his boots thudding hard on the floor. “Your
fiancé.” He took another step, and I flinched. The ship rolled and tumbled
beneath my feet, and I grasped onto the panels, my fingers digging into the
polished oak planks.
“Are
you mad?” His fists clenched at his sides, powerful and trembling.
“It
would look that way, sir.” My eyes drilled into a tiny knot on the floor,
willing myself to shrink in size so I could dive into it and scurry away like a
little mouse. But his boots thundered forward, the small buckles making a sound
like clinking chains.
“Are you
in some sort of trouble? Is that it? Are you with child?” His voice
softened, and I looked up, startled at the sudden change in his tone.
“No,
sir.”
“Well,
then?” he boomed.
I
jumped, folding myself deeper into the corner of the room. What could I have
possibly said to him in that moment? Telling Captain Grant that Johnny’s father
had accused me of stealing, so I had to run away to consummate our marriage in
order to clear my name and win back my homeland was perhaps not the best way to
endear myself to him.
“There’s
been…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “There’s been trouble at home.”
Grant
let out an exasperated sound, shaking his head and turning away with a
curse. “You do understand you are aboard a ship with over seven
hundred male sailors, correct? A woman has no place on a ship of the
line bound for battle. I cannot guarantee your safety.”
“I
know that, sir.”
“And
due to the nature of our mission, I am in no position to turn us around.”
“Yes,
sir.”
He
shook his head, pacing the room. “You have endangered yourself and
my men with your presence. I know officers who would hang
you for treason against England for what you have done.”
“I
suppose it’s a good thing I’m not English, then.” The words popped out before I
could stop them, my latent nationalism waving a pitiful green flag in the dim
light of the Captain’s chambers.
A
muscle flickered in his jaw, and when he turned to me again, I
nearly gasped at the rage in his bright eyes. All the blood
drained from my face, and I bit my lip, willing my saucy tongue to hold still.
“You think
this is some sort of game?” His eyes narrowed, and he pressed closer to me.
My
courage fired back, and I straightened, raising my shoulders in a challenge.
His
eyes flitted over me from head to toe, and he made a low sound in the back of
his throat. “I should throw you overboard and let the fish eat at your rebel
heart.”
“Better
to die a rebel than live as a slave.”
As a child, Colleen Halverson used to play in the woods imagining worlds and telling stories to herself. Growing up on military bases, she found solace in her local library and later decided to make a living sharing the wonders of literature to poor, unsuspecting college freshmen. After backpacking through Ireland and singing in a traditional Irish music band, she earned a PhD in English with a specialization in Irish literature. When she’s not making up stories or teaching, she can be found hiking the rolling hills of the Driftless area of Wisconsin with her husband and two children. She also writes as C.B. Halverson.
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