The Pirate's Gift — Trinity Lee

Pirate captain's daughter Nancy Black is well on her way to reclaiming command of her father's ship, the Briar Rose. There is only one man thwarting her ambition: Heath, whom she loves and hates in equal measure. When Heath risks the Briar Rose and the lives of all her crew by sailing through a storm, Nancy is placed in a life-or-death situation, and also has to decide whether her physical desire for Heath will stop her from achieving her goal. Advisory: This 10,500-word erotic romance is the second in the Briar Rose series. Contains explicit sexual material and is not suitable for under-18s.ExcerptI sat back down on the bunk, folding my arms and meeting Heath's furious gaze with an impenetrable stare. I did not bother relacing my dress, leaving my breasts deliberately uncovered to provoke Heath, or embarrass him, or both. He pulled me roughly to my feet by my wrist."What are you playing at, Nancy? Are you trying to start a mutiny? Is that the plan. You are acting like a spoiled child, and the fact that you are prepared to come between me and my closest friend in this way makes me seriously reconsider."Reconsider what?" I threw back at him. "Your generous proposal to make an honest woman of me while stealing my ship behind my back? If you are reconsidering that, then that is the best news I have received since we set sail."He ran his fingers through his long blond hair in disbelief, gathering it into a loose tail at the back of his neck and tying it with a strip of cloth."You are unbelievable," he said. "Daniel is a good man and he has harbored these feelings for you for a while now, more fool him. And you would toy with these feelings like a cat teasing a mouse unto its death throes simply for your own barbaric amusement."Oh, a barbarian, am I now?" I scowled at him, ignoring the tears that were pricking the back of my eyes. "Well, this is all your fault. And how was I to know Daniel felt like that?"He sat down beside me, playing with the loose black curls that f