A Pirate's Obsession (Legends of the Soaring Phoenix Book 4)

by ML Guida

  “Aye,” Ronan said.

  Angelica stared up at Ronan’s handsome, rugged face. “I do.”

  Kane looked at Ronan. “Repeat after me.”

  Ronan nodded.

  “I, Ronan, take you, Angelica, for my lawful wife,” Kane said. “To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health until death do us part.”

  Love formed in Ronan’s eyes as he repeated the words.

  When Kane turned to her, Angelica’s heart beat fast. The Captain said, “ I, Angelica, take you, Ronan, to be my husband. I promise to be true in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.”

  As Angelica followed Kane’s lead, the baby fluttered in her womb as if excited to see her and Ronan to be joined. “Our son just leapt.”

  “He’s got my patience,” he teased.

  Lifting his eyebrow, Kane cleared his throat. “Shall I proceed?”

  “Get on with it, man,” Ronan said.

  “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

  The crew cheered. Ronan took her in his arms and gave her a domineering kiss that stole her breath and branded her as his woman. Her tongue sought the silky heat of his mouth, exploring it with a new vigor, knowing his kiss was only for her. It seemed to win a similar reaction with him since he crushed her body to his hard chest. Her knees wobbled and she clutched his shoulders to keep from sprawling out onto the deck.

  “Ronan.” Doc’s paternal voice broke through their feverish embrace.

  Ronan groaned, but slowly released her. Concern chased the passion in his eyes. “Angelica, did I hurt you?”

  She gasped for breath. “No.” But her voice sounded small and dizziness swept over her. She fought it, refusing to collapse on the day of her wedding.

  Ronan lifted her into his arms.

  “Garçon, bring her here.”

  Angelica didn’t recognize the strong, French, but edgy feminine voice. ’Twas not Mariah. She leaned her head against Ronan’s chest, listening to the strong beat of his heart.

  “But...,” Ronan said.

  “Don’t argue with me.”

  Ronan lowered her onto the chair. “Angelica.” Fear echoed in his voice and his warmth breath brought her out of the dizziness.

  “I’m fine. Really.”

  Morgana Fey flashed a steady gaze. “Écoute moi, she needs rest, not sailing around on a pirate ship hunting a wayward demon.”

  “No!” Angelica’s heart raced. She clutched Ronan’s hand. “Don’t send me away. Please.”

  He met her gaze, but determination flashed in his eyes. She looked at the concerned faces around her. Mariah had pity in her eyes. Hannah looked down at her shuffling feet. Kane didn’t turn away, and he had the same hard face as Ronan. Not one of them gave her any hope. She looked at Ronan. “You’re sending me away, aren’t you?”

  “I pledged to keep you and our son safe. I intend to do this.” He kissed her knuckles. “Will you trust me on this?”

  “Where will I go? I can’t return to my father’s home. I’m human. I—” She looked at Morgana. “This is why you are here, isn’t it?”

  “Oui, chére. You’re not strong enough to travel. You’ll put your bébés in danger. You’ll stay with me. I know a thing or two about keeping bébés.”

  Angelica sucked in her breath. “Babies? You think I’m having twins?”

  His face pinched, Ronan sat on his ass and William snickered under his breath. Mariah kneaded him in the ribs. “Hush!”

  Morgana laughed. “I have the gift of sight. Oui, you’ll give birth to a garçon and fille.” She lowered her voice. “But if you stay on this ship, you’ll miscarry.”

  “How can this be true? I’m an undine and know the sex of my baby.”

  “Vrai,” Morgana said. “But your daughter has the gift of sight and knew of the demon’s plans. She kept her self hidden.” She lowered her voice. “Even from here chére mére.”

  She grasped Ronan’s arm. “That’s why Zuto couldn’t get our babies. Their power was too strong.”

  Mariah crossed her hands together. “S’il vous plaît, Angelica. Grand-mére’s visions are never wrong.”

  “Ronan.” Angelica’s voice cracked and a tear slid down her cheek. How could the happiest day of her life be the saddest?

  “They need time alone,” Morgana said. “Capt’n, I need to have a word with you.”

  Men left them alone. Hannah squeezed Angelica’s shoulder before she left, sending a wave of reassurance. How could you go through this without Hannah or Mariah?

  “I don’t want to leave, Ronan. I’ll be careful, I promise.”

  “I canna yield on this, Angelica. My heart wouldna survive if anything happened to you.”

  Angelica swallowed the hurt and fear in her throat. “I don’t know anyone here.”

  He lifted her chin and brushed her pouting lips with his. “There you’re wrong. Morgana has contacted your sister, Penelope. She’s developed a spell so she can remain with you here.”

  “Angelica?”

  The sweet voice erased some of the pain. Angelica whirled around. Her sister, Penelope, ran toward her, lifting her purple gown. Her face was flushed and her curly white hair escaped the loose bun. She wrapped her arms around her neck. “I’m sorry I missed the wedding, but I had to slip away from Father and outwit his guard.”

  Angelica released her. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  “Of course, I’ve never lived among humans before and not just any humans—Morgana Fey. Even among our people, she’s legendary.” She smiled. “You must be Ronan. I promise I’ll take care of my sister.”

  “I know,” Ronan said. “If you don’t mind...”

  “Penelope,” Mariah motioned with her hand. “Come here.”

  “Of course, of course.” Penelope loosed her grip and left them.

  As Penelope went to go talk to Mariah and William, Angelica tapped Ronan’s broad chest. “You’ve been planning all this while I was sleeping, haven’t you?”

  “Aye. You recited vows that you would obey me, I plan to hold you to this.”

  “You don’t play fair.” Angelica wanted to argue to beat against his chest, but she couldn’t brush aside Morgana’s vision. Her visions were legendary. Her body still ached and the thought of being below in a damp cabin or hammock wearied her.

  He waited, watching her closely. Tension tightened in his handsome face.

  She cupped his twitching cheek. “You’ll come back for me?”

  Before he answered, he wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her close. He tilted his head. She curled her hands around his as he opened her mouth with his tongue, probing deeper, urging she do the same. Not caring if the other’s watched, ignoring Doc’s glowering glare, or Morgana’s foresight, she kissed her new husband. Pleasure swept over her, promising her of passion to come. She kissed him like a dying woman, not wanting him to forget her. She needed to remember his taste, his smell, his touch when he abandoned her at sea. Even though he was a vampire, he’d come close to dying.

  “You promise to come back before the babes are born?”

  “Aye.” He brushed her cheek with his hand.

  She pressed her forehead against his. “You didn’t answer me. You’ll come back for me?”

  “Always.” He scooped her into his arms and carried her across the deck toward the plank.

  She laughed, “Where are you taking me?”

  “To your new home.”

  “You want me to leave now?” She couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice.

  “No, I have a surprise for you.”

  “You done be careful with the lass,” Doc said as he followed behind them.

  “He will,” Hannah said. “They just got married, Doc.”

  Ronan carried her down the plank and down the dock, past curious sailors who stopped loading and unloading ships. Angelica didn’t c
are. She was cradled in the arms of the man of her dreams. Her eyes widened. At the end of the dock, there was a carriage fit for a queen. It was decorated with red and yellow and white roses, and daisies surrounded the door. Sean waited at the door like a footman and bowed. “Your carriage awaits, madam.”

  “Do you like it?” Ronan asked.

  She looked into his anxious eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

  He carefully lifted her inside, putting her down on a red leather seat, covered with rose petals and followed. Sean shut the door and climbed up on the seat iron. “Giddy up.”

  On the opposite seat there was a picnic basket with a bottle of wine, bread, and cheese. “You did all this?”

  “Of course. There’s nothin’ I wouldn’t do for you.”

  “Then stay with me.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “I’ll not be leavin’ with the ship until you’re stronger. I’ll tell Kane to sail without me in the mornin’.” He drew her into his arms and kissed her.

  She lost herself in his embrace. Her pirate would keep his word. He’d fought his own demons and gave up having his hand restored all for her. When he held her close, his beating heart matched hers and they were one. No matter what happened, they would do it together as a family. She looked up at him. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. You have my heart. You always have.”

  Dear Reader

  I’m delighted you decided to read A Pirate’s Obsession. This is the fourth book in the Legends of the Soaring Phoenix. I fell in love with the myth of the undine. Undines are elementals, and they first appeared in the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Unlike mermaids, they do not have tails, and their powers center around water.

  This story was loosely based on how undines do not have souls and once they mate with a human and become pregnant, they obtain a soul. I changed the legend, because I didn’t want Angelica to be amoral. I will be writing two more books about undines—Angelica’s sisters.

  I love to hear from readers. I am on all the social media sites, (Facebook, twitter@m_mlguida and Good Reads). I respond to emails, Facebook posts and tweets, so don't hesitate to contact me. If you’d like to contact me, you can reach me on my website http://www.mlguida.com/contact/ or you can follow me my blog http://www.mlguida.com/blog/

  Book loaning and reviews are ways that readers can help authors get the word out about books they love, so don’t hesitate to spread the word about A Pirate’s Obsession. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative.

  I have an excerpt of A Pirate’s Curse, the first book in the Legends of the Soaring Phoenix if you've have not read the first book.

  In the next couple of months, I’ll be releasing another Legends of the Soaring Phoenix, but this one will be a full length novel—A Pirate’s Bane. The will be Leif’s and Isabella’s story.

  If you’d like to receive a new email release, please sign up at http://www.mlguida.com/

  Sincerely,

  M.L. Guida

  Other Books by M.L. Guida

  If you’ve enjoyed A Pirate’s Obsession, the first book of the series is A Pirate's Curse. Like a dark angel, Captain Kane O'Brien rescues Hannah Knight and her father from drowning after vampire pirates murder their crew and sink their ship. Struggling to control and hide her telekinetic powers, Hannah discovers the honorable and bold captain possesses his own secrets.

  Every full moon, Kane turns into a vampire. Finding out Hannah not to be the cabin boy she resembles, but a beautiful, luscious woman, tempts all his appetites. Desperate to be free of his curse, Kane considers handing Hannah over to a demon. But after Hannah uses her power to save his ship from his immortal enemy, Kane can no longer deny his attraction and vows to protect Hannah with his life.

  To find true love, they must combine their powers to defeat evil vampires, thwart Hannah's misogynist fiancé and escape a crafty demon.

  The second book of the series is A Pirate’s Revenge. Cursed by a demon, William O’Brien changes into a dragon with mystical powers he can’t control. In dragon form he becomes a ravenous beast with the power to destroy the crew of the Soaring Phoenix. He’s forced to make a decision: leave the ship or face killing the crew.

  But before he can go, he discovers a new menace hunts him. The God of the Underworld has released a female demon, more deadly and evil than before, with orders to capture William and combine his powers with a male witch in order to destroy the crew of the Soaring Phoenix.

  Mariah Fey, a talented witch, wants only to save her brother from the bowels of the evil pirate ship, the Fiery Damsel. If William will trust her, she can teach him how to harvest his gifts, control his abilities and together their true love can defeat their enemies.

  Legends of the Soaring Phoenix Box set contains the first three books—A Pirate’s Curse, A Pirate’s Revenge, and A Pirate’s Agony.

  I also have a paranormal Christmas series called Vampires on Holiday. The first book is A Vampire’s Christmas Wish. Master vampire, Janus Morano, has searched for centuries to find his lost soul mate. When he finally discovers his true love on Christmas Eve in Hawaii, she doesn't know him, doesn't remember her previous life, and doesn’t want him. Janus must get her to remember him and their love, but nothing comes easy with Deirdre Hahn.

  Deirdre is drawn to the mysterious dark stranger, but she came to Hawaii with Brandon Delaney, to heal their broken relationship. Brandon has promised to never beat her again, bending over backwards to be Prince Charming. But the promise is broken.

  Deirdre escapes Brandon’s clutches and her only hope is the mysterious dark stranger. Janus vows to help her but soon she discovers his dark secret. He's a vampire...a vampire searching for her.

  Now Deirdre is caught between two desperate men. Not sure who to trust. In order to save her future she must accept her past and when her Hawaiian vacation falls apart and she’s kidnapped, she must learn to trust Janus or die on Christmas.

  The second book is, A Vampire’s Fallen Christmas Star. It’s the week before Christmas but the last thing Jayden Kye wants to do is celebrate. He blames himself for his twin's brother's death. He hikes up to Rainbow Lake to make peace with him, but Jayden slips down a snowy embankment and impales himself on a tree. He is dying.

  Eleanor Baines has been a vampire for over a hundred years but she’s never been tempted to turn a human before. Now, facing the sexy rock star, she has a choice, let him die or let him live.

  Now, she finds herself with a head-strong rock singer who breaks all the rules.

  Jayden discovers everything he thought he knew is wrong. His best friend and lead guitarist are legendary vampire killers bent on killing him and Eleanor. He must learn to trust Eleanor, a total stranger, to survive. When his manager kidnaps Jayden’s mother and threatens to kill her, Jayden is forced to kill his best friend, or hand over the woman he loves.

  I have another series called Angels of Death, and it a contemporary, paranormal series.

  Betrayal is the first book in the series. Scythe tracks his demon brother to Serenity House, a drug and alcohol treatment center. His brother wants to destroy the director, Heather Bowen, but Scythe is shocked to discover she is his angel-mate and now, he must not only save his brother's soul, but stop him from killing the woman he loves.

  The second in the series is a novella, Deception, What is an Angel of Death supposed to do when a demon holds the key to her whole existence?

  Time is running out for Poison. The Archangel Michael has ordered her to retrieve an evil board and the woman who is it’s victim. It’s a test—and if she fails she will be kicked off the squad and be shooting arrows with Cupid.

  But she has a problem—Ringmaster. The demon got there first and possesses the board and the woman. He’s offered Poison a sinful proposal: Sleep with him and he’ll hand over the board and the woman. Or she can go back to Michael empty handed.

  Ringmaster has had a hunger for his little angel ever since he first saw her. She changed him form being hell’s favorite tr
ickster to a love sick hell hound. He has to know if what he feels is for real. One hour is all he asks. How can his sweet angel say no?

  The third book in the series is Punishment. Fallen angel, Blade, is determined to seek revenge on the archangel Raphael who cursed him to be human. Unless he repents, he’ll be forced to live his life as a pitiful human. He’ll be mortal and powerless—easy pickings for an angel assassin to pick off. He uses an Ouija board to contact a demon to restore his powers only to stir Raphael’s wrath. Raphael burns his hands forcing him to go to the hospital where he meets an angel of mercy—Abigail Malcolm.

  Abigail is a nurse and possesses the power of healing, but it hasn’t been a gift. Her healing powers failed to heal her drug addicted family. Her mother and sister are dead and her brother blames Abigail for their deaths. To make matters worse, a mysterious man—a demon—has given her brother a board to contact his mother, but there’s a secret price—he’ll soon turn into a zombie and lose his soul.

  She must trust Blade, the same fallen angel who murdered her sister. But to defeat the demon and save her brother, they must work together and soon discover true love can stop the devil.

  The fourth book in the series is Cupid. Cupid, has a terrible secret—she’s color blind. After accidentally shooting her intended target with an aversion arrow, she tries to fix it by a shooting a passion arrow. But Lethal, the sexy angel of death she has had a crush on forever, blocks her path. Shot by passion's arrow, he now thinks he’s in love with her.

  Lethal knew Cupid was his angel-mate from the moment he saw her. He’s never claimed her because an angry demon promised murder. But when she shoots him with the arrow he can’t keep his true feelings hidden any longer.

  The demon makes good on promise and pursues Cupid, but not to kill her. She has a hidden power he wants, one that Cupid doesn't even know she has. Only true love can unleash her power and by working together, their love will crush the demon bent on destroying them.