Hart's Desire (Pirates & Petticoats Book 1)

After a daring escape, Captain Landon Hart sails the
Desire
to Charleston for repairs and to keep a mysterious appointment with a plantation owner. He meets a sword-wielding, fiery-haired tempest on the way, and he isn't prepared for the impact she has on his tightly guarded heart...nor the trouble she manages to attract.

Keelan Grey had a solid plan that would save her from an arranged marriage to a cruel plantation owner until a deathbed confession from a loved one plunges her into a dark plot of deception and revenge.

Desperate for help, Keelan finds an unlikely ally in the exasperating but irresistible sea captain. But while she trusts him with her life, can she trust him with her secrets?

Thanks to Kathleen Woodiwiss and her novel

A Rose in Winter
,

I became an avid reader of Historical Romance.

Thanks to Peter Pan and The Pirates of the Caribbean,

I became a fan of pirate tales (real and imagined).

Thanks to the Sunshine Critique Group: Wendy Larken, Kate Pembrooke,

Vicki, Miranda Liasson and Sheridan Jeane,

I became a writer.

Thanks to Bella Andre, Barbara Freethy,

Courtney Milan

and the rest of Indie Romance Ink,

I became a better writer.

Thanks to my tall, dark, and handsome husband,

and his patience and encouragement, I’m living my dream.

And thanks to
you
, I have a new reader.

I would not be a published author otherwise…

I’m grateful and blessed.

CAF

This book is a work of fiction.

Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, (living or dead) events or places is entirely coincidental.

Bonus material
: Please enjoy the first few pages of the next book in the Pirates and Petticoats novels,
Hart’s Passion
, inserted at the end of
Hart’s Desire
!

I’ve also included some recipes prepared by Ruth, one of the characters in Hart’s Desire. The dishes Ruth served were inspired by recipes from:
An Antebellum Household Journal Including the South Carolina Receipts and Remedies of Emily Warton Sinkler,
by Anne Sinkler Whaley LeClercq. I purchased it in Charleston when touring a plantation home; it’s filled with wonderful information about life in the Low Country.

Dear Reader,

I am honored that you have decided to read my book.

This is my first published novel, and I have several more coming soon. I’d love to hear your comments. Your opinion means a lot to me and I’d appreciate any feedback you’d like to share. Although this book has been professionally edited and proofread, there are always mistakes and typos that are missed. If you find one, please, please let me know!

I freely admit that I have taken historical events and used them as an opportunity to imagine what my characters would say, do and feel in that moment in time. Those words, actions and thoughts may not ever show up in written documentation of that period, but who’s to say that those words weren’t said, those actions weren’t tried, those thoughts weren’t thought?

You can also email me personally at
[email protected]
, if you prefer to communicate directly, or via snail mail (and if you’d like a print book signed, send it here):

Flowers & Fullerton Publishing

3593 Medina Road

Suite 165

Medina, Ohio 44256

If you enjoy this book, please consider leaving a review and loaning this book to your friends.

:0)

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for reading!

Fondly,

Chloe Flowers

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Chloe’s Newsletter also contains information on new releases and recipes:

http://chloeflowers.com/contact/

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@flowers_chloe

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Other Books By Chloe Flowers

(For all Amazon customers worldwide)

Pirates & Petticoats Novels:

Hart’s Desire

Harts Passion

Hart’s Reward (June 2016)

Pirate Heiress (August 2016)

Pirate King (September 2016)

Coming Fall 2016: The Bridal Veil Falls Series,
a contemporary romance set in a small town in upstate New York that boasts it’s “The Town of Happily Ever Afters.”

Other Books on Amazon by Chloe Flowers:

Author Page on Amazon:

www.author.to/ChloeFlowers

Pirates & Petticoats Novels:

One: Hart’s Desire

www.myBook.to/HartsDesire

Two: Harts Passion

www.myBook.to/HartsPassion

Three: Hart’s Reward

www.myBook.to/HartsPassion

Four:

Pirate Heiress (July 2016)

Five:

Pirate King (September 2016)

Coming Fall 2016!

The Bridal Veil Falls Series

A contemporary romance set in a small town in upstate New York that boasts it’s “The Town of Happily Ever Afters.”

CHAPTER ONE

Charleston, South Carolina

May 1811

Two figures circled, each with a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. The first stood tall and lithe. His blade flashed, barely visible in the early morning light. His opponent, smaller in both build and height, quickly used his dagger to block the slicing blade.

Merchant ship captain, Landon Hart, and his best friend and business partner, Captain Conal O'Brien, crept to the edge of the clearing for a better view of the duel.

“We’ll skirt the meadow and keep behind the cover of the trees,” Landon said in a low voice. As an orphaned youth, he’d been in his fair share of unbalanced skirmishes. In more familiar surroundings, rather than among the vast plantation estates outside the city of Charleston, he would have already intervened. As it was, he and Conal had just turned down the lane to Twin Pines when they heard the clash of swords nearby.

A thick layer of dead pine needles on the forest floor muffled their steps. Soon they were close enough to hear the whisper and hiss of the blades slicing the air, followed by the strident metallic
clash
and
ching
as sword met sword.

Although the larger man had tinges of gray at his temples, he moved with a seasoned grace and nimble ease. Fluid arcs followed quick thrusts in seamless sequence. His sleeves were rolled to the elbows, shirt tucked into his breeches.

The boy’s breeches were thin at the knees and stuffed into a pair of boots several sizes too large. A faded blue length of cloth wrapped his head, tied at the base of his neck where the tail hung halfway down his back. Even in the over-sized boots that threatened to trip him up with every thrust, the surprisingly quick and light-footed waif held his own.

Landon glanced around the rest of the meadow. The two duelers seemed to be alone. There were no mounts or wagons nearby, so this didn’t appear to be an ambush or an attempt at a robbery. He saw no seconds to serve as witnesses, nor a physician standing ready, so perhaps not a planned duel. But then, what was it?

Conal leaned closer, keeping his voice low. “Doesn’t seem a fair fight. I’m going to put a stop to it.” His eyebrows shot up as the boy’s dagger flashed in an arc away from his body, catching the upper shaft of his opponent’s sword. The youth beat the tip away and began his own attack with his long blade.

“Wait.” He placed a hand on Conal’s arm. His friend had a knack for acting first and thinking second when it came to physical confrontations. “I don’t think it’s an earnest fight,” Landon murmured, as he studied the movements of the duelers. “It seems to me that it’s a training session of some sort. Let’s see how the young one fares. I find it peculiar a grubby whelp wields such a fine weapon but wears such poorly fitted boots.”

Conal watched another moment and nodded his agreement. He relaxed and leaned a shoulder against a tree trunk.

“Step away, Keelan,” the older man said in a clipped British accent. He swung his sword in a swift upward flash toward the lad’s shoulder. “You are offering too short a path to your middle. It leaves you vulnerable to my long blade.”

In answer, the urchin, Keelan, slashed his sword diagonally down across his opponent’s exposed stomach, neatly slicing a ten-inch swath in the older man’s linen shirt.

“You mean like that, Daniel?” he retorted with a barely contained smirk.

“He’s but a lad barely weaned,” Conal whispered. “His voice still has the high pitch of a child.”

The two combatants paused. Daniel scowled at the tear in his shirt. Lunging forward, he swung his weapon in a rapid combination while the boy tried valiantly to block the attack. The blows thundered harder, the blade hissing like an angry snake. However, it wasn’t the man’s skill that brought the boy down.

It was the boots.

The thick meadow grass snagged his heel and foiled his hasty retreat. With a loud “Oof!” Keelan went down hard onto his backside, the jolt knocking the sword from his grasp.

“You are finished,” Daniel said. He pointed the tip of his weapon to the boy’s chest.

“Perhaps it is time to make our presence known,” Landon said, stepping from the shelter of the trees. If he was wrong about the training, another moment’s delay could mean the boy’s life. He wouldn’t stand idly and allow the outmatched lad to be harmed. “Hold!”

Daniel’s head jerked up. As soon as the shout distracted the man, Keelan reacted. He kicked his legs up and somersaulted backward, losing both boots in the process. The maneuver put him in a crouched position ready to fight again. He threw his dagger.

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