by ML Guida
He sighed and looked down. “I am an old man. I didn’t want to lose you to another pirate or have you abandon your people.”
She took his hand and he looked up at her with tears on his cheeks.
“Will you forgive me?”
She kissed his wet cheek. “Yes, just don’t lie to me again.”
“I promise.”
She smiled. “Father, I will never abandon my people and one day I will take your place––but only if Ewan is accepted as my mate. I will never leave him or his daughter.”
“When your mother was alive, she’d help me see how my stubbornness was getting in the way of me being a fair king.” He knelt on one knee. “Forgive me. I will try to accept Ewan. After all, he saved you. Just don’t expect it all at once.”
“Rise, Father.” She took both of his hands. “It’s never easy with you, is it?”
He winked. “But then again, nothing has been easy with my three princesses of the sea.”
Epilogue
Raphael and Kane had been true to their word. Penelope and Ewan had spent a blissful day and night. She sat naked on the rock at their pool, allowing the waterfall to cascade down her back. The moonlight glistened off the water on Ewan’s broad chest. Her body was chaffed from his kisses and she was sore between her thighs. But she wanted one more time, one more explosion of sheer pleasure, fast and furious.
“The sun will rise soon,” Ewan said as he swam over to her. “We will have to return to the ship and Catriona.”
She stretched out her arms. “I know. Now that I have met your daughter, I have grown quite fond of her, but right now, I don’t want to think of anyone else, but you. Love me one more time.”
He pulled her gently into his arms and kissed her. She could feel his hard flesh against her feminine core. She caressed his back, marveling at how this powerful man claimed his heart belonged to her.
She wrapped her arms around his hips and impaled herself onto him, wanting to feel him inside her. He thrust his hips inside, and she matched his passion. She arched her back, and he claimed her breast with his hot mouth. He suckled her nipple while one hand stroked the bud between her legs. Heat fanned down her body and pooled between her thighs. Another orgasm pulsed inside her. The intensity between them grew as they thrust harder and harder, blocking out everything but their hungry passion.
Ewan flung his head back and called out her name.
The water strengthened her and the feelings of euphoria soaring through her. Her release was swift and hard.
She leaned her head against his chest, listening to his beating heart. “I can live like this forever.”
He lifted her chin and smiled. Passion still flared in his eyes. “My love for you grows each time I take you.”
She kissed his hand. “Then take me again and again.”
He smiled. “How can I deny my warrior princess?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest. “Your belief in me has made me a warrior. As long as you are at my side, I believe we can defeat the darkness threatening to destroy us.”
Do you want to read more vampires? Check out this excerpt of Bite of the Vampire or check out my website and find out what comes next! You’ll meet the heroine, Rosalind, and she’s trapped in a nightmare that only a vampire can save her!
Excerpt from Bite of the Vampire:
Savannah, Georgia
1756
Chapter One
Rosalind woke to another miserable day. She sighed and ran her fingers down the left side of her face, feeling the deep bumpy scars that labeled her a monster. Only her eye remained unscathed. She refused to have a mirror anywhere in the room that reminded her of the fire––the day her father perished saving her.
Ignoring the birds chirping their happy morning tune, she rolled out of bed. She seized a tan leather mask off her nightstand that hid her scars and quickly tied it under her dark hair, hiding her unsightly scars. Yesterday she had walked pass a woman with two small children when her masked slipped off, revealing her naked face. The children had screamed, then hid behind their mother’s skirts. Rosalind was shaking so bad she could barely fix her mask.
Her fingers brushed over the pinched and leathery skin. Like those children, she couldn’t help but shudder. The mask almost matched the color of her golden skin and sometimes people didn’t notice it. Or at least she tried to believe they hadn’t noticed.
She opened her dresser drawer then pushed away her shifts to find a faded, brown leather bag that had seen better days. The black edges were curled and frayed, but she didn’t care. She cherished it more than any other possession––it had been her late father’s. He’d worn it when he saved her from the fire.
She quietly dumped the coins inside it onto the wooden dresser. With Esmond Doyle, her stepfather, watching her constantly, it had taken her months to steal enough to barely purchase a dress. She sighed. At this rate, it would take her a year to secure passage out west and escape.
Someone timidly knocked on the door. “Rosalind, are you up?”
Rosalind quickly scooped the coins back into the bag, then placed it back under her clothes. “Yes, I am awake, Maggie. You can come inside.”
Her cousin, Maggie, slowly entered, as if afraid she was intruding. She was a mulatto and had the creamiest tan skin that reminded Rosalind of syrup. Maggie’s father had been a merchant and her mother a freed slave, but they were killed on a riverboat. She came to live with them, and like Rosalind, she was forced to earn her keep, but she was able to work at the house.
Not so Rosalind.
Her stepfather considered her to be a burden and insisted she earn her keep by working in his dreaded tavern––the Pirate’s House Inn.
Maggie poured water into the basin and dipped a cloth in it.
“You don’t have to take care of me, Maggie. I can dress myself.”
“I know,” she said, as she wiped Rosalind’s body down. “But I feel guilty that I get to work here in the house while you’re forced to work in that dreaded tavern. At least ´tis a beautiful morning, Rosalind.”
“Looks like it will be. Has Mr. Doyle left for the day?” Hope swelled inside her that she wouldn’t have to face her glowering stepfather.
“No, both he and your mother are taking their morning meal in the parlor.”
Rosalind groaned, knowing she’d soon have to join them and listen to more of stepfather’s insults.
Maggie helped her put on her corset and stays. She pulled tight on the strings, making Rosalind’s already narrow waist even narrower and pushing her breasts up. Rosalind’s shift had deep pockets where she secretly squirreled coins away from her stepfather’s prying eyes. If he found her savings, he’d quickly confiscate it and all hope of escaping would perish.
Maggie pulled out one of Rosalind’s dull olive gowns that her stepfather made her wear because ´twas easy to clean and would hide any stains. The dress emphasized her large breasts, which according to him were her only fine assets, since they enticed men to spend more coin on draughts.
Rosalind put her slippers on over her tired and swollen feet. She’d soaked them in a bowl of water, but they still ached. Last night, she’d been so busy that she could barely catch her breath. Tonight would be no different. Just once, she’d like to escape the tavern and have a full day of rest.
She put on her silk petticoats, then Maggie helped her slip into the dreaded gown. She carefully tucked Rosalind’s hair into a lace cap, hiding her dark curls. Rosalind looked at her dreary prison garb that marked her as even less than a maid, but until she had a means to escape, she was trapped.
Before she followed Maggie, she slipped her father’s gold watch into her pocket. It hadn’t worked for years––the glass was shattered, and one side was badly scorched. But she didn’t care. Her father had been wearing it the day he tried to rescue her. Rosalind always hid it on her person. When she wore it, she always felt he was near her.
She followed Maggie out of her room to fac
e her stepfather and her mother in the parlor. Her mother gave her a bright smile.
“Good morning, dear,” she said.
Mr. Doyle didn’t acknowledge her when she entered, and instead, concentrated on buttering a croissant.
Her mother, dressed in a fine gown of yellow, got up from the table and hurried over. She hugged her then kissed her on her right cheek. Even her own mother shuddered at her scars.
“Rosalind,” she said, “I have the most wonderful news.” Her voice was as giddy as a school girl’s.
Rosalind turned her mouth up into a tight sneer. “You’re both going to Europe again?”
Only when her stepfather was away did she have any peace.
“No! You aren’t going to have work at Pirate’s House Inn any longer!” She clapped her hands together, and her blue eyes flared with excitement.
Rosalind glanced warily at her stepfather, who stuffed another croissant into his mouth then proceeded to lick the tips of his fingers. As always he dressed as if he were a wealthy aristocrat with his embroidered red jacket, vest, and breeches. Many people commented on how handsome he was with his gray eyes, white powdered wig, and muscular build, but all Rosalind saw was a hated tyrant.
He wiped his hands over his plate then dabbed each end of his mouth with a napkin. “Your mother is quite right, Rosalind. I have actually found a suitor that will take you off my hands.”
“Esmond!” Her mother frowned. “That’s not what he meant, dear,” she said as she rubbed Rosalind’s arm.
Rosalind jerked away from her mother’s touch and pretended not to notice the hurt in her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s exactly what he meant. Who?”
He leaned back in his chair and rested his hands on his belly. “Captain Barnard Foster.”
His low voice stripped her dream. Captain Barnard Foster was at least ten years older than Mr. Doyle and had a temper even fouler––if that was possible. He was riddled with the pox and had the most annoying habit of staring at her breasts rather than her face.
Her stomach tied into triple knots. “Why?”
“He’s a good match, Rosalind,” her mother pleaded.
Rosalind squinted. “How could you say that, Mother? Do you hate me this much?”
“No, dear. Of course not! Captain Foster is a wealthy man, and you’ll want for nothing.”
“Why would he lower himself to marry a tavern wench?”
Her stepfather straightened his cuffs. “Because he would find it advantageous to eventually gain the tavern if something were to happen to me, then he’d be entitled to all of it.”
Rosalind glared. “I will not marry him. He’s pompous and selfish.” He wasn’t fooling her. Something would happen to Barnard, then she’d be next. Her stepfather would do anything to further himself socially.
“You don’t have a choice.” He narrowed his eyes, and his voice had turned cold.
He was dangerously close to losing his temper, but Rosalind didn’t care. “I’d rather be dead than marry such a horrible man. If you would have chosen a man of decency––”
He slammed his hand down on the table, making the silver bounce. “No man of decency would have you!”
Dear Reader
I hope you enjoyed Destiny of the Vampire! This was the third book of the three mermaid sisters, and the sixth book in the Blood Brotherhood series! Mermaids have always been some of my favorite mystical creatures, especially The Little Mermaid!
It was fun to write these three books! What’s more fun than mermaids, vampires, witches, and dragons!
If you want to find out more about me and my next projects, then sign up for ML Guida’s Supernatural Scroll and/or join my private Facebook group just for readers ML Guida’s Supernatural Lounge. You’ll also learn about give aways and learn about me just like I’ll learn about you!
Watch for Bite of the Vampire that will be coming out soon! It’s a time travel book and Phearson’s story!
Have a great week!
ML Guida
About the Author
Award Winning Author M.L. Guida loves science fiction and the paranormal. From Star Trek to Dark Shadows to Supernatural, she fell in love with things that go bump in the night. But it was the heroes, she loved the best. No matter what happened, those characters never gave up. Now, her heroes are following their footsteps. Whether it's a shape shifter from outer space or a vampire from the past, her wounded heroes always find a way to conquer battles and win the heart of the feisty heroine. Because even in a world of darkness, true love survive.
Also by ML Guida
The Worlds of Magic, New Mexico
The Touch of the Dragon
Touch of Curiosity
Touch of Madness
Touch of Darkness
Blood Brotherhood
Sin of The Vampire
Shadows of the Vampire
Heart of the Vampire
Mate of the Vampire
Claim of the Vampire
Blood Brotherhood Box Set
Bears of Aria
Unbearable Fear
Unbearable Failure
Unbearable Feud
Dragons of Zalara
Madness Unleashed
Madness Unhinged
Madness Unmasked
Madness Unbalanced
Vampires on Holiday
A Vampire’s Wish
A Vampire’s Gift
A Vampire’s Vow
Paranormal Dating Agency
Eye of the Tiger
Another Tiger Bites the Dust
Angels of Death
Betrayal
Deception
Punishment
Cupid