Revenge of the Siren Song (Rogues of Sea and Sky Book 1) by Michelle Stinson Ross

 
     
     
    Chapter 1
    A Kidnapping
     
     
    The first time he woke up, Liam O'Shea was immediately aware of a bright light shining in his face. That triggered a throbbing headache, which in turn reminded him of all the rum he'd consumed while carousing with his crew the night before. He instinctively shut his eyes against the glare, grabbed his tattered excuse for a coverlet and tried to roll away from the sunlight, then froze, eyes still shut, when he felt a cold sharp blade against his exposed neck. A silky brush of hair tickled his face and the sweet scent of a woman tickled his nose.
    A warm and sultry voice whispered in his ear. “Liam, your crew, to the last man, is passed out drunk. I could kidnap you and take that sweet little boat of yours and no one would so much as raise a hand to stop me.”
    The hair brushed across his face again. Suddenly the world went black and sideways, and Liam's head felt as though it would split open before the blessed darkness claimed him again.
    The second time he woke up, Liam became aware of his throbbing head before the light in his face. His mouth was sticky and dry, and the rest of his body ached almost as much as his head.
    “Well, I see my guest is finally waking up,” cooed the same sultry voice from somewhere in the room.
    Slowly Liam opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't in the dingy room he'd rented for the night but rather in the captain's cabin of a ship, a ship that was not his. He bolted upright and regretted the move as soon as he'd made it. Partly the regret was caused by his swimming head, but mostly the regret was due to the flashing cutlass blade that was suddenly at his throat.
    “Don't be getting any bright ideas, Captain O'Shea. If you don't behave yourself as a proper guest aboard my ship, I'll be obliged to tie you up and treat you as my prisoner.”
    Liam's head quickly cleared, along with his vision. Holding the other end of the sharp and deadly cutlass currently tickling his throat was a dangerously beautiful pirate queen. Shiny raven locks cascaded around her face and shoulders. Mysterious hazel eyes gazed penetratingly into his. A deliciously pouty mouth seemed to invite a kiss, were it not for the blade between them. Liam relaxed a trifle.
    “I would be a fool indeed to threaten harm to a captain aboard her own ship,” he said.
    “You have been known to be a bigger fool at times,” she snapped as she withdrew her cutlass.
    He took advantage of the moment she turned her eyes off of him and grabbed her up in his arms. He kissed her hard, forcing her body against the bulkhead. Holding her there, he trapped her wrists above her head. He burned his kisses upon her mouth, and his eyes went dark with passion. She did the only thing she could to get him off of her. She bit his lip, hard enough to draw blood. He cursed and let her go, his instinct for self-preservation giving her the advantage she needed. She slipped away from him and pulled the knife from her belt; once again, Liam found himself on the wrong end of a blade.
    “It would do you good to remember whose ship you are aboard!” she spat.
    “You seem to be quite adept at threatening me with sharp objects, but what do you really intend to do with that?” he asked, licking the blood from his lip.
    “Assert myself.”
    “Really, now, and just what assertions would those be, lass?” he grinned, knowing he'd unraveled her a bit.
    “Men of the watch!”
    No sooner had she raised her voice than three huge men came bursting into the cabin.
    “My guest has yet to learn his place. Put him in the brig until he cools off. And don't fail to use the robust irons,” she ordered them in a coolly confident tone.
    “Oh, really, now,” Liam exclaimed, his Irish brogue growing thicker. “Do ye not have the nerve to face me one on one? Or are these to be our audience?”
    “My ship, my rules,” she breathed in his face.
    “I do not think you will have to hold me down to kiss me back, lass. And I doubt