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.But privateers also sailed from ports like Charles Town, and it was there, to home, that Jared brought Merideth.Charleston, like her native sons and daughters, is beautiful and proud.a survivor.During the years after the pirate Gentleman Jack Blackstone (from Sea Fires) wooed and married Miranda, before Jared and Merideth settled down in Charles Town, the city experienced fires, killer storms, plagues, and enemy occupation.But she endured.In Sea of Temptation, the third book of the Charleston Trilogy, Jared and Merideth’s great-grandson, Devon Blackstone, is a blockade runner during the American Civil War.Like his ancestors, he’s a man of the sea and a rogue.a hero in the true Blackstone tradition.Fearless and charming, Devon doesn’t know what trouble is until he meets abolitionist Felicity Wentworth and the group of children she’s come south to rescue.I truly hope you enjoy the Charleston Trilogy.The Blackstone men and the women who love them are very special to me.Please let me know what you think.Contact me on my website, www.christinedorsey.com, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter.Read on for an excerpt from Book 3 in the Charleston Trilogy, Sea of Temptation.Sea of TemptationChapter OneJune, 1862Charleston, South CarolinaHe hated black.Devon Blackstone leaned his hip into the sharp-edged windowsill and smiled at the irony.A Blackstone hating black.But it seemed every time he returned home more bright silks were shed in favor of morbid black by Charleston’s daughters.He absently watched the woman struggling along on the street below.She was swathed in widow’s weeds, the heavy material covering her completely.Another casualty of the damn war.“Such a waste,” he mumbled, grimacing when he realized he spoke aloud.“What did you say, honey?”“It was nothing.” Devon glanced over his shoulder to where Lil sprawled enticingly across the bed.The gossamer veil of mosquito netting was pushed aside and she beckoned with her finger, her red lips forming a provocative pout.“Come back to bed and you won’t have time to talk to yourself.”Devon’s chuckle was devilish.“I think perhaps I’m talking to myself because of the time spent in your bed.”“Complaints from the infamous blockade runner?” Lil lifted a smooth bare shoulder, letting the sheet fall from her rounded, pink-tipped bosom.“I think you know better than that.” Devon forced himself to look away.“But if I climb back in that bed neither of us will come up for air for the rest of the day, and I do need to pay my respects to my grandmother.”“I saw Mrs.Blackstone last week, did I tell you?”“No.” Lil hadn’t done much talking since Devon showed up at her place of business this morning.The Intrepid ran the blockade of Federal ships last night.As usual, the danger and excitement stayed with Devon as they docked in Charleston.And as usual, Lil was only too happy for Devon to release some of that excess energy with her.He still felt tense, like a boiler with its safety vent blocked, but he didn’t think another round in Lil’s bed would help.He turned, doing his best to ignore her generous breasts and listened to her go on about his grandmother.“She was riding down Meeting Street in her carriage and she actually had her driver stop to thank me for my donation to the hospital fund.Imagine that.”“She thanked you?” Devon arched a brow.“That doesn’t sound like Grandmother.”A slow flush spread up Lil’s neck and face.Devon wouldn’t have thought her capable of blushing, but he supposed if anyone could illicit one it was his grandmother.“Well, actually she told me it was about time I used some of the profits I.em.earned to help with the suffering caused by this war.”Devon threw back his head in laughter.“Now that sounds like Grams.”“Well, she thanked me none the less,” Lil said defensively.“I’m glad.” Devon turned back toward the window, casually searching for the widow he noticed earlier.Lil continued to talk about his grandmother, saying what a fine lady she was, but Devon paid little attention.Not that he didn’t agree.He adored his grandmother, though he was the first to admit that her tongue could be rapier sharp.But Devon spotted the widow again, still struggling with her heavy bag, and he couldn’t stop watching her.She was young.That was obvious even without seeing her face.Her body was slender, and though the carpetbag dragged her arm down, her movements were graceful.The street was crowded, clogged with sailors and soldiers—another effect of the war—and the woman seemed out of place.A regrettable commentary on Charleston and the hard times that plagued the city.The morning was sultry, humid and hot.The sun hung hazy over the harbor, with only an occasional breeze off the bay to offer any relief.Perspiration glued Devon’s linen shirt to his upper body.He couldn’t imagine how warm the widow was beneath the heavy hat and veil.But she kept plodding on, clutching her carpet bag as if her life depended on it.And Devon kept watching.When a maverick breeze came off the bay, bringing with it the scent of sea air, it caught at the widow’s skirts, swirling them around her ankles.And it momentarily lifted the black veil.Before her black-gloved hand shot up and dragged the drape back down he caught a glimpse of her hair [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]