A Pirate's Heart — Lora Thomas

Kristina Hernandez had a happy life until the tragic death of her parents five years ago while they rendered aid to an injured man. After their deaths, she was forced to live at a local mission but found herself fantasizing about meeting the handsome man that her parents had saved. While at the mission, she reluctantly adjusted to the strict lifestyle, until pirates raided her village and abducted her. They sold her into prostitution, but she was able to escape. Spying a handsome man at a tavern, she followed him and stowed away on his ship. As she sought refuge, she reflected on her past and the hatred for pirates that consumed her soul, praying all would meet a horrific demise. Unbeknownst to her, the man she followed onto the ship was not only the one from her fantasies but also the type of man she had sworn to forever hate. . . a pirate! Being the illegitimate son of an influential Earl and a prostitute, Maxwell Hart had a difficult life. Upon the death of his abusive mother, he joined a pirate's crew. After years at sea, he found himself as quartermaster aboard The Abyss. As the ship departed from Tortuga, he was surprised to discover a beautiful woman hiding in his quarters. The fiery Spanish stowaway quickly turned his world upside down. He fought the feelings she stirred inside him but found them to overpowering to resist. The raven-haired beauty broke the cocoon that surrounded his hardened heart, and he found himself allowing her to be the owner of A Pirate's Heart.