We are excited to welcome Jess Whitecroft and her brand-new book ‘Reckless’ on Rainbow Gold Reviews. We just had to share that wonderful cover art with you and introduce you to this very unique pirate book, especially since it is ON SALE for $0.99 right now! ❤
You can get your first taste of the book in the extensive excerpt the author has provided for your enjoyment below!
When pirate Henry Dyer’s ship captures the French frigate Sans Souci, nobody seems to know why Captain Buckler has been chasing such a neglected and unprepossessing prize ship. The puzzle only gets more perplexing when they take the ship and find an English girl in leg irons.
It’s an old and popular love story – the pirate and the virgin who steals his heart away, only this time the pirate is the virgin and the girl isn’t a girl at all. She is James ‘Jem’ Exley, thief, molly, occasional actor and full time transvestite. Jettisoned to the New World in order to spare his aristocratic family any further disgrace, Jem is glamorous, flamboyant and fascinating to Henry, a former quiet country boy who became a pirate when his merchant vessel was robbed.
At only nineteen, Henry is determined to prove himself a man one way or the other, and is astonished to find that nothing makes him feel like more of a man than his increasingly reckless passion for Jem. As their love leads them into trouble, the mysterious circumstances of Jem’s capture lead Henry deeper into a mystery that not only upends his whole world, but sees them running for their lives across the Caribbean.
Stolen jewels, scheming Captains and devious drag artists collide in this steamy eighteenth century romp from the author of These Violent Delights and Going Sasquatch.
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Henry Dyer spotted him through the archway and slowed, then – seeming to take a breath and gather himself together – headed towards the front door.
“Hello,” said Jem, determined not to be ignored.
“Oh God,” said Henry. “What do you want?”
“That’s not very nice,” said Jem, quickly pivoting away from the door and hurrying along at Henry’s elbow. “I know we had our little misunderstanding…”
“Misunderstanding?” Henry stepped sideways to avoid a further couple of goats. “I would be well within my rights to kill you.”
“I’m not a legal expert, but I’m pretty sure that would still be murder.”
Henry spread his arms, indicating the scruffy street, the roaming chickens, the beggars, the chancers, the drunken pirates sleeping it off in doorways. “Look, Mr Exley–”
“–Jem, please.”
“Whatever. Does this look like a law abiding sort of place to you?”
“No,” said Jem. “But you don’t seem like the killing kind.”
“Nobody does,” said Henry. “Until it’s you or them.”
“Of course, but we’re not really in that situation, are we? I don’t mean you any harm, and you have to admit we did have some good times together.”
Henry snorted. “Oh yeah. The stuff of love songs.”
“Completely.”
“Which old fashioned love song were you thinking of, just out of interest?” he said. “The timeless ballad of Oops, I Seem To Have Your Ball Sac In My Hand?”
Jem hurried to keep up. It wasn’t easy in a skirt, and Henry was much taller than him. “I know it’s unconventional…” he said.
“Unconventional? Isn’t it a hanging offence?”
“Please,” said Jem. “Don’t play pious, Monsieur Pirate. You’ve killed men and I’ve fucked them; we’re both going to Hell.”
Henry stopped just a couple of feet away from a street vendor, a curious look in his eye. “You’ve fucked…?” And there. There it was, that boyish blush sneaking up under the deep tan.
“Men,” said Jem. “Yes. And I’m good at it.” He knew he looked a fright, but even in this mess of a dress there was enough of the coquette left in him to hold Henry’s gaze just a little too long, to draw out that slight glassiness in the eye that told him Henry’s mind had gone to some strange, indecent places. Perhaps back to the Sans Souci when they were tearing at one other’s clothes, and Henry had been all hands and eyes and awkwardness.
Very little experience, thought Jem, and the thought set his appetites alight, or maybe it was just the exquisite smell of roasting chicken drifting from the vendor’s cart. It was hard to tell one basic urge from the other when you were a mass of unsatisfied needs.
“My lovers always come back for more,” said Jem.
Henry looked Jem up and down. “Good for you,” he said. “Then you won’t have a problem making a living in Nassau, will you?”
He turned to the food cart, fished for his purse and handed over money. Jem hung at his heels, trying not to look too much like a starving dog.
“As a matter of fact, I might,” said Jem.
“Oh, how’s that?” Henry bought a couple of chicken thighs and handed one to Jem, who almost fainted from gratitude.
“Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Forget about it.”
After months of salt pork and hard tack, the fresh, juicy chicken tasted like heaven. Jem chewed several large mouthfuls before realising it was heavily spiced, with a strange cumulative heat that settled on his tongue and sneaked up the back of his nose, making his eyes water. “Oh my God,” he said, fanning his lips with a hand.
Henry laughed, baring young white teeth like the boy he really was. “It’s got a kick, hasn’t it?”
“It’s like…it’s like nothing else I’ve ever tasted.”
“It’s the Africans,” said Henry. “A lot of the cooks on the island are former cook slaves, and they like their food fiery.”
“That or as a means of revenge on their masters,” said Jem, chewing all the same. “It’s delicious. It’s like I want to go on eating, but it hurts.”
That got him another laugh, and that was good, because that laugh was a delight. Take away the dark tan and the sword against his hip, and Henry could have been some doe-eyed ploughboy back on his little green island, an ocean away from this one.
“You’ll get used to it,” said Henry. “Like everything else around here.”
“How? I have nothing.” Jem licked the chicken bone clean and tossed it into the gutter. “My watch…”
“Oh. That.”
“Yes. That. Look, I really appreciate the food and I know I’m taking advantage, but your captain is being very unreasonable about returning my watch and I wondered if you might…”
Henry licked his fingers, jangling Jem’s nerves with the memory of his fingertips, and the texture of callouses against his tongue. God, he was pretty. “Might what?” Henry said. “Persuade him to return it to you?”
“You seem to have a knack with him,” said Jem. “Or if he’s not amenable to persuasion you could just…I don’t know.”
“Steal it back?”
“If you’re open to that possibility. I mean, you are technically a thief.”
Henry gave a dry, incredulous laugh. “I’m a thief, Mr. Exley,” he said. “Not an idiot. I rob people who wet themselves at the sight of a flintlock. Not like Captain Buchanan. Do you want to know why they call him Buckler?”
“Why?”
“He had a belt. With a buckle on it.”
“What a fascinating story.”
“It broke,” said Henry, ignoring the sarcasm. “A while back. From overuse. You know what he used to do with it?”
“I feel sure you’re about to tell me.”
“He would fasten it around prisoners’ heads,” said Henry, drawing an imaginary strap across his forehead with a finger. “Big thick leather thing, it was. If they didn’t tell him where to find the cargo, he’d move that belt onto the next hole. And if there wasn’t another hole? He’d make one. Just kept tightening that thing.”
“Oh,” said Jem, his stomach sinking.
“Yeah,” said Henry. “If you keep doing that – as it turns out – people’s eyeballs actually come out of their heads.”
Jem swallowed hard, and hoped the fiery chicken wasn’t about to make a reappearance.
“You hear the bones crack and every–”
“–good point,” said Jem, gagging slightly. “Graphically made.”
Henry shrugged. “Just saying. Probably not a smart move to steal anything from a man like that.”
“No.” Oh dear. Despite the heat of that chicken, Jem felt suddenly as if his guts had been squeezed tight in a giant, icy fist. That other option was looking even more suicidal than it had previously. “Look,” he said, fighting to keep his voice under control. “I…I just need somewhere to get a good night’s sleep. Get my wits back about me.”
The blush returned. “Oh. I can’t,” said Henry, and it took Jem a moment to catch up with the misunderstanding. The young man clearly thought Jem was asking to share his bed with him, and there was a thought worth further contemplation. Jem’s head was suddenly full of skin and moans, the creak of a bed frame and the slap of flesh on flesh. So young. He’d probably come before Jem had even finished getting his trousers down, but it wouldn’t matter, because he’d pop right back up in five minutes time.
“Please,” said Jem, but Henry shook his head again, then reached down to take several coins from his purse.
“Here,” he said, handing Jem the money. “Don’t spend it all at once. This is an expensive town.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Jem said, his mind still somewhere with four walls and a bed. He still vividly remembered the look in those big brown eyes the first time he’d kissed Henry. “I’ll pay you back. I promise. With interest, if you like.”
Henry waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
“Of course. Thank you, again.”
“It’s nothing,” Henry said, although it wasn’t. Right now it was everything. His gaze lingered a little too long on Jem’s face, then he gave him a quick, tight smile. “Good luck, Jem.”
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When pirate Henry Dyer’s ship captures the French frigate Sans Souci, nobody seems to know why Captain Buckler has been chasing such a neglected and unprepossessing prize ship. The puzzle only gets more perplexing when they take the ship and find an English girl in leg irons.
It’s an old and popular love story – the pirate and the virgin who steals his heart away, only this time the pirate is the virgin and the girl isn’t a girl at all. She is James ‘Jem’ Exley, thief, molly, occasional actor and full time transvestite. Jettisoned to the New World in order to spare his aristocratic family any further disgrace, Jem is glamorous, flamboyant and fascinating to Henry, a former quiet country boy who became a pirate when his merchant vessel was robbed.
At only nineteen, Henry is determined to prove himself a man one way or the other, and is astonished to find that nothing makes him feel like more of a man than his increasingly reckless passion for Jem. As their love leads them into trouble, the mysterious circumstances of Jem’s capture lead Henry deeper into a mystery that not only upends his whole world, but sees them running for their lives across the Caribbean.
Stolen jewels, scheming Captains and devious drag artists collide in this steamy eighteenth century romp from the author of These Violent Delights and Going Sasquatch.
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