Hostage to Passion. The Falcon and the Rose, #1

En route from Spain to the New World, the ship carrying Dona Rosaria is attacked by English pirates under the command of Sir Nicholas Harcourt, the infamous Black Falcon. Rosaria fears the worst, when she is taken prisoner, but Sir Nicholas proves himself surprisingly courteous - until he places a noose around Rosaria's neck and threatens to hang her, should her wealthy uncle fail to pay a ransom in exchange for Rosaria's life and virtue.
Sir Nicholas Harcourt has a reputation of being the most merciless pirate to prowl the Spanish Main. But his beautiful prisoner Dona Rosaria both manages to touch his heart and stir the fire of passion in his chest. Nicholas is resolved to have her by any means. However, he has also sworn to hang her on the deck of his ship, should her notoriously stingy uncle refuse to pay the ransom. Can Rosaria resist her growing attraction to a man she knows is a pirate and a heretic? And would Sir Nicholas really hang the woman who has captured his heart?This is a novelette of 13000 words or approx.
40 print pages. Warning: This novelette contains some fairly hot sex and not overly graphic violence, so sensitive readers should tread carefully. What is more, this is part one of a two-part story, so don't expect an ending that ties up all loose threads.