Spanish Pirate: A BWWM International Legacies Romance Read online

  Spanish Pirate

  A BWWM International Legacies Romance

  Camilla Stevens

  Copyright © 2020 by Camilla Stevens

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Camilla Stevens

  WRIGHT BROTHERS SERIES

  Mr. Wright & Mr. Wrong

  Mr. & Mrs. Wright

  So Wrong

  STAND ALONE

  One Night

  Sweet Seduction

  EX-CLUB ROMANCE SERIES

  Archer: Ex-Bachelor

  TEXAS HEAT ROMANCE SERIES

  Home Run

  High Stakes

  Hard Sell

  INTERNATIONAL LEGACIES ROMANCE

  The Italian Heir

  The French Thief

  The Nordic Lightning

  Her Icelandic Protector

  Her Russian Defender

  The Luxembourg Betrayal

  The Monte Carlo Shark

  DESCRIPTION

  A hidden treasure …

  And now she’s MINE.

  ENRIQUE MARÍN

  Cocky. Daring. Clever.

  And completely driven by vengeance.

  He was born in to a world of wealth.

  Now, he makes a living stealing from that world.

  He’s a modern day pirate…but the only treasure he seeks is revenge.

  I’m in hiding from my father’s enemies on a convent island off the coast of Spain.

  Until the day I discover the Pirate’s secret.

  To protect what’s his he kidnaps me from the convent.

  To protect what’s mine I claim be a nun committed to a vow of silence.

  But…

  He has ways of making me talk.

  He has ways of making me cry out with pleasure.

  And when all is said and done…

  He has ways of making me HIS.

  This is a BWWM Stand Alone Romance in the International Legacies Romance series.

  WARNING: Due to adult situations this book is for 18+ only. There are religious themes that some readers may find offensive.

  Contents

  Author’s Note

  Prologue

  Part I

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Part II

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Epilogue

  Author’s Note

  Also by Camilla Stevens

  Author’s Note

  This book, as with all of the International Legacies Romance books that will follow, is a romance, not just between the two characters but also between me and the places I’ve personally been and loved. An ode of sorts to countries/cities I’ve visited.

  Thus, I’d just like to offer the following caveats and explanations:

  Language and Writing Style

  Since most of these books take place in countries around the world, in order to have some semblance of authenticity, I had to have some way to include the local language (in this case Spanish) without a) writing it in Spanish and translating for the reader (ugh!) or b) including “he/she/they said in Spanish” after every bit of dialogue.

  As such, I’ve distinguished anything that isn’t said in English by putting it in italics. I realize that some readers may find this annoying, and I apologize, but I’d rather have you annoyed than confused, or worse, assuming everyone speaks English with one another.

  That said…welcome to Spain! I hope you enjoy it as much as I personally did and one day have the chance to visit yourself.

  Spain

  My descriptions of all locations are taken from personal experience and interviewing (or interrogating) others, as well as individual research. As with most of the International Legacies Romance, bits and pieces of this are biographical, which means there will be things in here that differ from your experiences in these locales. Trust me, it happened! That said, although I’ve done my best to obtain the most up-to-date information, do your research before deciding you’d like to visit. I don’t take artistic liberties with things that can easily be figured out via a simple Google search or asking others—only when it comes to romance. :)

  The Little Mermaid

  You’ll see early on that this book draws quite a bit from The Little Mermaid (the character names, themes, etc.), which is one of my favorite fairytales This book is not Fantasy or Paranormal—no spells or curses or magic, just fun. With that frame of mind, enjoy!

  Prologue

  Santa María de Atlántica Convento

  TWENTY YEARS AGO

  “This is the only place I could think of where he wouldn’t find us.”

  “You can stay here as long as you need to, Daniela. Mother Agnes has assured me it’s not a problem.”

  I chase after a bird while Mommy and the woman talk in low voices and whispers. They’re speaking in Spanish. Daddy always gets mad when she speaks it around him. I spend enough time with her while he is gone on BUSINESS, though, and that’s when she sings to me in Spanish and translates all the stories at bedtime. Those are my favorite times. They happen enough for me to know what she’s saying to the woman next to her.

  Mommy told me that this woman was her cousin, even though she called her “Sister Clara” when I first met her. I don’t have any sisters or brothers, but even I know sisters can’t be cousins. At least I don’t think so.

  “I’m going to go back to America. I’ll try to find evidence or at least someone who can help me.”

  “Daniela, you can’t!”

  “I have to try. As long as he doesn’t know his son is here, perhaps….”

  “Don’t. You know what Richard is like. Look at what he’s already done. And now? If he really did kill that man, Eric is in danger. You’re both in danger.”

  “Not if I leave him here with you. Richard won’t do anything to me so long as he doesn’t know where his son is. Eric will be safe here.”

  The bird flies off and suddenly I
’m bored again. This island is boring. All except for the big building that I thought was a castle at first. It turned out to be a convento, or at least I think that’s what Sister Clara called it. That’s a Spanish word I don’t know. But the building is boring too since there are no knights or dragons like in the stories Mommy reads to me. There aren’t even any other kids to play with, just boring women in strange outfits who shush me all the time.

  At least they don’t yell at me or hit me like Daddy does when I’m bad. Sometimes he even hits me when I haven’t been naughty. Not really naughty, anyway.

  I just like his things a lot, so I take them to borrow but only for a little while. Most of the time, he doesn’t notice because he has so many things. It’s only when he does notice that he gets so mean and scary.

  I’m happy he didn’t come with Mommy and me on this trip, even though I know I’m not supposed to feel that way. He’s just always so angry now. He didn’t used to hit me, only Mommy, but I didn’t like that either.

  Then, there was what he did to that man. That was much worse. That one had blood. I’m glad I hid when Daddy and the man walked in to his office. He always told me that his office was OFF LIMITS. But that’s where the globe and the big book of maps were and I was only going to borrow the book for a while to look at the interesting pictures and places.

  At first, I just listened to them. Even though he can be scary, I like watching Daddy when he’s with other grown-ups wearing suits. One day I’m going to be big and important like him, ordering people around and smoking cigars and drinking the brown water in that crystal bottle by his desk. I tried a sip one time when he wasn’t there. It smelled funny and hurt when I swallowed, but Daddy is always drinking it. Maybe you have to be a grown-up to like it.

  This time in his office with another grown-up was different. For one thing, Daddy sounded scared, and he’s never scared. I didn’t understand why, especially since he was so much bigger than the man with him. Except the other man sounded a little bit scared too, scared but angry.

  Then came the blood.

  I frown and try to forget that part once again. When I told Mommy about it the next day, she looked even more scared than Daddy or the man were. She told me I should never tell anyone, especially Daddy, what I’d seen.

  At first, I was confused when Mommy woke me up last night and told me we were going on our own special trip. Then she told me it was a game and I was supposed to be quiet as long as possible while we left our big apartment in New York. Daddy has a lot of homes, so at first I thought we were going to one of them. Mommy and I got on a plane and then a car and a boat and now, we’re here on an island. I’m not sure where “here” is, but I have learned that the women dressed in long black robes are “monjas,” which Mommy told me means “nuns.”

  I wish I was back in school where there are other kids to play with. I was worried when Mommy said I had to go to “Kindergarten” this year, but it was fun, even with the cast on my arm a few months ago. I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone how I got it, but she said I could let the other kids and adults color and write their names on it if I wanted. Next year I’ll start big-kid school. I hope it’s just as much fun.

  My eye catches the mountain beyond the long grassy area where Mommy and the nun are sitting. I want to ask if I can go play there but something tells me Mommy will say no. She and her cousin are talking and it looks important, but they aren’t paying attention to me, which is good.

  I run over before they notice and begin to climb and climb. The rocks are more jagged than I thought, but it’s still more fun than chasing birds. I don’t know how long I’ve been climbing, but now I’m really, really high up. Then, I see an opening. It’s small enough for Mommy to catch me if she crawls through but not “Sister Ana” who has been especially mean to me and has a really big butt.

  I giggle as I crawl through the opening, imagining Sister Ana getting stuck like Winnie the Pooh when he ate too much honey. I’m so focused on that picture in my head that I don’t notice how far I am into the hole. It’s really dark and suddenly I’m scared.

  How long have I been crawling?

  But there’s dim light ahead, which means maybe there’s an opening on that side too. Curiosity wins over my fear and I keep going.

  * * *

  “I’m so sorry, Eric, but your mother has gone to heaven.”

  I stare at Sister Clara in confusion. At least she is speaking in English now, so that is not the problem. I just don’t understand what those words are telling me.

  Mommy went to New York a few days ago and left me here. At first, I didn’t mind. It meant I could go to the place beyond the hole in the rocks, now that she wasn’t here to watch me. But now, all the monjas have been especially strict about me staying in the convento.

  Mommy said she would be back soon. So why is she in heaven?

  “She’s not coming back?”

  “No, Eric, she isn’t.”

  I nod, still not fully understanding.

  “So, is Daddy coming to get me?”

  Sister Clara turns to Mother Agnes at the desk across from us, who seems upset about something. After a moment, she sighs and nods her head at Sister Clara.

  They both do that thing with her hands, tapping their foreheads, then their stomachs, and then different parts of their chests. Sister Clara mumbles something about “father,” asking him for forgiveness.

  I don’t know why she would ask Daddy for forgiveness. Maybe she’s scared of him, just like Mommy always was. I wonder what Sister Clara did to upset Daddy. Now, I’m worried for her. She’s been very nice to me and I don’t want Daddy to hurt her like he did that man. Before I can warn her to stay away from him, she’s talking to me again.

  “I’m afraid your father is in…heaven as well,” Sister Clara says, though she seems angry about this.

  “They’re both in heaven?”

  “Yes, dear.”

  What does that mean? Who will take care of me now? Maybe they are both just waiting for me to go and be with them in heaven.

  “Am I going to heaven too?”

  “Oh no, Eric! Of course not,” Sister Clara says in a panic.

  “Is…Mommy coming back then?”

  She turns to Mother Agnes with a worried look on her face.

  “Eric, your mother…” She pauses and gives Sister Clara a look before continuing. “Your mother and father are both dead. They aren’t coming back. You will be sent to a special place somewhere else run by the Church. You’ll stay there until they can place you with a couple who will take care of you from now on. Do you understand?”

  Her voice is so different from Sister Clara’s soothing voice, that I’m afraid to answer no, even though I don’t understand at all. So, I nod.

  “We’re going to give you a new name, since you’ll be living here in Spain. How does that sound?” Sister Clara asks with a nice smile.

  “A new name?”

  “Yes, so that—” Her voice falters a bit. “Think of it like Superman, how he pretended to be Clark Kent so everyone wouldn’t know who he really was?”

  “Sister Clara,” Mother Agnes says in a stern voice. “We don’t need to resort to any more lies.”

  Mother Agnes turns to me. “You can no longer use the name Eric Coleman. Do you understand?”

  Once again, I nod, not wanting to upset her anymore even though I definitely don’t understand.

  “How about something Spanish in honor of your new family? We’ll give you a name that is similar so it will be easier for you to adjust. How about…Enrique? That’s close enough, although it means Henry in Spanish.”

  I nod again, still very confused. But Mother Agnes nods as though she’s satisfied with my response.

  “Enrique,” Sister Clara says with a smile. It disappears as she leans in, looking just as serious as Mother Agnes did. “Can you say Enrique?”

  “Enrique.” It is similar to my name, but I still don’t know why I have to change it.

  “Perfect
,” Sister Clara says with a smile of relief. “From now on, you are Enrique, and when your new family comes to adopt you, you’ll take their last name.”

  Something inside me slowly begins to grasp at least part of what’s going on. Mommy and Daddy are gone, and they aren’t coming back.

  And now I’m…Enrique.

  “This last bit is important,” Sister Clara says, giving me such a serious look, I get worried again. “You can never tell anyone about your father and what you saw him do that night, do you understand? Don’t ever say a word.”

  “I understand.”

  Part I

  The Mermaid

  Chapter One

  Enrique

  “You’ve been very, very naughty,” I say in English, the lingua franca, especially on the high seas.