Read a captivating excerpt from Katee Robert's sexy pirate-witch romance Hunt on Dark Waters

Katee Robert knows how to capture romance readers' hearts.

With her upcoming title, Hunt on Dark Waters, she's taking them captive — literally. The fantasy romance, which hits shelves Nov. 7, takes readers into a world of witches, pirates, and unbreakable vows.

It follows Evelyn, a witch who steals from her vampire ex only to fall through a portal into another realm. When she's fished out of strange waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain, they give her an ultimatum — join their group or die.

But life aboard the Cŵn Annwn's ship comes with an even more complicated problem — Evelyn's attraction to Bowen, who has no memory of his life before his pirate days and is bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. The longer they spend together, the more their attraction grows. But their romantic tension is only matched by increasing danger, as Evelyn tries to devise a way to avoid keeping her forced vow to the Cŵn Annwn and ponders a betrayal that could cost both her and Bowen their lives.

EW has an exclusive excerpt from Hunt on Dark Waters, featuring one of Evelyn's attempted escapes — and Bowen's efforts to hammer home what she is risking.

Read more below and get ready to set sail on the high seas.

I twist and flail, my hair making it nearly impossible to see. "Where are you, you asshole?"

"That's a bold statement coming from a vow breaker." His voice sounds near me, but not too near.

I don't know whether to be incensed or relieved that Bowen is the one responsible for my current predicament. On one hand, it means he anticipated my escape and was out here laying a trap for me. On the other hand, it's not some new enemy to contend with. For better or worse, Bowen is somewhat of a known factor. At least in theory.

"Let me go."

"So you can run again?" He scoffs out of sight. "I don't think so. You and I are going to have a frank conversation."

Not this again. Surely he can't be so intentionally dense that he thinks he'll convince me to see things his way. Yes, I've been a bit of a liar. But all that is out in the open now. There's not much I can say to make him believe I won't run again, and rightfully so. "How about, instead of doing that, you go find a dead horse for you to beat?"

He's silent for several moments too long. "I am assuming that is some kind of metaphor, because the alternative seems out of character for you."

For fuck's sake. How am I supposed to talk to this man? I realize I'm in another realm with different cultural touch points, but it still feels like talking to someone's great-grandfather who's barely come to terms with the moving pictures on his television. I drag in a deep breath and strive for patience. "Bowen, put me down."

Instead of listening, his magic turns me to face him and gathers my hair away from my face. That, more than anything else he's done since I've met him, terrifies me. I've met telekinetics from time to time, enough to know that the big explosions of power are actually the easy moves. It's the small, delicate tasks that require the most control.

Bowen doesn't hurt me. He doesn't snag even a single strand of hair. Holy shit.

"I understand you aren't the kind of person whose nature it is to take threats seriously." He moves out of the darkness between two trees and crouches in front of me, a few feet away. Gods, but he's a handsome f---er. I didn't think he was going to win any beauty pageants when I first saw him, but it seems like he only gets more attractive every time I look at him. His broad shoulders block out what little light there is; they even seem to block out the rain still cascading down around us. He snaps his fingers in front of my face, forcing me to focus on him. "Take me seriously now, Evelyn. You say you know the reputation of the Cŵn Annwn. What do we do?"

I'm still too freaked out by his display of control to come up with a smart-ass comment. "You hunt." I say through numb lips.

"Yes, we hunt." He leans forward, his dark eyes devastatingly serious. "If you run, you will force us to hunt you. You will force me to hunt you."

"I am—"

He keeps going as if I hadn't tried to speak. "Leaving Threshold won't be enough to save you. While the Cŵn Annwn don't normally hunt in the other realms themselves, there are times when it's necessary to do so. A rogue member of our group is one of them. This isn't something you can outrun, Evelyn. Hunting is what we do. When we find you — and we will — there will be no trial, no opportunity to use your witty words to defend yourself. We will rip you limb from limb and paint the ground bloody. Do you understand me?"

I can't catch my breath. I want to blame the buzzing in my head from being upside down, but fear is its true source. Because he's not blustering. He's not yelling or making ostentatious threats. He's merely stating a future as if it's a given.

If I run, they will kill me.

Tomorrow, I will tell myself that I wasn't about to piss my pants in terror. Tomorrow, I will start thinking of a future where I can work around this inevitability. Tomorrow . . .

Right now, all thoughts have fled from my brain. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I am trying to protect you."

Bowen doesn't want to hurt me. I think I knew that, but it's never been clearer than it is in this moment. By all rights, my sneaking off the ship should count as breaking my vow. I certainly intended for it to. And yet he's not ripping my limbs from my body and painting the forest with my blood.

Yes, he's holding me captive. But he sounds so f---ing exhausted that I have the strangest urge to give him a hug. I don't know what the hell that's about.

"I need you to tell me that you understand me, Evelyn."

Just like that, whatever fight I have left drains away. At least for now. I nod, and even as scared as I am, I still note the fact that he adjusts his magical hold on my hair to ensure it doesn't pull. Who is this man? To be so careful with me, and yet deliver one of the most horrific threats I've ever experienced. Because he's not bluffing. He threatens the same way Lizzie does: A statement of fact. An explanation of consequences.

I don't know if I'm going to get out of this one.

"I understand," I finally managed.

Bowen's magic moves around me as he turns me right side up and sets me on my feet. My blood immediately rushes from my head and I stumble. When he catches me, it's not with his magic this time.

It's with his hands. They're very nice hands. Wide and rough in a way I can feel through my thin shirt. Strong, too.

It must be tangling my senses and confusing my instincts. That's the only explanation, and not even a good one at that. Because instead of stepping away and putting some necessary distance between us, I lean in closer.

Worse still, I grab the front of his shirt and yank him toward me.

And then I kiss Bowen.

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