His to Claim

By Libby Campbell

Seduced. Betrayed. Claimed.

The first time Jazz ventures onto a cruise boat in Australia, she is already in love with charming, dominant Adam. By the time they sail into home port, she knows she has found the man of her dreams.
The feeling isn’t mutual.
After Adam shreds her heart, she boards a transpacific cruise ship for the journey home. She has barely unpacked when a new lover is knocking on her door. Determined to forget Adam, Jazz tries to replace one man with another. But he isn’t Adam and the affair sours quickly.
Humiliated on two different ships, Jazz swears off cruises forever.
Time passes. Wounds heal. When an exciting new cruise line starts sailing out of Jazz’s hometown, she buys a first-class ticket.

Disclaimer: this novella is a second edition of the one included in the Kisses and Kink anthology that is no longer available. This version has been significantly re-edited and new scenes have been added.
This steamy romance contains sexual scenes and domestic discipline including spanking of adult women. If these themes are likely to offend you, please do not read this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Libby Campbell
• Release date: Oct 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781990303166

Libby Campbell

My romance novels feature strong, self-reliant women and the powerful men who love them. Romantic by nature, I write the stories I want to read: those that feature a spicy power exchange and deliver a sting in the tale.Canadian by birth, I also lived in Australia for a couple of decades. While living there I overcame my aversion to saucer-sized spiders and, as a condition of marriage to my Aussie Prince Charming, I swore a lifelong allegiance to the Melbourne Football Club.Then family called and my husband and I packed up and moved. We now live on a rocky island on Canada’s West Coast, close to beaches that once were frequented by smugglers and rumrunners.My passions are reading and writing. I adore all animals and love hiking, beachcombing, and an occasional night of dancing.

Book preview

His To Claim

HIS TO CLAIM

HIS TO HOLD

BOOK 1

LIBBY CAMPBELL

Copyright © 2022 by Libby Campbell

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Libby Campbell Romance

eBook ISBN: 978-1-990303-16-6

Print ISBN: 978-1-990303-19-7

Campbell, Libby

His To Claim

This novella was initially published in the Kisses and Kink anthology but has been extensively revised prior to publication,

If you found this book for free on any website but Amazon or another reputable retailer it was most likely pirated. This is a federal crime, but worse the author receives no money for this work. When books are pirated authors stop writing.

This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults.

It takes a team to build a book. Thank you to those helped with this one:

Dar Albert from Wicked Smart Designs for the cover art.

The marvelous beta readers who gave their time and insightful feedback to improve this story. Their generosity is amazing.

Gavin A Campbell, without whose technical expertise my books would never leave my hard drive. (You are my rock!)

Renee Brooks for so much

.

CONTENTS

The Spirit Bear Explorer, Pacific Northwest, Present Day

1. Preboarding

Manta Ray 1, Queensland Australia, Ten Years Earlier

2. Friends

3. Dangerous creatures

4. Hot dates

5. Breaking Bread

6. First time for everything

7. All aboard

8. Changing loyalties

9. Missed message

10. The bitter end

Oceanic Lady Glenroy, Transpacific

11. Back to work

12. (Try to) love the one you’re with

13. An unreasonable facsimile

The Spirit Bear Explorer, Pacific Northwest, Present Day

14. Head count

15. Lying low

16. Irresistible

17. Jazz decides

More from Libby Campbell:

His to Hold Series

Without Mercy – An exciting mystery series!

The Lighthouses of Devmaer series

Tales of Devmaer: Novellas attached to The Lighthouses of Devmaer series:

Bad Girls Grumpy Bosses

Other books by Libby Campbell:

Connect with Libby Campbell:

Libby Campbell in her own words:

THE SPIRIT BEAR EXPLORER, PACIFIC NORTHWEST, PRESENT DAY

PNW Map

1

PREBOARDING

As much as Jazz loved the ocean, she hated cruises. Cruises reminded her of him .

When the Earth Conservancy group introduced ecotours her mother sent her a link to the booking site with a message: you choose and I will pay. Jazz knew why her mother was making the offer. Her parents had met on a cruise ship and Mom was convinced that a similar holiday would be Jazz’s road to true romance, even though history had proven the opposite. When Jazz’s business partner also insisted she take a break, she decided she was outnumbered. It was time to leave the ghosts behind.

As her taxi drove away, she stood on the sidewalk and stared up at the Spirit Bear Explorer, the vessel that was going to be her home for the next eight nights. Excitement and dread churned through her. With only thirty guest cabins and a maximum of sixty guests, The Explorer was labeled a boutique ship. Not what most people thought of when they heard ‘cruise ship’ but the small size was exactly what appealed to her.

It was just past dawn on a fine summer morning. Jazz was absurdly early for boarding, so she stood and watched for signs of life onboard. A crew member with a tablet walked along the middle deck. When he stopped to enter something into his device, she glimpsed the silhouette of someone from her long ago past. A shock wave shot through her as the shadowy figure disappeared inside.

This is what happens when you get only two hours sleep. Old nightmares come back to haunt you. Get a grip.

She shook off the momentary chill and looked around the quiet harbor. The water was calm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A warm breeze sweetened the air, promising a fine day ahead.

Boarding would start in a few hours. Now it was time to get some breakfast and score a good vantage point where she could watch her shipmates gather.

She rolled her bright pink suitcase into the coffee shop where the fragrant aroma of coffee and baking muffins welcomed her. She settled down by the window with a chai latte and a blueberry muffin. From where she sat, she could observe her fellow travelers as they arrived.

Soon a slow trickle of cars began disgorging other passengers who joined her in the same shop. It was a mixed crowd of all ages. Almost everyone was dressed like she was, in layers of outdoor gear, as if there had been a dress code.

Some people recognized each other from previous trips and talked eagerly of the wildlife they hoped to see. As she pretended to read something on her phone, the wide brim of her hiking hat obscured her face. Jazz’s long blond hair was tucked into the hat, and she wore glasses instead of her usual contacts to make herself as unremarkable looking as possible. Her clothing was modest, a crew neck t-shirt and cargo pants in bland shades of green. Nothing to attract attention. All she wanted from the trip was the chance to immerse herself in the world of nature and leisure.

Indifferent to her mother’s agenda, Jazz wasn’t looking for a man. The reason she’d decided to get to the café early was so she could identify any single male travelers who might be on the make. Then she’d make a point of avoiding them. She was in one of her off men cycles again, and she didn’t want the work of knocking back well-intended overtures.

Generally, men disappointed her, not because there was anything wrong with them, but because she held impossibly standards. There had only ever been one man who could make her core clench with the lift of his eyebrow, whose smile made her breath catch in her throat.

After losing him, she looked for a replacement but only found pale substitutes. The men she met were good people, but she needed a partner whose heart aligned with hers. Besides, she wasn’t miserable without a man. She had a wonderful family, a fulfilling career, and good friends. The benefits of a single life weren’t lost on her. She ate what she wanted when she wanted. If she decided to binge watch a new series or spend all day in bed reading, she didn’t have to negotiate with anyone. The laundry could pile up and the gas gauge on her car could slide to empty. No one complained.

When she read about this new eco-tourism cruise, she decided it was perfect for a single person like her. The ship would be full of nature nerds, not singles looking for fast, fun hookups. She could relax and see parts of the rugged coast where the bigger ships couldn’t navigate.

Not long before boarding now. She glanced around the café. Every table and inch of counter space in the coffee shop was occupied. A tall man with dark curly hair to his shoulders and a narrow face was standing at the counter, looking at her. When he realized he’d caught her attention, he flashed a brilliant white smile. She nodded at his greeting. In turn, he said something to the man beside him. His rail thin friend twisted around to look at her through wire framed glasses. He said something to his dark-haired friend and turned back to his coffee.

The dark-haired man continued to telegraph his interest with frequent glances that she caught in her peripheral vision. He had a pleasant aura, but there was no spark.

For now, she planned to keep her hat on, and her blue eyes hidden behind her horn-rimmed glasses.

MANTA RAY 1, QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA, TEN YEARS EARLIER

GBR

2

FRIENDS

Jazz had been traveling around Australia for a few weeks when she arrived at Airlie Beach, Queensland. The bus dropped her and her traveling companion Betty a mile from the hostel they’d chosen for the night.

The minute Jazz stepped out of the cool interior of the air-conditioned bus, the muggy tropical heat hit her like a wall. She ignored it because she was in northern Australia. What did she expect? Besides Airlie Beach was a new town with the fresh promise of adventure, and Betty had a talent for finding fun people wherever they went.

Jazz met her curvaceous, purple-haired English friend on her first day in Australia. They became immediate mates and shared an easy friendship, as if they’d known each other for years. Betty had been backpacking many times and had a gift for finding great deals and good hostels. Plus, she was shameless at bargaining for better prices on anything and everything, something Jazz couldn’t bring herself to try.

Betty told Jazz that she liked traveling with her because she was easy to get along with. Jazz liked ‘easy to get along with’ much better than