The Game by Brenda Joyce Read Free Book Online

ransom if you abuse me.”
    He smiled, bent his head, and kissed her neck. Katherine gasped. His mouth moved around her throat, forming an imaginary necklace with his kisses. Her heart beat harder, so hard he must surely hear it. He lifted his head, smiling again. “There shall be no abuse, sweetheart. I would never abuse a woman such as you.”
    “You do not take me seriously!” she cried.
    “No, I take you very seriously, indeed,” he murmured, holding her gaze.
    Katherine could not guess at his meaning, but was certain there was more to his words than she could comprehend. “Then free me, unharmed,” she said.
    His gaze flickered over her face, then over her breasts. “I cannot.”
    Katherine cried out. “Why not?” It was a demand.
    His jaw flexed. He was deadly earnest now, and it was hard to believe that just a few moments earlier he had been smiling. His fingers brushed her jaw once again. “Because you are the loveliest woman I have ever seen, and I want you very badly.”
    Katherine was incredulous. “But you cannot have me!I am not a pretty red apple, to be plucked and devoured on a whim. I am Katherine FitzGerald, daughter of the earl of Desmond, a noblewoman born and bred. You cannot have me! ”
    His gaze held hers, brilliant, diamondlike. It was a moment before he spoke. “To the contrary, not only can I have you, I shall,” he said. “You do not seem to understand. We are not in Desmond. We are on my ship. On the open sea. I am king here, master of everyone and everything you see. The moment you passed into my hands, you belonged to me. Katherine, I have no intention of hurting you. I do not rape virgins. You fear me now, but before the night is through, I shall prove your fear misplaced.”
    For a moment she stared at him, speechless. Just past his shoulder she saw the big bed. “Think of the ransom I can bring! S-surely that is worth more than a passing pleasure!”
    The corners of his lips lifted ever so slightly. “Did you not hear a word I said? I have no wish to ransom you.” He lifted her chin. His gaze moved to her lips. “Ransom is the last thing on my mind.”
    Fully aware that he intended to kiss her again, she shouted, “Let me go! Please .”
    He stared at her, something flickering in his eyes. His fingertip skidded across her cheek again. Then he looked directly into her eyes. “You do not understand. And I am sorry, Katherine, to be the one to inform you of the facts, but even if I wished to ransom you, which I do not, a ransom is impossible.”
    Katherine tensed, suddenly far more afraid than she had been before. “What are you saying?” she whispered.
    He hesitated, then grew brisk. “Your father is the queen’s prisoner, has been such for many years.”
    Katherine stared, unable to make a sound, unable even to breathe.
    His gaze searched hers. “FitzGerald was convicted of high treason, his lands and title forfeit. In fact, there is no earl of Desmond, no earl, no earldom, just a prisoner in disgrace.”
    Katherine stared at him in shock and disbelief.

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    K atherine’s mind screamed, It cannot be true!
    The pirate broke into her thoughts. “So you see, Katherine, your father can neither pay a ransom, nor help you.”
    She met his gaze, her green eyes wild. “I do not believe you. You are lying!”
    He remained calm. “I am not lying. I speak what the whole world knows. I speak the facts.”
    Katherine refused to believe him. She could not believe him. Her father a prisoner of the Crown, stripped of his lands and title? Oh, God! No, it could not be possible.
    His tone became more gentle. “But your father is alive, Katherine. He was not hanged. I believe he still resides in Southwark, where he is under house arrest.”
    Katherine jerked, her bosom heaving. “Southwark?” She was numb. Southwark, not Desmond. Her father was a prisoner of the Crown, forced to remain in London—in exile.
    “Understandably you are shocked,” he said, watching her closely.
    And