Read His Royal Pleasure for Free Online Page B

garde,” they returned, and copied his bow.
    A chill ran down her spine.
    The whole scene carried an air of unreality. Al feinted and parried with his imaginary opponent, moving with agility and skill. His shadow looked larger than life. She could almost imagine him in times of old, protecting, defending, conquering.
    His powerful body flexed with tension. His face was set with concentration. This was no game for him, Katherine sensed. It made her wonder about him. Who was he? Why was he here? What did he want from her?
    He lunged and took the killing stroke through the heart of his victim. The room cheered. He turned, faced the crowd and gave a brief bow.
    Chad came up beside her.
    Katherine forced her gaze to her brother. “How’d it go?”
    He shrugged. “Not bad. Big Napoleon here got everyone straight this morning.”
    â€œBig Napoleon?”
    Chad grinned, pleased with himself. “Yeah. It’s my new nickname for him. Pretty clever, huh?”
    â€œVery clever,” Katherine said. “Have you shared it with Al?”
    â€œHell, no. I’m not an idiot. He’s great with a sword, and I’ve got strong survival instincts. Which,” he added darkly, “is why I didn’t drink any coffee this morning. Al fixed it, and it tasted like sh—” He broke off, glancing over his shoulder at the wide-eyed children who stood behind them. He lowered his voice. “Horrible. If you have an ounce of concern for my health or our coffeemaker, you’ll make it before he does.”
    Katherine laughed. “Okay. I hear you.”
    Chad looked at Al again. “We ought to get him to be a pirate in that skit we always used to do.” Chad paused. “He’s looking at you.”
    Her chest tightened. “I’ll ask him about the skit,” she said. She didn’t want to look at Al. She was afraid that she would turn into a quivering mass of Jell-O.
    â€œHe’s still looking at you.”
    â€œThanks for telling me,” she muttered, resigning herself. Time to face the music, chickie. Anticipation is usually worse than reality, she told herself.
    When she looked up and met his deep, dark gaze, though, her heart seemed to stop. Standing tall, with that sword in his hand, he looked every inch the conquering male. But his eyes were tentative, asking, not demanding, and her defenses melted like butter in the sun.
    He held out his hand for her to join him.
    She didn’t hesitate. She’d have to think about that later. She just walked forward and let him take her hand. He held it firmly and whispered in her ear, “How did it go with Logan?”
    â€œHorrible,” she said, relieved he wasn’t going to refer to what had happened between them last night. “I—I didn’t know you could fence.”
    His jaw tightened, but he kept his voice light. “There are many things you don’t know about me.”
    Katherine trembled and pulled her hand away. She didn’t like the way she felt—light-headed, flushed, out of control. And he’d merely touched her hand. “How true,” she returned.
    He must have felt her response. Al smiled slowly, all male confidence now. “You can trust me.”
    Katherine shook her head. “I don’t know that.”
    â€œYou need me,” he insisted.
    â€œPirate Island needs you,” she corrected. “We’d like you to be a pirate in our Wednesday-night skit. The guests have missed it. Uncle Jasper always coordinated it before. We’ve got a bunch of new employees this year, so no one knows how to pull it off. You could coach the others in fencing, and Chad could direct.”
    Al flicked the sword through the air thoughtfully. She noticed it was one that had been hanging on the wall. “What do I get in return?” he finally asked.
    Her chest felt tight at the look in his eyes. “What do you want?”
    â€œYour trust.”
    She shook