Read The Game for Free Online Page B

would never hurt a flower such as you. Pluck, yes. Hurt, no.”
    Katherine tried to compose herself in the face of his soft, seductive tone—no easy task when pressed against his formidable body. “I am the earl’s daughter,” she said desperately. “He will kill you for this trespass.”
    “Desmond can hardly kill me,” he said easily. He did not appear to be moved at all by the fact of her parentage.
    “Then you do not know him,” Katherine insisted.
    “I know him,” he said, and then he touched her face with one hand. His palm stroked her cheek and jaw. Katherine froze, wishing he would cease his butterfly touch.
    “And soon I will know you,” he whispered, his mouth coming close to hers. “Soon I must know you.”
    Katherine gasped then, for his huge phallus brushed against the joining place of her thighs.
    He murmured, “You are a great beauty, mistress, the kind of woman to haunt a man’s dreams.”
    Katherine’s gaze flew to his. He had not moved awayfrom her and she was acutely aware of his virility, and what would soon happen if she did not somehow defend herself. And for one single moment, she did not, could not, move.
    Abruptly she writhed and jerked against him, but he only tightened his grip upon her. “You have hardly dreamed of me, pirate, for we have just met!”
    He grinned briefly. “I am going too fast. That is not my intention.” But he did not move away from her. “Relax, sweetheart, relax. You cannot win in any love play that occurs between us. I am far too experienced. I am not going to hurt you. I am going to please you.”
    Katherine was frozen but a moment. “You think to steal my virtue and not hurt me? ’Tis impossible! And a man such as you could never please me—not in any way.”
    He laughed. And as he laughed, he slid one arm behind her, drawing her even farther into his embrace. Again he touched her face, his fingertips fluttering across her skin. “Foolish—innocent—green.”
    Katherine trembled. His tone was far too soft. “Release me,” she whispered.
    “I can—and shall—please you, darling, in every possible way.” His regard held hers.
    She could hardly guess at his meaning, but she blushed. Crazy, jumbled images of a man and woman entwined rushed through her mind, the man big and bold and blond.
    “There will only be one moment of pain,” he murmured. “And then there will be so much pleasure that you will forget all else but your desire.”
    “No! Never!” she cried, forcing aside her imaginings.
    His answer was a smile. “Taste me,” he said, and then he bent forward and brushed her mouth with his.
    Katherine was unyielding. She tried to beat at his chest. But it was impossible. Quickly he caught her wrists, immobilizing her fully. His mouth was firm but gentle. He began to tease the seam of her lips with his tongue. Katherine realized that she was not breathing. When she did not open for him, he began, very gently, to nibble on the fullness of her lower lip. And all the while his manhood pulsed there between her legs, where he had lodged himself.
    Her pulse pounded so hard she thought her heart might explode.
    Katherine finally gasped for air, no longer able to deny her lungs. The pirate made a thick sound deep in his throat while he filled her completely. Katherine cried out, struggling anew, to no avail. His tongue swept the depths of her mouth. It was a stunning act of possession.
    Katherine’s knees gave way and she sagged, but his iron grip prevented her from falling to the floor. And suddenly he tore his mouth from hers.
    Dazed, Katherine stared into his eyes. She could not yet move. No one had ever hinted to her that such a kind of kiss was possible.
    Katherine realized that she clung to his broad shoulders, and she tried to push him away. He allowed her to put a small distance between their heated bodies. She forced her thoughts away from the hot, hard feel of him, and spoke. It was not true, but she said, “My father will not pay a