Island Flame by Karen Robards Page B

belly. She whimpered, her head thrashing from side to side on the pillow, her nails tearing at his shoulders. He continued with the gentle kneading of her belly, disregarding her struggles. Then his hand moved even lower and began to stroke the silken flesh of her inner thighs.
    “No!” she gasped as his calloused palm ran gently across the place where her legs joined. Horrified, Cathy clamped her legs tightly together, crossing them against him, desperately resisting his attempts to pry them apart with his hands.
    “Relax, Cathy. Relax, sweetheart,” Jon murmured hoarsely. “Open your legs, Cathy love. I won’t hurt you.”
    His words appalled her. Her body went rigid, then wriggled and slid like a contortionist’s, as she tried frantically to squirm out from under his hands. He was too strong, and finally, with a shuddering sob of surrender, she went limp. There was nothing else she could do.
    Jon raised himself on one knee above her, wedging the other between her tightly crossed legs. He at last succeeded in parting her thighs. Cathy gave one last convulsive heave as he spread them wide, then lay sobbing quietly, not even trying to resist him any longer. She shuddered at the feel of his hardness against her as he probed between her thighs.
    A flash of fire surged through her as he found the opening between her legs, entering slightly. Then with one quick thrust he was deep inside her. The knifelike pain was so intense that Cathy screamed. His lips closed over her mouth, silencing her, and he lay on top of her without moving, embedded in her soft flesh. His breath came in jagged bursts, as though he had run a long way. Cathy turned her head away, repulsed by its warmth upon her face. Finally, as if he could no longer help himself, he began to move, slowly at first so as not to hurt her more than he had to, and then harder and stronger.
    Cathy lay unresisting beneath him, letting him do what he would with her body, numb with shock. She couldn’tbelieve that this awful thing was really happening. She was being raped by a pirate, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was already too late. She was ruined, disgraced. She could never hold up her head again. And all because of this heaving, trembling animal who panted and plunged over her. … How she hated him!
    She tried to force herself to think of something else, but it was impossible with his hard, hot flesh joined so intimately to hers. She moved a little, experimentally, hoping to at least ease the crush of his chest on her breasts. Her movement seemed to incite him to even greater frenzies. Unwillingly, Cathy felt herself begin to get caught up in his passion. With an instinctive movement she surged to meet his next thrust. He sucked in his breath sharply, then shuddered and went limp. Cathy felt an unreasoning pang of disappointment as his big body sprawled across hers.
    After a moment, Jon rolled away and lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. Cathy sidled over to the far edge of the bed and turned her back on him, feeling hot and sticky and thoroughly humiliated. She thought of the way her body had betrayed her at the last, when she could not stop its instinctive movement, and hot tears of rage and shame filled her eyes. She stifled a sob, but Jon heard the small, muffled sound and pulled her roughly against him. He stroked her hair absently, and at the careless tenderness of his gesture she forgot her pride and her hatred of him and sobbed like a baby. He continued to hold her, stroking her hair and murmuring comforting things into her ear. When her sobs were finally reduced to hiccuping gulps, he put her away from him and stood up, pulling on his clothes. He stood looking down at her for a moment,buckling his belt, a faint smile curving his lips. Cathy closed her eyes and refused to look at him.
    “Don’t let it worry you, sweet. It’ll be better the next time, I promise,” he said softly, and then chuckled at the exclamation of rage she gave