Part 12 (2/2)

”Not in the same way. My other loves were all of the type you're too young to hear about.” He was teasing her, and Cathy twinkled back at him, glad that the harshness had left his face.

”I'd ask you if you'd ever been in love,” he twitted her, ”except that you're just a baby. You haven't had time.”

”I most certainly have!” Cathy protested indignantly. Then, seeing the sharp look he turned on her, she amended hastily, ”Well, I've had lots of beaus.”

”I can imagine,” he answered dryly, his eyes moving over the winsome beauty of her face and form. ”And did they bring you flowers and kiss your hand?”

”Of course,” Cathy replied with dignity.

”That's all they did,” Jon muttered under his breath.

”How do you know?” Cathy looked at him flirtatiously from beneath her long lashes, hoping to provoke him to another display of jealousy. She felt cheated when he merely grinned.

”My cat, it was obvious the first time I kissed you. You were totally untouched by man.”

”That's your opinion,” Cathy sniffed, nettled.

”That's a fact.” Jon pinched the tip of her nose playfully. ”I've bedded enough women to know when one has had experience. You hadn't. Not a bit.”

The tips of Cathy's ears turned pink with embarra.s.sment. She stared at him reproachfully.

'You make it sound like I'm just one in a very long line.” Her voice was stiff despite her attempt to speak naturally.

Jon looked at her through narrowed eyes. She sounded hurt, and he hadn't meant to do that.

”Jealous?” he teased to distract her.

”Not at all,” Cathy replied coldly. ”I'd certainly never be jealous over you.”

”Good. I hate a jealous woman,” Jon told her cheerfully, and when her eyes snapped at him he grinned and rolled over with her.

”Enough talk,” he grunted, pus.h.i.+ng her down into the soft mattress. ”I'm hungry.And not for food.”

When Cathy left the cabin some two hours later, Jon was still sleeping peacefully. There went her plan to win his heart by denying him her body, she thought ruefully. He hadn't even had to force her. His sensuous caresses had set her body afire, and, after that, making love to her had been as easy as rowing downstream. Oh, well, she thought, shrugging. At least she had enjoyed losing.

The sun was sinking beneath the horizon, its bright orange globe only half visible above the rippling, gold-edged sea. Streamers of pink and lavender clouds curved around it like a pinwheel, making a sunset so breathtaking that Cathy stepped to therad to get a better look. The deck was deserted except for the officer of the watch, and the silence was broken only by the creaking timbers and the popping of sails. Cathy stood leaning lightly on the rail, drinking in the utter peace of the hour before darkness, not thinking of anything in particular, not even Jon.

”I see he rides you well,” a tight voice jeered behind her. Cathy sighed deeply, knowing who it was before she turned. Harry, of course! Really, she wished he would get over this ridiculous notion that he was in love with her. It was growing exceedingly tiresome.

”Good evening, Harry,” she said coolly, ignoring his taunt.

”Good evening, Harry,” he said, mimicking her well-bred toneangrdy . ”I'll wager that's not how you greet Jon.”

”But you're not Jon,” Cathy pointed out with a slight edge to her voice. She gathered up her skirts and started to sweep past him, but his hand on her arm stopped her. Cathy stared pointedly down at the restraining hand, silently demanding to be released.

”Let me go, Harry,” she ordered grimly, hoping that she would not be obliged to call for a.s.sistance. After Jon's questions of the day before, it would not take very much to reawaken his suspicions. And if she should be forced to make any kind of commotion to get away from this b.u.mbling a.s.s, Jon would surely hear of it.

”Not yet.” His voice was low, and he was looking at her with half-shamed desire. ”I want to apologize for the way I've been acting lately. I-I can't seem to help myself. You're so beautiful and I love you so much. Just the thought of you in his arms is driving me crazy.”

”I accept your apology, Harry,” Cathy said, deeming it wiser to ignore the last part of his speech. She tugged gently at her arm. ”I really have to go in now. It's getting quite dark.”

”G.o.d, you won't even listen to me, will you?” Harry burst out savagely. ”Well, maybe you'll listen to this!”

Before Cathy knew what he intended his arms came around her, dragging her protesting againsthim. Cathy tried to pull free, but he was too strong. He was not as big as Jon, or as muscular, but he was wiry and he was determined to kiss her. She wenthmp in his embrace, hoping that by her lack of response she could convince him that his pursuit was hopeless. Just wait, Cathy thought furiously, keeping her teeth tightly clenched against his probing tongue. When you let me go I'll slap the daylights out of you, you stupid fool!

Cathy's eyes were wide open and filled with disgust as Harry's lips and hands beseeched her. As she glanced over Harry's shoulder her eyes grew even wider. Not three feet away stood Jon, leaning heavily on a hand-whitdedcrutch. As Cathy watched, horrified, the blood rushed into his lean face and his eyes, darkly furious as they met hers, showed murderous anger.

Nine.

Jon felt a deep, boiling rage build up until he thought its force would blow him apart. ”The cheating little b.i.t.c.h!” he raged silently. He had begun to think that she was different, sweet, innocent-even that she was starting to care for him. ”Fool!” he castigated himself furiously. He should have known that all women were basically the same. Like some besottedaddlepate he had allowed a lovely face and soft flesh to lead him around by the nose. It enraged him to realize that all the time the two-faced s.l.u.t was murmuring breathless little endearments tohim, she had been planning to meet another man on the sly. But no more, he promised himself grimly. He would take her apart with his bare hands.And as for Harry. . . . Jon smiled savagely. That he would really enjoy!

Cathy's horrifiedshovings at Harry's shoulders finally had some effect. He released her reluctantly and started to speak, staring pa.s.sionately down at her white face. What he saw there made him swing around. Oh, G.o.d! Jon! He looked more furious than Harry had ever seen him, his dark face suffused with blood, a muscle twitching convulsively in this cheek. His gray eyes stared at Harry like icy harbingers of death. Harry felt the colordrain from his own face and devoutly thanked G.o.d that the other man had not yet recovered his full strength.

The three of them stood frozen in place for a long moment, like some ghastly tableau from a play. Cathy finally recovered the use of her limbs and ran across to Jon, catching him by the arm and shaking itslightiy .

”Darling, it's not what it seems,” she told himur -gently. The set stillness of his face and those awful, leaping eyes frightened her far more than any amount of ranting would have done. ”Jon, you must believe me! I can explain. . . . !”

Jon stared down at Cathy, his eyes glowing like twin coals on the devil's hearth. When she called him darling in that insidious little voice, he felt like he'd been stabbed in the gut. His pain was so intense that he was almost sick with it.

”You lying little b.i.t.c.h!” he snarled softy.

The arm she was dinging toswept violently against her, sending her staggering, and she fell heavily on the hard boards of the deck. She cried out at the force of the impact. Automatically Harry started to go to her a.s.sistance, only to find Jon blocking his path.

”Don't touch her, you d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.d,” Jon said through his teeth. His voice was icy cold, his hands twitching in their eagerness to close around Harry's neck. Harry backed off. Normally he was no match for Jon, but in the captain's weakened stare he just might stand a chance. Or he might not. Rage had been known to give even the weakest ofcreatures incredible strength, and Jon, even leaning on a crutch, looked capable of tearing him to pieces. But Cathy needed him. . . . And what Jon might do to her after he was finished with Harry himself did not bear thinking of.

Jon settled the matter. He began to advance on Harry slowly, menacingly, the cold purpose in his eyes enoughto send Harry backing away from him. If ever death had looked out of a man's eyes, it was looking now out of Jon's.

With deadly purpose Jon withdrew the long knife from the scabbard at his waist. His fingers stroked along the finely honed blade almost caressingly. Harry was backed against the rail and could go no further. He looked about him desperately for a weapon. There was nothing. He felt terror rise in his throat like bile.

Cathy saw what was happening and scrambled to her feet with an inarticulate cry of horror. She ran frantically across to Jon and caught hold of the arm holding the knife in a grip that refused to be shaken off.

”Jon, you can't!” she screamed at him recklessly. ”Harry didn't do anything! You can't kill him! It was me! I tell you, it was me!”

Her lie was the only thing she could think of that might save Harry's life. A kiss wasn't worth killing a man! Give Jon time to get over his first wild rage and he would agree, she knew. But in the meanwhile he must be kept from doing something that he would regret forever.

Her words succeeded in attracting Jon's attention. He stared down at her, his burning gray eyes going first to the saucer-roundness of hers and then firing on her trembling lips. That soft mouth, only a little over an hour ago, had been driving him mad. . . . Now it was driving him mad in a different way. His eyes blazed at her, one hand moving up to grab her hair. Cathy gasped as her head was jerked back suddenly, and she thought for a second that her neck might snap. Jon held her cruelly, his big hand purposefully hurting her as it dug into her scalp. The fingers twined themselves painfully around the silky strands, twisting her head back so that it was forced to rest against his hard shoulder, her face turned up to his. Cathy didn't attempt to struggle. Despite his fury, she didn't really think that he would hurt her. But if she were to resist him now, he might be driven to ungovernable lengths.

The straight line of his mouth closed over hers, prying her lips apart, purposefully bruising her. He kissed her as if he wanted to hurt her, to insult her, to imprint his total possession of her in her mind. Cathy quivered under his a.s.sault, but instead of trying to pull away she returned the full sweetness of her mouth to him. A miniscule portion of the rage had died out of his eyes when he released her.

”This is mine!” he barked at Harry, who had watched the scene in frozen silence. Jon's bullet-like speech was so abrupt that Cathy started nervously in his arms. He whirled her around so that she stood with her back against his chest facing Harry. The arm holding the knife was tight about her waist, the sharp blade facing out. Harry took in its glittering menace, and paled.

'This is mine,” Jon repeated savagely. ”If you ever attempt to touch her again, I'll kill you on the spot. Understand?”

Harry stared at Jon,then nodded wordlessly. He felt like a condemned man who had just been granted a reprieve. Jon's eyes raked over him, still flickering with anger, and then turned his attention to the trembling girl whose soft body he held so brutally. Roughly he shoved her away from him, sending her reeling to the deck.

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