ClaimedbytheCaptain Read Free Page B

the small chamber,
clinging like a fog as she faced the fear and the longing he’d awakened within
her.
    * * * * *
    The sun’s rays streamed through the porthole, dancing over
Catherine’s face. She’d managed to fall into a troubled sleep, and now, huddled
beneath the quilt, she hugged her knees to her chest, praying she’d escape this
nightmare she knew to be all too real. How long had it been since Jason Kane
left her locked inside the chamber? The night had passed, and he’d left her
unscathed. Perhaps ransom was indeed what he sought.
    A thunderous knock jolted her to awareness. “Are you
clothed?” A gruff, unfamiliar male voice called through the door.
    A shiver trickled along her spine. Kane’s words about his
crew and their likely reaction to a woman in their midst echoed in her brain.
Her arms clutched her legs more tightly, as if she could shield herself.
    Best not to let the bastard think I fear him. “Of
course I’m clothed,” she responded with more spirit than she felt.
    She heard the bolt slide open. A mountain of a man with a
mop of shaggy blond hair ducked through the portal. Avoiding her eyes, he
placed a tray of food on the small table in the corner of the room.
    He kept his gaze directed firmly at the ground. “The cap’n
would have my head if I came in here when you weren’t decent.”
    The hulking man’s uneasiness at the mention of the captain
unnerved her. Dear God, what was going to happen to her? If this giant quaked
at the very mention of her captor, how would she survive the blackheart’s
wrath?
    “I appreciate your care for my modesty.” Her voice was
barely more than a whisper.
    He raised his eyes at her words. “I’m more concerned for my
own skin.” Spoken bluntly, the words choked raw from his throat. “The cap’n
doesn’t share what’s his.”
    She rose from the bed and struggled to gain her footing on
the unstable floor, clinging to the bedpost to steady herself.
    “Your captain intends to see me dead. Can you help me?”
    Sad resignation marked his expression as he shook his head.
“I’d like to keep my neck just the way it is.”
    Foolish to appeal to instincts the man doesn’t possess.
The hulk doesn’t have a chivalrous bone in his body. Perhaps another tactic
would garner his assistance. Cathy released her grip on the bedpost and drew
near enough to smell the dried sweat on his unwashed body. Steeling herself to
ignore the rancid odor, she set her mouth into a pensive pout, placed her hands
on her hips and leaned closer. His beady eyes widened as his gaze lit on the
bare flesh of her bosom she displayed. “My father is a very rich man,” she
whispered. “I will pay you.”
    “Sorry, missy, but you’ve already been claimed. You’re the
cap’n’s now.” The giant turned away.
    Bitter tears of frustration welled in her eyes. “I don’t
belong to the captain. I belong to no man.”
    He merely pointed at her food. “I’ve brought you something
to eat.”
    “I won’t touch it.” The urge to throw the tray of food at
the repulsive man nearly overtook her good sense. “It’s probably poisoned. I’d
rather starve.”
    “Eat it, missy. You’re a bit thin for the cap’n’s taste.
You’ll want to please him. Things will go easier for you if you do.”
    “I have no intention of…pleasing him. He’s nothing more than
a common criminal.”
    The hulk appeared to deliberate the truth of her statement.
He shrugged. “He’s not intending to give you up. You’d best face that fact.” He
paused for a moment, seeming to consider his words carefully. “Cap’n Kane is a
fair man, but he can be brutal if crossed. It will be better for you if you
don’t provoke him.”
    “You are afraid of him.” She spoke the words as a
condemnation.
    Regarding her with expressionless eyes, he ran a massive
hand through his hair. “Not afraid. But I respect the cap’n. He’s the master of
this ship, and his word is law. Now he is your master.”

Chapter