Gentle Pirate Read Online Free PDF Page A

Not at all nice.
    "Everything back to normal, Miss Mallory?" Kendrick inquired lazily as she got herself under control.
    "I'm fine, Mr. Kendrick." Kirsten managed to grin, still gasping a little for air. "Please do me a favor next time you administer first aid, however, and try not to do any permanent damage! I was lucky this time but another rescue attempt might finish me!" She met his eyes and an instant later the humor went out of the situation for her. He had struck her with a fair degree of force. And she realized he'd had no intention of hurting her. But large men often didn't know their own strength… She put the other memory out of her mind and left her smile where it was. But it felt stiff now.
    "Next time we'll try another type of brandy, perhaps?" Kendrick suggested outrageously.
    "In case you haven't noticed. I'm not all that fond of brandy!" Kirsten retorted promptly. Seizing the opportunity of breaking the disturbing eye contact, she turned on Ben. "Why didn't you say something?" she demanded laughingly. "You know I never drink the stuff. It belongs on pirate ships and in smoke-filled rooms!"
    "I always figure you know what you're doing, Kirsten." Ben smiled apologetically.
    "A mistaken assumption, perhaps," Kendrick remarked softly.
    Kirsten spun around in the swivel chair, all vestiges of humor gone instantly. "Ben's assumption is the right one," she snapped with what she knew was unwarranted ill grace. "I prefer to make my own decisions!"
    "Even wrong ones?" Kendrick flicked hazel eyes over her frowning features as if cataloging them for future reference. Her barely concealed displeasure didn't appear to bother him in the least.
    "Any kind of decisions," she stated clearly and then signaled Ben that she wanted to dance.
    Before her date could respond, however, Simon Kendrick was on his feet. For such a huge person he could move remarkably fast, Kirsten thought ruefully, knowing what was coming and unable to think of a polite way to avoid it.
    "I think I deserve some thanks for my gallant rescue," he quipped, giving Ben the benefit of a glance that would have quelled an entire board of directors. "If you have no objections, Williamson?"
    There wasn't anything Ben could do and all three of them knew it. Besides, Kirsten sighed inwardly, rising, Ben wasn't exactly the possessive type in the first place. Wasn't that one of the things that attracted her to him? It was simply unfortunate that the very quality she admired in him was the one that would prevent Ben from protecting her against pirates.
    Without a word. Kirsten walked ahead of Simon Kendrick toward the dance floor, where the various couples were moving to a slow, languid beat. She wondered briefly how he would solve the problem of holding her with only one hand, thinking of the hook that curled like a sophisticated claw at the end of the left cuff. But she should have known a man like Kendrick would have developed an answer for such a problem. He deftly put both arms around her in an intimate dancing embrace, caging her against his massive, strong body with a suddenness that made her gasp. Instinctively Kirsten resisted, trying to free herself from the enveloping hold, but his only response was to tighten his grasp, making her totally aware of the sheer, powerful masculinity of him in a way that sent a shiver of panic through her. She lifted furious eyes to his and opened her lips to protest.
    "It's easier for me this way," he said before she could speak, politely daring her to object.
    "Your method of dancing is not particularly comfortable for your partner," she snapped angrily, both hands pushing against his shoulders. "I can barely move my feet!"
    "Relax, Miss Mallory," he instructed dryly. "And don't worry about your lack of grace. These shoes can always be reshined and the leather is quite sturdy enough to protect my toes!"
    Kirsten fumed inwardly, focusing her smoldering gaze on the sedate pattern of his tie. With an act of will she damped down