for being so sloppy. If Bob had been a threat, Lina could be dead right now. Cold chills chased along his skin.
He was here to protect Lina, not make love to her. Or moon over her like some lovesick calf. He was not the mooning type.
Maybe he needed a vacation. One filled with discreet liaisons that would rid his mind of his…the princess’s image.
One thing he knew with certainty. The idealistic pocket-size Venus was turning out to be a weakness he could not afford, “Hi, Bob.” Lina’s voice was softer than normal and her eyes were unfocused.
Hawk had to suppress a groan. This thing was getting totally out of hand. It already was, a taunting voice whispered inside his head. Bob gave them both a knowing look. “This is supposed to be a sports trip, not a romantic getaway.”
Sebastian glared at Bob. As if jock-boy wouldn’t take advantage if he got the chance. And he’d have a hell of a lot less scruples about it than Sebastian did.
Lina looked away, her cheeks going an adorable pink.
“Was there something you wanted, Bob?” Hawk asked. Trying to forget that the word adorable was not usually part of his vocabulary and that he had applied it to a client.
“Just thought I’d check the lake out. We’ll start out on the smooth water tomorrow morning. Assess everyone’s skill level, then move to the river after lunch tomorrow.” He gave Hawk a significant look. “That is provided we’re all ready to move to the river.”
Hawk was about to assure the other man that he would be ready when Lina spoke up. “If Sebastian isn’t comfortable enough for moving water, I’ll stay on the lake with him in the afternoon.”
And just like that, Hawk’s plans for proving his proficiency changed. “If you’re sure you won’t mind,” he said.
Bob frowned. “That’s hardly fair to you, babe. I’m sure one of the other experienced kayakers would be willing to stay with him.”
Hawk noticed Bob didn’t volunteer.
Lina’s features set in what was becoming a familiar look of stubbornness. “Don’t be silly. I invited Sebastian to come on the trip. I promised him I would teach him and I will.”
Which was exactly what she did. Hawk’s previous experience canoeing made learning the balance and movement of the kayak easier, but Lina was also a good teacher and could take most of the credit for his proficiency by afternoon. He was careful to dump into the water a couple of times though to lend credence to his request to stay on the lake for the rest of the day.
They all ate lunch together in the biggest cabin. Lina was animated and grinning most of the time, praising him for his efforts and complimenting the others on their techniques. She and her roommate got into a discussion of what their most challenging kayaking course had been. And that’s when he learned that Lina had come very near to drowning once, sending a sick feeling through him.
Her senior year of high school, while on a very difficult race course, another kayaker had dumped. She’d bumped her head and hadn’t come up. Lina dove into the white water to save her. Both girls had come close to drowning, but Lina had managed to get them to shore.
Hawk experienced an unexpected, unfamiliar, and not to mention totally irrational fear as Lina recounted her story. That fear did not dissipate when Lina looked on with wide-eyed wonder and no small amount of interest when her G.I. Jane roommate recounted shooting the rapids on the Yangtze River. Damn…if Lina’s family didn’t do something soon, she was going to get herself killed in her search for adventure.
She needed a husband to watch over her.
Heaven knew her father, uncle and their hired security weren’t doing a good enough job. Unreasoning black anger washed over Hawk at the thought of a protective male in Lina’s life that was not him. He dismissed the image of Lina in some faceless man’s arms with a vicious precision he refused to analyze.
CHAPTER THREE
HE AND Lina finished on the lake before the others returned from the river and she suggested going swimming.
“Haven’t you spent enough time in the water?” Hawk asked, having to admit privately that he had enjoyed his time on the water more than he ever had in the past.
Lina shrugged, smiling. “I love water. Maybe I should have been born a dolphin.”
“Oh, no. I think you make a perfect woman.” Hawk had to stifle a growl. He should not have said that. Things were getting out of hand with his princess. But he couldn’t deny the warmth that shot through him as her smile increased wattage. “Thank you,” she said happily without a hint of a woman’s usual coyness at such a compliment.
They pulled the kayaks up onto the shore, took off their slim life vests and jumped back into the water. At least he did, but when he turned to see where Lina was, she was on the beach still, peeling off the Neoprene suit she’d been wearing to kayak in. The very brief bikini she wore underneath made the air stall in Hawk’s chest.
Damn. She had a luscious figure. Her breasts were a little oversized, her waist tiny above the flare of her hips, her legs toned and smooth. And that damned scrap of cloth that passed for bikini bottoms showed way more skin than it covered and clung to the perfect curve of her backside. She kicked the wet suit aside and walked back into the water.
She stopped a few feet from him, her head cocked to one side, her doe-brown gaze questioning. “Something wrong?”
“Uh—” He had to clear his throat. “No. Nothing. You sure you don’t want to wear your Neoprene to swim in? It’s warm for spring, but not exactly hot out here.”
“I’m fine.” But she shuddered with a full body shiver, belying her words. She smiled self-deprecatingly. “Well, I’ll warm up swimming, anyway.”
Her body was covered in goose bumps, but it was the hard nubs of her nipples behind her scant bikini top that drew his gaze.
And held it.
He watched in inescapable fascination as the wet lycra of her swimsuit did nothing to hide how the already hardened pebbles tightened into fine points.
“Sebastian…” The husky desire mixed with confusion in her voice was a potent aphrodisiac.
She wanted him and didn’t know what to do with that need. What man would not be drawn by that combination of innocence and feminine awakening?
She did not move, her body frozen there, half in the water. Her breathing increased to pants, further revealing arousal so unfamiliar to her. Her small hands fisted at her sides, her knuckles turning white.
Had any woman exhibited such intense desire for him?
Perhaps it was the result of Lina’s innocence. Hawk hadn’t had a virgin since high school. He had a strict policy of keeping his liaisons limited to experienced women who weren’t looking for a relationship much less a lifelong commitment.
So, what the hell was he doing looking at Lina like a wolf did his prey?
He forced his gaze to lift to hers. And it was worse. The evidence of her interest in him shone brightly in her doe-brown
