“But your relationship with your parents makes you unhappy?”
“My lack of a relationship. Like I said, if I have children, I want a different life for them.”
“I am sure you will succeed at whatever you set your mind to.”
She gave him a glowing smile. She was definitely falling in love with this man. “Thank you.”
* * *
When they arrived at the cabins the kayaking group was staying in, Hawk noticed only one other car there. It turned out to be Bob’s. He and three more members of the group were still unloading. Hawk made sure that he was in one of the bedrooms of the cabin Lina was staying in. He noticed that Bob did, too. In fact, they were sharing the room. Which worked for Hawk. He was a fan of efficiency and this would allow him to keep an eye on both the princess and her wannabe hook-up.
Lina was sharing her room with one of the other coeds. A blonde who looked like a pinup and talked like
G. I. Jane. Lina told Hawk when they were reconnoitering the lake (well he was surveying their environment, Lina was just walking) that the blonde was former military and had just started university this semester.
Hawk had known that from his agency’s reports. What he hadn’t known was that Lina’s admiration for the other woman’s independence and lifestyle bordered on hero-worship.
“She’s been to seedy bars in more countries of the world than I’ve even visited.”
“And you see this as a good thing?” Hawk asked.
Lina’s laugh was joyous and too damned appealing to his libido. “Yes. My life has been so sheltered. A weekend like this is as about as adventurous as I’ve ever gotten.”
“But you want more adventure?” Hawk asked with a sinking feeling. If her family didn’t beef up Lina’s security, she would get that adventure. She was too resourceful not to.
“Yes. I want to travel. I want to do things…help people. See the world, but not as a member of…um…the privileged classes. As someone trying to make a difference.”
“You make it sound like you want to join the Peace Corps.”
“That’s one of my dreams, but I doubt I’ll ever realize it.”
Hawk had to take a deep breath or choke on his surprise. A princess in the Peace Corps? He didn’t think so. “If you can’t have a dream, find a practical replacement.” Like donating money to worthy causes. That was something a princess could do without causing a political incident.
Lina stopped walking and stared out over the lake, her expression thoughtful. Hawk stopped, too…but he watched his princess. Her golden skin glowing in the sunlight, her perfect features shone with a beauty that took his breath away. Of its own volition, his hand reached out and brushed her hair away from her face.
She shifted slightly so their eyes met, her velvet-brown irises drawing him in, her smile tempting him to taste her lips. Her head tilted; his dipped until their lips barely brushed. Electricity jolted through him at the contact, freezing time around them. Neither moved. They did not deepen the kiss, but nor did they move apart. Both stood in a paralysis of feeling he knew he had never experienced and suspected she had not, either.
They were only linked physically in two places—his lips barely touching hers and his hand still against her cheek—but he felt the connection in a place deep inside that he had not even known existed.
“Hey, you two.” Bob’s voice brought Hawk abruptly to his senses.
Yanking his hand away from her cheek, Hawk stepped away from Lina.
What the hell was he doing? He hadn’t even heard Bob’s approach. This was totally out of line. He would fire an operative 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