Stranded With The Sergeant. Cathie Linz

      “L,” Sinatra supplied.

      “And L stands for Live by Your Wits,” Joe concluded. “Learning basic skills helps you develop your self-confidence.”

      Sinatra nodded. “I checked out some camping Web sites and learned about wilderness skills stuff. It made me feel better about this trip, made me look forward to it more.”

      Keishon added, “And Ms. Martin covered other information in class.”

      Covered…oh, yes, he’d like to see Ms. Martin covered, all right. Covered in yards and yards of concealing material, because maybe then he wouldn’t notice the way her T-shirt molded the curve of her breasts. He was watching the woman breathe, for God’s sake. Not a good sign.

      “All right, recruits,” Joe barked. “Time to move out!” And time for him to remember the goals of his mission this weekend where Prudence Martin was concerned—survival, not seduction.

      Chapter Four

      “I don’t agree,” Prudence was saying.

      Surprise, surprise, Joe irritably thought to himself. His C.O.’s little princess hadn’t agreed with one single thing he’d done or said for the past two hours.

      Pointing to a spot just to her right in the opposite direction of the place Joe had chosen, she said, “I think this campsite is better.”

      “It is if you want the cold night air blowing through your tent. The prevailing winds here are from the west, which means you don’t want the entrance to your tent facing that way. Ma’am,” he added.

      “Why didn’t you just say why you wanted the tent placed the way you did in the first place?” she asked in exasperation before holding up her hand like a cop stopping traffic. “Never mind, I know the answer to that question. Because you’re a Marine and you’re used to having your orders blindly obeyed.” Placing her hands on her slender hips, she said, “Well, I’m not one of your recruits.”

      “No kidding, ma’am,” he drawled respectfully, unable to stop himself from appreciating what a pretty picture she made, standing there all flushed and riled up.

      “So let’s both keep in mind the reason we’re here.”

      “Because your father, my commanding officer, ordered me to be here, ma’am,” he said.

      “To give the kids an educational and enjoyable outing,” she corrected him. “They worked hard on their science projects and I don’t want anything ruining this weekend for them.” Her gaze was direct, her chocolate-brown eyes unwavering. “So what do you say we call a temporary truce?” She held out her hand. “For the kids. Shall we shake on it?”

      There was no reason for Joe to hesitate. No reason to expect the powerful jolt of sexual attraction that slammed into him at the feel of her slender fingers curled around his hand. But it was there. Unmistakable. Ferocious. Unsettling.

      Studying her face, he saw that Prudence felt it, too. There was a startled yet intrigued look in her eyes that he found incredibly appealing. He’d found plenty of women sexy in the past, but none of them had made him feel downright bedazzled the way she did.

      Danger, Joe Wilder! The silent warning shot through his mind and he dropped her hand as if it were a live grenade.

      Sure, Joe liked a challenge, especially one that involved a good-looking woman, but he was no dummy. This wasn’t a challenge, it was professional suicide.

      Taking any action on the sizzling chemistry crackling between them would be a speedy one-way ticket right out of the Marines. Her father would see to that. Not that there was any regulation against dating your C.O.’s daughter; it was one of those unspoken rules like not putting your hand in a raging inferno. Common sense dictated you didn’t do stupid things like that.

      And Joe had plenty of common sense. Or at least he always had in the past.

      Stepping away from her, he concentrated on getting the two tents up, making sure the very short recruits assisted.

      Watching him supervise the kids, Prudence rubbed her fingers, which still hummed from his touch. He had a large hand, but it wasn’t his handshake that had been overpowering. No, it was Joe that was overpowering. And not just in a physical way, although she was extremely aware of him physically.

      The camies and field jacket he wore were hardly the most sexy attire. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen thousands of Marines dressed identically in her lifetime. But there was something about this Marine that got to her.

      Maybe it was his Mel Gibson blue eyes or the slight dimple at the right of his mouth when he smiled. There was just something about him…

      It certainly wasn’t his way with kids. He was still on edge around them.

      Oh, it wasn’t noticeable if you weren’t looking. But she was looking, that was the problem. She was looking at Joe Wilder entirely too much.

      Asking Gem and Keishon to help her, she gathered firewood for a campfire. The campsite already had an area for fires designated by a ring of large rocks. By the time they had a healthy-size fire going, the tents were up and the sleeping bags stowed.