Revenge of the Second Son. Sara Orwig

him to a shark was apt—he looked like a predator, a danger to her heart. She had to put distance between them. She didn’t trust his motives and his smooth talk. Seduction? The thought shook her, but she reminded herself that if she let him seduce her, she would probably regret it forever because her emotions would be entangled in the act while she was certain his would not.

      “Are we going to continue the tour?”

      “Sure,” he said and led the way below to his forward stateroom. In his stateroom, she stepped away from him while she gazed at the king-size berth, navy and white decor and mirrors on the bulkhead. Too clearly, she could imagine him sprawled out in that bed. The image of his broad, bare chest, lean length, hard muscles, flashed hotly, making her grit her teeth.

      Drawing a deep breath, she turned to see two large hanging lockers, plush chairs and a desk.

      “As you already know, your stateroom is luxurious and beautiful,” she said, glancing at him.

      He stood with one shoulder braced against a bulkhead while he watched her. He shrugged lightly. “I don’t spend a lot of time in here. C’mon. I’ll show you the rest.”

      She drew a quick breath. The yacht that had appeared so large and accommodating was shrinking with each passing hour. She suspected she and Nick would be together nearly every waking minute and the thought of spending the entire weekend near each other fueled her burning desire.

      More aware of Nick than her surroundings, she followed him while he showed her the salon where sunlight streamed in through portholes. He had a game room with a pool table and a plasma television.

      When they finished the tour, she returned to her cabin to change to her swimsuit, a black two-piece cut inches below her waist, high over each thigh. It was no more revealing than what many other women wore, but now she longed for a one piece that covered as much of her as possible. The expanses of bare flesh she was presenting would be a come on to Nick.

      Why had this weekend seemed such a good idea when she had been alone at home? At that time, she hadn’t factored in the scalding response she had to Nick, a reaction that heightened steadily.

      “He’s just another man and one you don’t like very much anyway,” she whispered to herself, yet she knew that wasn’t true. But he wasn’t just another man, and while he angered her, he also appealed to her.

      Plaiting her hair into one thick braid, she studied herself in a mirror, turning first one way and then another, knowing she was locked in a contest of wills with him. The outcome of their battle would probably be determined this weekend, no matter what transpired between their lawyers. This was one struggle she intended to win, and the unwanted steamy attraction between her and Nick wasn’t going to get in her way or defeat her.

      He was a sexy male with a strong liking for women, so he was approachable. She intended to win him over without selling her soul—or her body—to do it.

      “You’re playing with dynamite,” she whispered to herself.

      She could resist him because their families had feuded for generations. Her granddad despised Nick, his brother, his father and his grandfather when he had been alive. With that history, she could withstand Nick Ransome’s charm. She just hoped he couldn’t resist cooperating with her.

      She wondered what the evening would bring as she went to join him, feeling as if she were diving into water that held a shark.

      Her conscience told her that Nick would never resort to a shark’s tactics. He would never attack and devour. There was never need to. Nick’s appeal was the most dangerous kind of all to resist—pure seduction.

      Three

      As Julia emerged onto the deck, Nick’s dark gaze drifted over her like a caress, a slow perusal that sent tingles dancing in its wake. His approval was obvious.

      At the same time, she was mesmerized, unable to keep from returning his study, letting her gaze lower across his bare, muscled chest with a mat of brown curly hair. Sunlight splashed over his tanned body, with golden highlights on the swell of hard muscles. His broad chest tapered to a tiny waist and slim hips and a black strip of swimsuit that bulged with his masculinity. His long, muscular legs were covered lightly in short brown hairs. She imagined what it would feel like to be in his arms, pressed against his strong, warm length.

      “You’re beautiful, Julia,” he said quietly. “Definitely an unfair advantage in this battle between us.” Moving closer, he reached out to tug lightly on her braid and his knuckles brushed her bare shoulder.

      “We’re not in a battle today,” she said.

      “Liar,” he accused lightly. “You’re taking unfair advantage here.”

      She stepped closer, looking up at him, only inches of space between them. “No more unfair advantage than you do when you flirt,” she said in a sultry voice.

      Desire smoldered in his dark eyes. He dropped his towel before placing his hands on her waist. “I have that effect on you?” he asked.

      “You know you do. Don’t act surprised,” she chided, more aware of his hands on her than of what she was saying.

      “You’re keeping a barrier between us. I want to scale that wall you’ve surrounded yourself with. I want to get to know you.”

      “Nick,” she cautioned. “We have to step back and get a lid on the sex and emotion.”

      “Let go a little and let’s see where they take us,” he coaxed. He reached out to let his fingers slowly trace her jawline. “Let’s start with a swim.”

      She was tempted to tell him to turn the yacht around and head back. She didn’t want a weekend with him coming on to her and turning her into breathless mush, a melting, responsive female who boosted his ego and gave him the upper hand in their dealings. She knew enough about him to know there was a steady stream of women in his life. She didn’t want to fall into his arms and his bed, and then be tossed aside like an old shoe. Only an old shoe didn’t feel anything. She had always avoided heartbreak, and she could imagine the casualties in Nick’s background.

      He lowered the ladder over the side and stepped back. “You can go into the water this way,” he said, motioning with a wave of his hand.

      “Do you climb down that?”

      “I dive.”

      “Then I will, too,” she said. He laughed, touching her cheek lightly with his forefinger.

      “Ever competitive. Let’s go.” He stepped to the side, going over in a smooth dive, his muscles flexing. Her mouth went dry as she looked at his long, powerful body in prime physical condition.

      Trying to stop her flood of thoughts about him, she followed him, feeling refreshingly cool water closing over her. She came up to find him swimming away from her, parallel to the beach, and she followed, catching up with him and swimming beside him. What compelled her to compete with him on every level? She wanted to best him in every way, wring what she wanted out of him, make him as breathless when they flirted as he made her. She suspected on the last, she did. Only she knew his flirting might have a deeper effect on her. She was certain that she couldn’t be as casual about sex as he could be.

      He turned to swim back to her. “Want to snorkel or just swim?”

      “Snorkel,” she replied.

      Nick splashed out of the water, clambering back on board to return in minutes with breathing equipment for both of them.

      As she swam under the surface, she looked with wonder at the world of water she had entered. Brightly colored fish, in deep blues and bright yellows swam gracefully near. She clutched Nick’s arm to look at one with brilliant orange-and-black stripes. Then she forgot the water and the dazzling array of fish as her hand closed on his arm. He was sleek and warm and muscular. She released him immediately, but he caught her arm and pulled her close again.

      While her heart raced, she looked into