The Royal Collection. Rebecca Winters

get it.” He went over to the basket and brought it to her. “I’ll put some on your back and shoulders.”

      She turned her back toward him without hesitation. Her skin felt like satin and he loved rubbing the cream over her. The legitimate excuse to touch her made him wish he didn’t have to stop. Summoning all the self-control he could muster, he handed her the tube so she could do the rest herself.

      “Thank you,” she said in a shaky voice. “Now it’s my turn to put some on you, although you’re already tanned.”

      He longed to feel her hands on him. His pulse throbbed as he felt her spread the cream over his shoulders and back. After putting the tube on the railing, she jumped in the shallow water and shrieked with joy.

      “Oh, Antonio— This is divine!” She splashed the water with her hands and laughed in delight before lying back while her legs did the work of keeping her afloat.

      One look at her and he couldn’t reach her soon enough. Bathtub was right. The temperature here stayed around eighty day and night. He swam up next to her, infected by her sounds of excitement. With the Polynesian music filling the air, they were like children who’d discovered the fount of pure pleasure.

      Together they moved out deeper into the blue lagoon. He swam under and around her. The glimpses of her exquisitely molded body set his heart pounding.

      “Look at that darling little sea turtle!”

      Spectacular as it was, he would rather look at her. As they trod water, they caught sight of other types of small fish including a clown fish with orange and white stripes. One discovery turned into another. They played and darted through the water for several hours, concocting silly games to identify the fish they saw. Her prowess as a swimmer was going to make this the adventure of a lifetime.

      Since there was no one else around, Antonio felt as if they were the last two people on earth...or the first. Adam and Eve?

      He loved the idea of it, loved being with her like this where her guard was down. Her sense of fun was already making this trip unforgettable. “What do you say we go back and drink something icy cold while we sunbathe on the lounge chairs?”

      “That sounds perfect. I’ll race you back.”

      Together they did the crawl. He slowed his pace to stay even with her. When they reached the platform he climbed up first, then helped her. She put on her beach robe and headed for one of the loungers.

      “I’ll order some drinks and be right back.”

      “No alcohol for me. Even a little wine can give me a headache.”

      “Did you suffer from one on our wedding night?”

      “No, because I only sipped a little, but I know to be careful.”

      That was something he didn’t know. He rarely drank himself and was pleased to learn she didn’t care about it. His parents constantly overindulged.

      A few minutes later and Manu appeared with two frosted glasses of juice topped with a flower.

      “I could get used to this in a hurry,” Christina commented after they’d given him their order for dinner and were alone again. Antonio handed her some of the brochures from the table in the living room. He looked over one, but would study the rest of them later. Right now he was content to study her and look at the white clouds moving slowly across the sky.

      He finished his drink. “It’ll be several hours before dinner, but it’s already late in the day. How would you like to go exploring in the powerboat? We’ll follow the directions in that brochure and make our plans for tomorrow.”

      “That’s exactly what I want to do. While we were descending in the plane, I longed to spend more time just to get acquainted with this glorious place.”

      A few minutes later they undid the ropes and Antonio idled them out into the lagoon. He reached into one of the lockers. “Here—put this lifesaving belt on.” He handed it to her.

      “But the water isn’t that deep.”

      “It doesn’t matter. If we got into trouble, you’d be glad of it.”

      “I’ll wear it if you wear one too.”

      “Nag, nag.” But he smiled as he put one on.

      “Now that I think about it, can you imagine the media storm if we had an accident and word got out that the future king and queen of Halencia had almost drowned because they hadn’t been wearing preservers? People would wonder what kind of ruler they had.”

      He chuckled. “Point taken. It would never do.”

      Off Point Matira they came across a group of huge manta rays. There were spotted and gray rays. Antonio swam near their boat while they watched in fascination.

      “We should be marine biologists,” she exclaimed. “Just think, we could come out to places like this and spend all day long for weeks on end.”

      Antonio nodded. “Being out here, you can understand the appeal for that kind of work. Are you interested in watching the locals feed the sharks? We’re not far from there.”

      “I guess it’s safe or they wouldn’t advertise it, but I think I’ll want to stay in the boat.”

      He drove them to the spot where the local divers stood chest deep in the water. Four-and five-foot sharks circled around them to get their food.

      “That’s scary to me,” Christina said. “I’ve changed my mind about being a biologist.”

      “Instead you’d rather be in Kenya where you can be dragged off by a lion.”

      “No—” She grinned at him.

      For their last destination they took off and headed for the coral garden, an underwater park southwest of Bora Bora Island. For an hour they were spellbound by the amount of colorful fish and coral. Like an excited child she squealed over the varieties.

      “I’m going to take a quick dip before we head back.”

      Antonio couldn’t have stopped her. She was too anxious to get closer. Off came her belt and she lowered herself in the water. The sight of her going underwater made him nervous. He watched her like a hawk. To his relief she came back up a few minutes later, but she looked distressed.

      “I stepped on something, but I don’t know what.”

      Diavolo. “Does it sting?”

      “No. It’s just kind of sore on the pad of my foot.”

      Antonio leaned over and helped her into the boat. He set her down on the banquette so he could inspect it. “You made contact with a sea urchin, but luckily I only see two spines.” Thank heaven. “They’ll need to come out. Keep your leg on the banquette and I’ll get us back home.” He wrapped the life belt around her, kissed her lips and got behind the wheel.

      “Do you think it’s serious?”

      “No. I once got a whole foot full of them, but I was fine. Still, we’ll ask the doctor to check you.”

      “Oh no—I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

      “Accidents can happen anytime in the water, as you reminded me.”

      The sky was darkening fast. He was glad when they reached their island. After tying up the boat, he undid the life belts and carried her from the deck into their bedroom.

      After setting her down on top of the bed, he phoned Manu and asked for a doctor to come. “I’ll get you some ibuprofen after we’ve talked to the doctor.”

      “Will you carry me to the bathroom? I need to get out of my suit and into a robe.”

      “Of course.” He lifted her in his arms once more and let her hang on to him while he reached for her robe hanging on the door. “Can I help you?”

      “I’ll