Royalty is their birthright, power and passion are their due!

ROMANCING THE CROWN: KATE & LUCAS

One gorgeous military hero, one Cinderella bride…

Two glittering, dramatic stories of regal romance from two favourite authors.

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December 2008 A Romancing the Crown: Kate & Lucas

Featuring Under the King’s Command by Ingrid Weaver The Prince’s Wedding by Justine Davis

Cattleman’s Woman

Featuring Cattleman’s Pride by Diana Palmer Kiss me, Cowboy! by Maureen Child A Cowboy’s Pursuit by Anne McAllister

January 2009 The Danforths: Reid, Kimberly & Jake

Featuring The Cinderella Scandal by Barbara McCauley Man Beneath the Uniform by Maureen Child Sin City Wedding by Katherine Garbera

Ready for Marriage?

Featuring The Marriage Ultimatum by Anne Marie Winston Laying his Claim by Beverly Barton The Bride Tamer by Ann Major

Dear Reader,

I’ve always had a tremendous respect for people who serve their country in uniform. One of my earliest memories is of scaling a bookshelf in our living room in order to view close up the model of the plane my father flew in combat. When my editor invited me to write Under the King’s Command, I was thrilled at the opportunity to tell the story of Sam Coburn and Kate Mulvaney, two courageous naval officers who are as dedicated to their duty as they are to each other.

For half this year, the ROMANCING THE CROWN continuity series has been whisking readers into a realm of romance and mystery. I feel privileged to take part in this project with such a talented group of authors and editors. In my book, the hunt for a murderer draws Sam and Kate to the beautiful island kingdom of Montebello. While intrigue unfolds around them, they are led to the secret in their own past…and the greatest adventure of all: love!

Sincerely yours,

Ingrid Weaver

ROMANCING THE CROWN: KATE & LUCAS

Under the King’s Command

INGRID WEAVER

The Prince’s Wedding

JUSTINE DAVIS

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Under the King’s Command

INGRID WEAVER

ROMANCING THE CROWN

The royal family of Montebello rejoices in the discovery of their newest member, yet a dark cloud hovers over the kingdom. Danger and desire clash once more as the hunt for the baby’s kidnapper continues…

Lieutenant Sam Coburn: The tough SEAL’s friends always suspected a woman was behind his hardened heart. Now he’s found the woman who stole it – and he’s determined to get it back at all costs.

Lieutenant Kate Mulvaney: This cool officer has walled off her emotions for years – but it only takes one look at a certain SEAL to prove the wall is made of straw and the heat between her and Sam is an open flame…

Chapter 1

When Kate first heard the baby cry, she wanted to keep running. It was probably just a seagull in the harbor, nothing out of the ordinary. She had already passed the halfway point and was heading back. She needed a shower, she needed sleep.

But the gulls that wheeled and swooped over Montebello’s capital of San Sebastian in the sunlight didn’t usually fly at night. The cry couldn’t have been from a bird. She slowed, turning her head to listen. All she heard was the slap of her running shoes on cobblestones and the rhythm of her breathing.

Who would take a child out for a stroll at this hour? The night wind was brisk for October in this part of the Mediterranean. Apart from a group of late theatergoers near the market square, Kate hadn’t seen anyone for the past ten minutes.

It must have been her sleep-deprived mind imagining things, that’s all. At the naval base, anyone not on watch would have the sense to be asleep, but Kate had come to rely on these late-night jogs. It was her time to herself, time to leave the day behind and focus on something blessedly basic, like putting one foot in front of the other.

Perhaps if she ran far enough, she’d be able to outrun not only the day but the past. And then maybe she wouldn’t hear phantom babies crying when no one was around—

The cry came again. More distant than before, barely there, it echoed from the walls and skipped along the cobblestones like the shadow of a butterfly.

Despite the perspiration that sheened her skin, Kate felt the hair on her arms rise. There was no mistaking it that time. It had come from her left. For a split second, she wanted to turn right, to keep running to her base, to her bed, to exhaustion-induced oblivion.

Just as she’d been running for five years?

The split second passed. Since when had Lieutenant Kate Mulvaney chosen to take the easy road? She turned left.

The street narrowed, becoming an alley. Kate stumbled over a flowerpot that flanked a doorway, her shoulder scraping against crumbling brick. The walls that rose on either side of her were centuries old, their windows closed against the autumn night. The homey scents of olive oil and garlic still hung in the air here, remnants of someone’s late supper, but no light showed from behind the shutters. By day, these historic alleys were magnets to tourists, but now the houses were simply homes.

Had she overreacted? Could the sound she heard have been that of a fussy baby behind one of those shuttered windows? Could some weary parent be pacing the floor, comforting the child and putting it back to bed with a kiss while Kate raced past like a fool?

No. An ordinary cry wouldn’t have set Kate’s hair on end. It wouldn’t have stirred this instinctive uneasiness deep inside. She reached a crossroads and paused, holding her breath as she strained to listen. In the winding maze of the old quarter, sound traveled in deceptive patterns. The child could be a quarter mile away or it could be in the next alley.

There. Another cry. It seemed closer than before, but it was quickly muffled, as if someone were covering the baby’s mouth.

Exhaling hard, Kate chose the middle street. She left the neighborhood of cobblestone alleys and entered a moonlit courtyard ringed by a hedge. There, at the opposite end, a figure moved furtively in the shadows. More cries wafted through the air, rapid and frantic enough to break a stone’s heart.

“Hey,” Kate called, breaking into a sprint. “Wait.”

The figure appeared to be a female carrying a blanket-wrapped bundle the size of an infant in her arms. Instead of stopping, she scurried through a break in the hedge.

Kate followed, emerging on a sloping street that was illuminated by a line of wrought-iron street lamps. She blinked to adjust her eyes to the sudden brightness and spotted a sign for the King Augustus Hospital. The woman was on the opposite side, heading up the hill toward the hospital’s back entrance.

Hesitating, Kate wondered if the woman might be taking her child for medical care. Was that the reason for her haste?

But instead of going through the hospital’s doors, the woman stopped beside the low stone planter that jutted from the hospital wall and set her bundle on the flowers.

A gurgling wail came from the bundle.

The woman brushed off her palms. Her voice, dry and harsh, carried clearly on the breeze. “Go ahead and cry. Someone will hear you soon.”

Kate scowled and jogged up the hill. “Excuse me, do you need some help?”

The woman snapped her head up and glanced over her shoulder. Instead of retrieving the baby, she took a step away.

Kate was close enough to see a tiny fist poke out of the bundle of blankets. It waved in the air, as if to punctuate its displeasure.

The woman’s response to the infant’s distress was to take another step away.

Kate’s chest heaved, not only from the exertion of her run but from a growing sense of outrage. This woman acted as if she intended to leave the child where it was. “What are you doing?” Kate demanded. “You’re not really planning on abandoning your baby there, are you?”

The woman glanced around, her gaze as furtive as her movements had been. In the bleak glare of the streetlights, her plain, pinched features and her mousy brown hair gave her the look of a rodent. “Keep out of this. It’s none of your business.”

“A child’s welfare is everybody’s business. If your baby is ill—”

“There’s nothing wrong with the baby. He’s fine. I just can’t keep him anymore.”

The resolution in the woman’s tone deepened Kate’s outrage. Nevertheless, she tried to reason with her again. “Ma’am, if you need help caring for your child, there are agencies that you can go to—”

“You know nothing about it. Get out of my way.”

It took no more than a heartbeat for Kate to assess her options. As a U.S. naval officer and a foreigner in Montebello, she had no authority over this civilian. Yet turning away, continuing with her run, was out of the question. No matter how tired she was, no matter what flack she might take from her base commander for interfering, she had a clear duty that transcended the rule book and the need for sleep. Before the woman could take another step, Kate grasped her wrist. “Sorry, I can’t let you leave.”

“What do you think you’re doing? Let go of me!” The woman yanked her wrist, a surprising amount of strength in her wiry frame, but she couldn’t break Kate’s hold. Muttering a curse, she aimed a kick at Kate’s shin.

Kate neatly sidestepped the kick as her training took over. Without loosening her hold, she used the woman’s momentum to spin her around, then twisted her arm behind her back. Exerting just enough pressure to hold her in place against the low stone wall without injuring her, Kate turned her head to look at the infant.

He had managed to kick off the blankets altogether and lay on his back with his feet and fists waving in the air. His cries had stopped, as if he preferred the cold embrace of the flower bed to being held in his mother’s arms. His face was flushed from crying, and tiny shudders rippled over his body, but his blue eyes were bright with interest as he gazed around him at the crushed flowers.

How could anyone discard their child like this? Babies were so precious, their lives so fragile, what kind of monster would abandon, with such indifference, the life she had carried? Didn’t she fear the nightmares that would follow? Didn’t she realize how the cries would haunt her?

“Let go,” the woman repeated. “Ow! You’re breaking my arm!”

Kate wrenched her attention to her duty. Turning toward the hospital doors, she raised her voice to the level she’d learned to employ on the deck of a battleship and called for help.

After ten seconds the hospital door swung open and an elderly white-clad nurse peeked out. Her eyes widened when she saw Kate and the struggling woman.

Belatedly, Kate realized how the situation must look. Dressed in her sweat-damp T-shirt and running shorts, her face bare of makeup and her hair a windblown mess, she probably appeared like some kind of female mugger who was overpowering this hapless, mousy woman. Before the nurse could jump to the wrong conclusion about which one of them was calling for help, Kate spoke up. “I’m Lieutenant Kate Mulvaney, U.S. Navy,” she said. “I’m making a citizen’s arrest. I need you to call the police and tend to—”

“No! No police.” The woman renewed her struggle to escape Kate’s hold. “I didn’t do anything!”

The nurse ducked inside before Kate could tell her to see to the baby. Lying in the planter the way he was, he wouldn’t have been visible from the door. Now that he’d stopped crying, no one would notice he was there unless they were looking. If Kate hadn’t witnessed what had happened, how long would the child have gone undiscovered?

She thought of what might have happened to the helpless infant and had to restrain herself from giving the woman’s arm an extra twist.

A security guard emerged from the hospital. He was a large man with a generous belly that stretched his light gray uniform to the limit of its buttons. “What’s going on here?” he asked.

Kate identified herself once again and guided her prisoner toward him. “This woman was abandoning her baby.”

“Baby? What baby?”

As soon as the guard took the woman’s arm, Kate released her and turned to the planter. “This baby,” she said. Leaning over, she carefully picked up the child. “I’ll bring him into emergency. I think a doctor should have a look at him…”

Kate’s words trailed off. Too many sensations were hitting her at once. The warmth of the infant, the way he felt, so light, so vulnerable in her arms, the powdery baby smell that rose from his dark hair, all of it slid right past her defenses and stirred up the old yearning—

She should have kept on running. And she would, as soon as she had done her duty. She would hand the child to a doctor and stay until police arrived so she could answer their questions, but after that, there would be no reason to hang around any longer. The situation was unfortunate but under control. Whatever the woman’s story, it wasn’t Kate’s concern.

But oh, how sweetly the baby nestled to her breast.

Damn.

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” The woman’s voice was shrill as the guard ushered her through the hospital entrance. Several nurses had gathered in the corridor, evidently drawn by the commotion. The woman dragged her heels, appealing to her audience. “That’s not even my baby. I’ve been taking care of him since his mother died. I was bringing him to his father, I swear, but I couldn’t get into the palace and—”

“Lady, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the guard said.

“Did she say palace?” someone asked.

“I shouldn’t be treated like this,” the woman persisted. “I should get a reward. That’s no ordinary baby. He’s the son of Lucas Sebastiani. Prince Lucas Sebastiani. That baby is the royal heir!”

Sam took the corner on two wheels and floored the accelerator. The jeep leaped up the hill and skidded to a stop outside the hospital. Word must have already leaked out, judging by the crowd that was gathered near the doors. The security guards and Montebellan police quickly cleared a path when they recognized Sam’s passengers.

“Thank you, Lieutenant Coburn.” The deep voice came from the rear seat. “I like a man who can follow orders.”

Sam had only begun his assignment in Montebello a few hours ago, so he was still unaccustomed to dealing with royalty. He was never sure whether to salute or bow. The moment he hopped to the ground, he turned to offer his hand. “I apologize if the ride was rougher than you’re accustomed to, Your Highness.”

King Marcus smiled and shook his head. “Believe me, I’ve had worse. You got us here faster than any of my drivers would have.” He got out with an agility that belied his sixty-odd years and reached for the petite blond woman who was swinging her legs toward him. “Gwen, are you all right?”

“Heavens, yes. It was rather exciting, don’t you think?” Blue eyes twinkling, Queen Gwendolyn smoothed her husband’s white hair and placed her hands on his shoulders. She permitted him to lift her to the ground, then tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow. Despite their casual attire, the couple’s bearing was unmistakably regal. “Lucas?” the queen asked. “Aren’t you coming?”

Sam turned to look at the third member of the royal family who had accompanied him on the wild midnight ride. Lucas Sebastiani, Prince Lucas to the people of Montebello, hadn’t exhibited the same excitement as his parents over the news of his possible child. He had been silent during the journey from the palace to the hospital, but Sam didn’t mistake his stillness for indifference.

He’d seen this reaction before, when something was so important, the consequences so huge, a person couldn’t dare to hope it was true. What was going on behind those tightly controlled, aristocratic features?

How would it feel for a man to suddenly discover he was a father?

Like all navy SEALs, Sam was accustomed to thinking on his feet, to adapting quickly to changes whenever he was on a mission, but this assignment was rapidly taking more twists than the cobblestone streets he’d just navigated. He was supposed to be advising the Montebellan police in their search for the woman who had murdered the king’s nephew, Desmond Caruso. It wasn’t a typical assignment for a SEAL who was trained in counterterrorism, but King Marcus had wanted someone with an objective viewpoint, someone with a reputation for success.

With little more than an artist’s sketch of the murderer to go on, the search would be challenging, to say the least. But Sam thrived on challenges. He had been in a strategy session with the king when the call from the hospital had come in.

An abandoned baby? A possible royal heir? The news was a shock to everyone. And from the information the hospital staff had relayed, the woman who had attempted to abandon the child apparently had proof of its parentage. Moreover, she had some connection with the murderer Sam was seeking. With the swift decisiveness that was typical of his leadership, the king had terminated the meeting. Rather than taking the time to form a convoy of palace staff and bodyguards, he’d commandeered Sam and Sam’s military jeep to take the fastest route to the hospital.

“Son?” Marcus laid his hand on Lucas’s shoulder.

Lucas got out of the jeep, his movements stiff. He nodded to Sam to lead the way.

The hospital lobby was bustling with activity, yet silence spread as people recognized the royal family. A portly man in a gray security guard’s uniform hurried forward, his face flushed. “Your Highnesses,” he said, bowing to each of the royals in turn. “This is such an honor.”

“Where’s the child?” Lucas asked. His voice was hoarse, as tightly controlled as his features.

“The baby? He’s in the emergency ward.” The guard gestured toward a corridor on their right. “The doctors are checking him.”

“If any harm has come to that baby—” Lucas paused, his jaw clenching.

“No, no, he seemed fine.” The guard looked at Sam, his gaze flicking over his dress blue uniform. “Another American Navy officer found him. She has been seeing to his safety since we learned who the baby is.”

“Where’s the woman who tried to abandon the baby?” Sam asked.

“She says her name is Gretchen Hanson. We’re holding her in the security office in the north wing.”

“Good work,” King Marcus said. “Lieutenant Coburn and I will want to question Ms. Hanson before you turn her over to the police, but first things first.” He patted Queen Gwendolyn’s hand and gave his son an encouraging nod. “Let’s take a look at this baby.”

Apart from the thick stone walls, vaulted ceilings and arching doorways that marked its centuries-old architecture, the King Augustus Hospital was a modern medical facility. The lingering scent of aged stone was overpowered by the smell of disinfectant. Sounds that could have been heard in any hospital—the squeak of crepe soles on tile, the beeping of a monitor, the metallic rattle of a gurney—echoed in the background as Sam and his group headed for the emergency ward.

It was easy to determine which examining room the child was in by the crowd of hospital staff gathered outside the door. The hush that had marked the royals’ arrival in the hospital spread through the ward. Sam realized it wasn’t awe, it was respectful affection. The Montebellan people genuinely cared about their monarch, and they all wanted to be part of the drama that was unfolding. As one, the crowd moved from the door.

In a circle of light, a trio of doctors was bending over an examining table. Sam focused on the tiny form at the top. The baby was lying on its back, gurgling softly as it clutched the end of a stethoscope.

“Oh, my Lord.” Queen Gwendolyn drew in a sharp breath. “Marcus, look.”

The king stared at the baby. In silence, he slipped his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

“Look at his hair, look at his eyes,” Gwendolyn went on. “And that chin. Do you see it?”

“Yes, Gwen,” he said softly, pulling her close to his side. “I see.”

Sam studied the child for a minute, then moved his gaze to the prince. What the queen had meant was clear. Lucas and the child shared the same dark brown hair, the same blue eyes, even the identical stubborn chin. The resemblance was so strong, it was unmistakable. A DNA test would undoubtedly have to be performed, considering the importance of proving the royal heir’s identity, but to anyone with eyes, the paternity was obvious.

Like a man in a trance, Lucas moved forward. If he noticed that the child on the table was a younger version of himself, he gave no indication. He was holding onto the tight control he’d been exhibiting since they left the palace. “Is he all right? Is he healthy?”

One of the doctors stepped aside, allowing Lucas to reach the table. “Yes, Your Highness. We’ve done a thorough examination, and the infant appears to be in good health. His heart is strong, his lungs are clear and his reflexes are normal, although he’s somewhat underweight for a child of three months.”

It was clear to Sam that Lucas was no longer listening. The prince leaned over the table, his entire body brittle with tension as he regarded the baby.

The child stopped gurgling and met Lucas’s gaze with a disconcerting solemnity. Then suddenly the baby smiled.

Lucas closed his eyes and tipped back his head, inhaling unsteadily. He was silent for a moment, his shoulders shaking with emotions Sam couldn’t begin to imagine. Finally, Lucas blinked and touched his fingertips to the baby’s cheek. “Jess,” he whispered. His eyes gleamed with tears. “You have Jessie’s smile.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “Apparently the child’s name is Luke, Your Highness. We’d like to transfer him to pediatrics as soon as possible. We need to run some more tests and we’d like to get his weight up….”

“He has Jessie’s smile,” Lucas repeated, looking around as if the doctor hadn’t spoken. An expression of wonder was dawning on his face. “Jessie’s dimples. She always smiled like that. I thought I’d never see it again. I thought—” He clamped his jaw shut, his words choked off.

Sam didn’t know all the details about the prince’s story, but he did know the man was mourning the death of the woman he loved. And now Lucas saw his lover in his child.

Once more, Sam couldn’t imagine the emotions Lucas must be going through. What was it like to love a woman that strongly? Love wasn’t something Sam thought much about. With the demands of his career and the danger each mission entailed, he didn’t have the opportunity or the inclination for serious relationships.

At least, that was the excuse he’d always given himself. Except for that one time five years ago…

Without warning, an image rose in his memory. Long auburn hair, green eyes, the sound of laughter, the feel of skin sliding over sun-warmed skin. The image was so vivid, he could swear he caught her scent.

Gardenias. Passionate and feminine.

And fleeting.

Sam rubbed his face, trying to concentrate on his duty.

“I want to thank you and the hospital staff for your diligence.” King Marcus shook hands with each doctor. “My family and I are in your debt for your care of our newest member.”

Evidently the king didn’t need to wait for the test results to confirm what he saw, either. He had publicly recognized the baby as a Sebastiani. Queen Gwendolyn was at Lucas’s side, her elegant features lit in a grandmotherly smile as she cooed over her grandson.

“I’d also like to speak with the person who found him,” the king said. “I understand she was a Navy officer?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

At the soft voice from the shadows in the corner of the room, Sam’s mouth went dry. No, it wasn’t possible. He had just been thinking of her, so he must be imagining her voice. How could she be here? Why now?

A woman moved into the pool of light, her jogging shoes padding quietly on the tile floor. A pair of running shorts bared her long legs. A black T-shirt molded her breasts, and a gold chain with a tiny charm circled her throat. Her auburn hair was a short-cropped mass of finger-combed tufts.

It hadn’t been his imagination, Sam thought. Somehow, she really was here.

When had she cut her hair? When had she taken up jogging? Did she still cry over old movies? Did she ever think of him when she was alone at night and the sound of the waves were like sighs from the past?

Kate. His Kate. In the flesh, and close enough to smell.

And beautiful enough to make him want to forget the promise he’d made her five years ago.

Chapter 2

Kate couldn’t meet Sam’s gaze. Not yet. Not with this lump in her throat from the emotional scene she had just witnessed.

But oh, God, he was more handsome than ever. She’d studied him when he hadn’t known she was in the room. There were sun streaks in his brown hair. There were new lines around his amber eyes. His cheeks were leaner, his shoulders broader. His entire bearing radiated the mature confidence of a man who knew what he wanted and had the strength to get it.

He had once wanted her.

That’s over, Kate told herself. Don’t think about the past. Concentrate on your duty.

Despite her lack of uniform, Kate drew herself to attention and snapped up her hand in a salute. “Lieutenant Kate Mulvaney, Your Highness.”

As diplomatic as he was reputed to be, King Marcus ignored her dishevelled appearance and her lack of military attire as he returned her salute. “I gather you were jogging past and witnessed what happened?”

“Yes, sir. After I apprehended the suspect, I thought it best to guard the child until someone from the palace arrived. Admiral Howe, the base commander, agreed when I reported the situation to him. I’m at your service until you wish to relieve me.”

“I appreciate your quick thinking, Lieutenant.”

The baby was gurgling again, happy with the attention he was receiving from the queen and the prince. Montebellan royalty who just happened to be his grandmother and his father. Kate felt the gleeful sound grate across her nerves.

Standing guard over the baby had been difficult. Not because there had been any danger, but because she had wanted her involvement with all of this to be over an hour ago. Had she thought the baby stirred painful memories? That was nothing compared to what she’d felt when she’d seen Sam walk in the room.

Why couldn’t she have kept on running?

“I was happy to help, sir,” she replied.

“I hate to impose further, but I’d appreciate it if you could remain and answer a few questions for us.” The king nodded toward Sam. “This is Lieutenant Sam Coburn.”

Unable to postpone it any longer, Kate let her gaze meet Sam’s.

Oh, God. Five years had passed, but some things hadn’t changed. His golden brown gaze still had the power to make her knees weak.

She wanted to leap into his arms.

She wanted to curl into a ball and hide.

Duty, she reminded herself. Do your duty, just as you’ve always done.

“Yes,” she said. She was proud of the way her voice remained level though her pulse pounded in her ears. “Lieutenant Coburn and I have already met.”

“Excellent.” The king glanced at his son. Under the supervision of the doctors and the doting gaze of Queen Gwendolyn, Lucas was carefully lifting his child into his arms. A look of amazement softened his features.

Kate pressed her nails into her palms to keep herself steady. The emotions kept on coming. Seeing the prince cradle his infant so tenderly made her wonder what might have happened if Sam…

No. She wouldn’t go down that road. She wouldn’t let that thought form. She’d avoided it for five years. She could keep it at bay for another five minutes, couldn’t she?

“Since you two are already acquainted,” King Marcus continued, moving to join his family, “I’ll let Lieutenant Coburn fill you in. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a grandson to get to know.”

And just like that, Kate found herself face-to-face with the one man she’d believed she’d never see again.

“Hello, Kate.”

His voice strummed over her raw nerves in a melody too haunting to forget. She’d always loved his voice. It didn’t belong here in the sterile efficiency of a hospital. It belonged on a moonlit beach, with the sound of the waves whispering over the sand and the rhythmic smack of naked skin on naked skin….

She tightened her fists, surprised her nails hadn’t yet drawn blood. Her gaze returned to his. “Hello, Sam.”

“You’re looking well.”

“You, too.”

He smiled. “I guess it would be kinda too corny to say long time no see.”

His smile deepened the new lines around his eyes and folded brackets beside his mouth and still made her stomach knot like that of a schoolgirl with her first crush.

Damn him, that hadn’t changed, either. “The king said you would have some questions for me.”

At her brisk tone, his smile dimmed. “That’s right.”

“All I did was recover the baby. I’m not sure I understand how that would involve a Navy SEAL.”

Sam tilted his head toward the door. “I’ll fill you in on the way to the security office.”

She started to move forward when she saw him lift his hand. He was going to touch her. She felt his intent as plainly as if he had spoken aloud.

Sam had always been a toucher. In public it had been a palm on the small of her back, a brush of fingertips over her forearm or an easy drape of his arm over her shoulders. Casual, respectful touches that had kept her body humming with awareness.

And when they were no longer in public, he hadn’t only made her body hum, he’d made it sing.

Kate stepped to the side to avoid his hand and strode out of the examining room. Sam might not have changed, but she had. She was older, wiser and in complete control of her life. She could do this. Yes, she could.

Sam fell into step beside her. “What would you like to know first?”

Where did you go after your letters stopped? Did you ever think of me? Did you ever wonder what would have happened if only circumstances had been different? The questions clamored in her heart, but she asked, “Why are you taking orders from the king of Montebello?”

“I’m working as an adviser. He requested our government to provide someone with my training to help coordinate the efforts of the police and our navy in the search for a murderer.”

“The woman who killed his nephew, Desmond Caruso?”

“That’s right. How did you know?”

“I saw the artist’s sketch of the suspect in the paper today. It’s logical that the king would ask for high-level help.” She glanced at Sam. “And by someone with your training, you mean counterterrorism, I assume.”

“Right again.”

“Congratulations.”

“Why?”

“If you’re an expert in counterterrorism, then that must mean you’re in SEAL Team Six. Just like you always said you wanted.”

“There were plenty of things that I wanted, Kate.”

She could tell by his tone that he wasn’t referring to his career. But she wasn’t going to talk about this now. It was over. The past was gone, gone, gone. “And you succeeded,” she said, refusing to let the conversation get personal. “But how does all of this involve the prince’s baby?”

“That’s what I’m here to find out.”

They reached a set of swinging doors. Sam stretched his arm past Kate’s shoulder and pushed open the door before she could reach it. He didn’t touch her, but she could feel the warmth of his arm as it passed near her head.

She tried to attribute the shudder to fatigue. “I still don’t understand.”

“I started this assignment today, so there are a lot of details that need filling in, but here’s what I do know. Last year, Prince Lucas was in the States, flying over Colorado, when his plane went down. He was in bad shape for a while, wandered around not knowing who he was. That’s when he met a woman named Jessica Chambers.”

“Jessica. Jessie,” Kate said, remembering the reverent way the prince had said the name. “That would be the baby’s mother.”

“Right. The prince had an affair with Jessica before his duty brought him back to Montebello. Several months later, he found out she died in childbirth. Her, and the baby.”

“They thought the baby died, too?” she asked.

“Yeah. What makes it worse is he hadn’t realized she was carrying his child when he left. No wonder the poor guy is looking like he’s been hit by a truck.”

Kate stumbled.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked, catching her arm.

No, she was not okay. After five years of coping, it seemed as if every painful memory of her past was getting dredged up tonight. She wrenched free of Sam’s touch, her heart pounding as if she were still running. “I’m fine.”

He tilted his head, his gaze more golden than brown as he studied her. “We could grab a coffee before we question the Hanson woman. From the looks of the family reunion back there, the king will probably be busy for a while.”

“No, I’m fine. I just want to get back to…” She frowned, zeroing in on the pronoun he had used. “Before we question her?”

“Considering the way you were in at the start, I figured you’d want to see this through.” He glanced pointedly at his hand and then at the place on her arm where he had touched her. When his eyes met hers once more, his gaze was direct and much too knowing. “You always did like to see neat, clean endings, didn’t you?”

Whether it was an oversight by the renovators or had been left alone deliberately for the psychological effect, the room that served as the security office for the hospital looked as if it belonged in a previous century. One of the walls was bare stone, giving the chamber the chill of a dungeon.

“I want complete immunity. You promise me that, then I’ll answer your questions.”

Sam propped a hip against the edge of the table and shrugged. “Why would you want immunity if you’ve done nothing wrong, Miss Hanson?”

Gretchen Hanson tossed her mouse-colored hair out of her eyes with a flick of her head. She leaned back in her chair and attempted what she probably thought was a coy smile. “I already told you, I was trying to bring that child back to his father. I showed you baby Luke’s birth certificate. That proves who he is. You saw the names.”

The document had appeared genuine, Sam thought, and the date of birth was nine months after the prince had spent time at Jessica’s ranch in Colorado. Each detail Hanson had revealed during her questioning so far had supported her story of the baby’s identity, reinforcing what had been obvious to anyone seeing the prince and the baby together. “Considering the way you treated the child,” Sam said, “you shouldn’t be making any demands.”

“What do you mean? I’ve been taking good care of that baby. I deserve a reward.”

“That’s an odd way to care for a child, Miss Hanson,” Kate said. “Leaving him to fend for himself in the dirt of a flower bed on a cool October night.” She paced across the small room and stopped at the opposite side of the table from Sam.

He tamped down the twinge of irritation he felt at Kate’s movement. The room was small, but she had been careful to keep as much distance as possible between them since they’d arrived. She’d already made it clear that she didn’t want him to touch her, no matter how casually—she had jerked away as if she’d been burned when he’d touched her arm in the corridor. And she seemed to have no problem staying away from him.

Didn’t she remember being naked and screaming his name?

All right, this wasn’t the time or the place to revisit the past. His irritation was unwarranted, nothing but a bruised male ego. It was sensible of her to treat him like a stranger. He was finding it difficult enough to concentrate with Kate in the room. If she were any closer, he wouldn’t have a hope of doing his job.

Gretchen was continuing to protest her innocence. “I wasn’t going to leave him there.”

“Please, let’s not waste any more time,” Kate said, interrupting what was shaping up to be yet another whining plea. “We’ve gone over this before. I saw what you did and I heard what you said. You’re in deep trouble, Miss Hanson.”

Sam nodded. “Better listen to Lieutenant Mulvaney. Do you have any idea what the penalty for child abuse is in Montebello?”

Gretchen’s gaze flicked back and forth between them, her bravado fading. “I’m an American citizen. I have rights.”

“But you’re in San Sebastian, the capital of Montebello. It’s a very old, very traditional monarchy. And it’s not just any child we’re talking about, it’s the royal heir.” He lifted one hand toward the stone wall, deciding to use the setting to try a bluff. “I assume you’ve heard that there are dungeons under the palace?”

“What?”

“Those thick stone walls are centuries old and completely soundproof.” Sam lowered his voice. “No one can hear what goes on inside, but there are stories….”

“You can’t let them put me in a dungeon!”

“I’m trying my best to dissuade them, but unless you show some sign of cooperation, there’s not much I can do.”

“But I’ve been cooperating!”

“You told the hospital security guard you had information on the woman the police are seeking,” Sam said. “If that’s true, I can guarantee you won’t be clamped in irons.”

Gretchen’s pasty complexion paled even further. “Irons?”

Sam saw Kate lift an eyebrow at him. She would know as well as he did that Montebellan justice was as modern as any system in the West. It was easy to guarantee that Gretchen wouldn’t be mistreated because nobody was mistreated. Sam hoped Kate wouldn’t blow his bluff.

“Better take Lieutenant Coburn’s offer,” Kate said. “It’s not immunity, but it’s the best we can do.”

Obviously Kate understood what he was doing. And why shouldn’t she? He’d always known she was an intelligent woman, he’d just never been overly concerned with her mind. He’d been occupied by…other things.

And he wanted to reach across the table and drag her to his side and make her remember every single one of them….

“I’m not the criminal here,” Gretchen muttered, sinking down in her chair. “It’s all Ursula’s fault.”

Sam rubbed his face. Yet again he tried to focus on his duty. “Go on.”

“Ursula’s the one who should be stuck in some dungeon, not me. She told me to bring the baby here. She was the one who made sure we had the birth certificate to prove who the kid is. We were supposed to get a reward from the royals. They were supposed to be so grateful that we’d been taking care of the royal heir that we’d be set for life. She had these big ideas, but she screwed it up.”

“How did she do that?” Kate prodded.

“By getting her face all over the papers, that’s how.”

“What do you mean?”

“That sketch on the front page of the newspaper. The woman who’s wanted for murder. It’s Ursula. I just about fainted when I saw it. That must have been why she didn’t show up to meet me. Didn’t she think about how she was leaving me high and dry?”

“That was very inconsiderate of her,” Kate said, not missing a beat. “But I don’t understand how you came to be taking care of the prince’s baby in the first place.”

Gretchen exhaled impatiently. “I’m a midwife. I delivered it. That was Ursula’s idea, too. She wouldn’t help with that, either. It was her own sister, and I had to do everything.”

“Her sister?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, the mother was Ursula’s kid sister, Jessica. That’s how come we got involved in the first place. The prince had knocked up Jessica and took off, so naturally she would ask her sister for help.”

Sam sensed some pieces of the puzzle move into place. At the king’s strategy session earlier that evening, Sam had learned that the prince felt the artist’s sketch of the murderer, based on a description given by a young child witness and his father, looked familiar. That must have been why. Ursula’s face would have borne some resemblance to Jessica’s. Jessica Chambers. Ursula Chambers.

He nodded in satisfaction. Now he had a name to go with the artist’s sketch that had been circulated to all the Montebellan news media. “Do you know where Ursula Chambers is now?” he asked.

“If I did, I sure wouldn’t be here,” Gretchen muttered. “I don’t know why Ursula had to kill the king’s nephew. Desmond was supposed to be helping us.”

“Are you claiming that Desmond Caruso knew about the baby?” Sam asked. “He knew about the existence of the prince’s son?”

“Oh, yeah. He knew. He was the one who paid the plane fare from Colorado to Montebello for me and baby Luke. He promised that Ursula and me would be made duchesses or countesses or something like that. The royals are filthy rich, you know. They were going to reward us.”

Another piece clicked into place. So that was the victim’s connection with the murderer, Sam thought. He’d heard rumors of Caruso’s less-than-exemplary character. The king’s nephew had been an illegitimate branch of the royal family tree, and he had always resented the limitations of his birth despite the king’s acceptance of him. It was definitely possible for the man to have been involved in a scheme to profit from the prince’s child.

But why had Ursula killed him? Had he tried to double-cross her, to cut her out of the money she had been promised? Or had the motive been more personal?

“It was Ursula’s idea to keep the prince’s baby in the first place, but I had to do all the work,” Gretchen said. “It wasn’t easy, hiding out and taking care of the child.”

“No, I imagine it wasn’t,” Kate said.

“I have my stupid brother to take care of, too, you know.”

“You must be very busy.”

“You bet I am. Gerald’s too dim-witted to manage without me. Between him and the baby, I never had a minute to myself.”

Sam doubted that. This woman was no self-sacrificing saint. With every word she uttered, she demonstrated her lack of compassion. “It was generous of you to take in the child after his mother died.”

“Damn right. I’ve had that kid since the day he was born.”

Sam frowned. “We were told Jessica Chambers died in childbirth, and that her baby died, too. What can you tell us about the birth?”

Gretchen’s eyes narrowed, her face taking on a feral look. She glanced around as if searching for an escape route.

Sam leaned forward, acting on a hunch. “Miss Hanson, how did Jessica Chambers really die?”

“She was murdered,” Gretchen burst out. “Ursula did it. She killed her own sister just like she killed the king’s nephew. I swear. She’s the one you want. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

It was an ungodly hour to be awake. No one but street cleaners and peasants was up before dawn. Instead of sneaking around these dreary old streets, she should have been safe and warm in some posh hotel room right now, dreaming of ways to spend her money.

Tucking a stray lock of her blond hair under her scarf, Ursula Chambers paused at the corner to check for police. Nothing was moving except a stray cat picking its way around some garbage cans. She hitched her carry-on bag over her shoulder, kicked the cat aside and hurried down the street.

She’d had high hopes when she’d arrived on this island. She’d had a surefire plan, too. Jessica had always had things easy—all their lives, she’d had the luck that should have been Ursula’s. So it was only fair that Jessica’s brat would be her big sister’s ticket to easy street. Ursula had planned it all out carefully. She deserved success, but then everything had fallen apart.

She was surrounded by idiots, that was the problem. Idiots and double-crossers. Desmond had been almost as attractive as she was, and he’d been one of the best lovers she’d had, but he should have known better than to betray her with that little black-haired tart. She’d seen him kissing the girl, some princess or other, and yet when she’d confronted him later he’d tried to deny it.

It hadn’t been Ursula’s fault she’d had to kill him. He’d given her no choice. One minute Desmond was smiling through his lies, the next minute she found that statue in her hand and saw blood pooling around his head.

She’d wiped off her fingerprints and put the statue she’d hit him with on the shelf. She’d ditched the blood-spattered dress she’d been wearing. She’d slipped away from Desmond’s cottage and made it off the palace grounds without anyone seeing her. She’d even gone back and burned the cottage to destroy any trace evidence.

She’d thought she was safe. Then some kid had screamed and pointed at her at the airport, and now everyone in the country could see her face when they turned on their TVs or opened their newspapers. It was a good thing she had noticed the police sketch on the front page of the Montebello Messenger before she’d tried to meet Gretchen.

She glanced at her reflection in a darkened shop window. The drawing had been surprisingly good for a police sketch, but considering the features the artist was working with, how could it not be? Ursula had always known she was blessed with a face that should have been on a Broadway poster or a movie screen. Along with her talent and her dynamite body, she’d been destined for stardom… if only her acting career hadn’t been ruined by her manager.

But what more could she have expected from a man? All the men in her life had betrayed her in one way or another, hadn’t they? The only smart thing to do was to use them before they could use her. And Ursula was smart. She was a survivor.

An aircraft took off in the distance, the throb of its engines magnified by the narrow streets. Ursula clutched her carry-on and looked up to follow its progress. The airport was still her best bet. Her credit cards were maxed out, but she had just enough cash left from the sale of her sister’s heirloom ring to cover a one-way ticket to the States. As long as she made it through customs before that idiot Gretchen told someone her name, she’d be home by tomorrow.

Like any great actress, Ursula Chambers knew when it was time to make an exit.

Chapter 3

“Put this on so you won’t be cold.”

Kate shook her head quickly as she saw Sam reach for the buttons of his dress blue uniform jacket. “No, thanks. I’ll be fine.”

“The jeep doesn’t have a top.” He slipped the last button from its hole and shrugged off the jacket. “And you’re only wearing your running clothes.”

She told herself not to look. For the past five hours she’d been hearing variations on the same lecture in her head. But she was only human, so she couldn’t prevent her gaze from wandering.

How could it be possible for his shoulders to be broader than she remembered, for his chest to be more solid? The white shirt he wore beneath the jacket was flattened to his body by the breeze, defining the masculine contours like a lingering caress.

She looked away. She was no longer his lover. She was his colleague, his equal in rank. “Keep it, Sam. You’re only wearing a shirt yourself.”

“Yeah, but haven’t you heard? SEALs are tough.” Without waiting for permission, he settled the jacket around her shoulders.

“Sam…”

He rounded the hood of the jeep and hopped into the driver’s seat. “Come on, Kate. I’ll take you home.”

There was no point arguing. Sam hadn’t changed—he still liked to get his way.

Which was one of the reasons she’d let him go.

She took the seat beside him and clutched the lapels of the jacket together. Pleasant warmth flowed into her from the heat of his body that was trapped in the garment. His scent surrounded her, teasing her with awareness, daring her to remember.

“How long have you been in Montebello, Kate?”

“Seven months tomorrow. And you?”

“Two days.” He turned the jeep and headed down the hill from the hospital.

“I didn’t know you were being posted here.”

“I wasn’t. I had just finished an assignment in the Middle East and figured while I was in the neighborhood I might as well spend my leave in Montebello. The leave got canceled when I got the order to report to King Marcus.”

“That’s a shame. This is a wonderful place if you’re here on vacation. Tourism is one of Montebello’s biggest industries.”

“Yeah. There are plenty of sights I never got around to seeing, but duty called.”

“It has a way of doing that.”

“If I’d known you were here, I would have looked you up. How have you been?”

They were picking up speed. Sam drove with the same straightforward competence with which he did everything else. Kate turned her face to the breeze so she wouldn’t keep inhaling his scent. “I’ve been fine, Sam. And you?”

“Busy.”

“Judging from the service ribbons on this jacket, I’d have to agree.”

“Like they say, I joined the Navy and saw the world.”

“That’s great. It’s—” She almost said that it was what he’d wanted, but she remembered how he’d responded to that comment before. She had to keep things light, keep things friendly. The base was only a few more minutes away. Then this interminable evening would be over. “You said you always wanted to travel. And how’s your mother?”

“She’s doing well. She and Marvin moved to Arizona two years ago, and the climate’s done wonders for her rheumatism.”

“Is your stepfather still in the car business?”

“Uh-huh. He opened up a dealership in Flagstaff. Wanted to call it Marvelous Marvin’s, but my mom couldn’t stop laughing every time he said it so he settled for Oasis Autos.”

She smiled. Sam had supported his widowed mother throughout his teenage years. He’d delayed joining the Navy until she was securely remarried. Noble, loyal Sam. He was a throwback to the days when men took care of their women no matter what.

Which was another reason she’d let him go.

“And your little brother?” she asked.

“Chuck’s doing his master’s degree at Stanford.”

“Does he still want to be a paleontologist?”

“Uh-huh. At least now he’s got an excuse to go on backyard treasure hunts.”

She heard the note of pride in Sam’s voice, and her smile grew wistful. Sam had helped raise his younger brother, and he’d done a marvelous job. He would have made a wonderful father.

But he’d also deserved his shot at following his dreams.

She’d made the right decision.

Yes, she had.

“How are your parents doing, Kate?” he asked.

“They divorced four years ago.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. They’re much happier now.” And that was true. Some people simply weren’t meant to be together.

Like her and Sam.

He remained silent as they approached an intersection. Instead of taking the road that would be the quickest route to the base, he turned toward the road that ran along the coast.

“It’s shorter if you go the other way,” Kate said, twisting to look over her shoulder.

“I know.”

“But—”

“I wanted a chance to talk to you. Is the wind too cold?”

“No. With this jacket I’m fine, but—”

“It’s a beautiful evening, isn’t it, Kate?” he asked softly.

“Montebello averages three hundred days of sunshine a year, so the skies here are usually clear.”

“Do you still like watching the pattern of waves in the moonlight?”

“I take the inland roads when I go jogging.”

He slowed the jeep as he rounded a bend, his hand somehow brushing her thigh as he worked the gear shift. “Remember how we used to like listening to the whispers the waves made when they broke on the beach?”

Yes, she remembered all too well. She angled her knees toward the door, the skin on her thigh tingling. “The coastline along this stretch is mostly rock, but there are several popular beaches.”

“Maybe you could show me sometime.”

“Sam…”

“It still gets to me, you know.”

“What does?”

“The sound of the water. It gets me right here,” he said, taking one hand off the wheel to touch his chest. “Anywhere you go in the world, it’s got a million different tunes that it plays. Sometimes it’s restless, sometimes it’s angry. A lot of times it’s just plain lonely.”

“I remember you always liked the sea.”

“Good thing, considering my choice of profession, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, it’s fortunate.”

“And only one of the things we have in common, Kate.” He slowed further, finally pulling the jeep to a stop at the side of the road. He turned off the ignition and inhaled deeply. “I read somewhere that every drop of water on the planet has been through a cycle of life that takes it through practically every type of living thing before it returns to the ocean. But it still smells great, doesn’t it?”

It wasn’t only the sea that smelled great, she thought. Now that they were no longer moving, the hint of Sam’s scent that rose from his jacket was stronger than ever.

The memories were battering at her mind, pushing to be released, but she held them back. She couldn’t go through this again. Once was enough.

He turned toward her, draping his elbow over the back of his seat. “It’s hard to believe it’s been five years.”

No, she thought. Don’t do this. Please. Let’s keep talking about the climate or your family or our work.

“I like your hair like that.” He lifted his hand toward her ear.

She knew what was coming. He was going to smooth her hair behind her ear, just as he used to do when it had been long. She tipped her head to avoid his touch. “It’s more practical to keep it short.”

“Is that why you cut it?”

She gritted her teeth against an image from the past, yet still she saw Sam smiling at her, his fists caught in her hair as he rubbed her curls in slow, sensual circles over her breasts. “Yes, it got in my way,” she answered.

“Kate?”

“Mmm?”

“I’ve missed you.”

And I’ve missed you, she thought.

But she didn’t miss the pain. It was locked away with the memories. She couldn’t release one without the other.

It had been the right choice. It had, damn it.

She kept her gaze on the horizon. “Like you said, Sam, it’s been five years.”

“Since we’re both here now, maybe we could get together sometime. What do you think?”

She didn’t reply. She could feel his gaze moving over her face. What did he see? What did he remember?

Sex. That’s what he would remember. That’s what it had been about, after all. Just sex.

Sure. Sex on the beach, with the waves lapping at their feet. Laughing, playful sex in the water with their skin slick and cool. And slow, thorough, toe-curling sex on the deck in the moonlight when they’d anchored their rented sailboat in that secluded bay and spent their last night together wrapped in a blanket and each other’s arms….

Kate felt a flush work its way over her cheeks. She felt her pulse pound against the gold chain that circled her neck. She hoped the darkness would hide them both.

Sex had been all they’d wanted from each other. And they’d both been perfectly willing to supply it. They’d been young, they’d been unattached, they’d both been about to embark on their new lives in the Navy. So why shouldn’t they have indulged in some good, healthy, uncomplicated lovemaking before they had parted ways?

No, not love. It had never been love.

And that was the final reason she had let him go.

“The past is over,” she said. “We had an agreement. Let’s leave it that way.”

“Kate…”

“I was wrong, Sam. I believe I’m getting cold after all,” she said. “Please, take me home.”

Kate was running again, but in the panic of her dream, she didn’t know where she was. The streets were a dark labyrinth of towering walls and dead ends. Her feet were heavy with nightmare paralysis. She had to find the baby. She had to reach it. She had to save it.

Pain doubled her over. It ground through her belly and shot down her thighs. She crossed her arms over her stomach, gasping for breath, and limped forward. She couldn’t stop. She had to find it.

The streets grew narrower and transformed into corridors. The echo of her footsteps became the rattle of gurney wheels. The past tangled with the present as she was moving toward the emergency room.

“No. Wait.” Kate mouthed the words, twisting on the mattress and clutching the sheets as if she could hold back the inevitable. She knew how this ended, but maybe if she tried harder, maybe if she held on longer she could make it end differently this time….

The pain was tearing a hole in her gut. Her strength was gone, but still she strained forward. The baby. It needed her. She had to try.

“It’s too late. He’s gone.”

No. He couldn’t be. She’d tried her best this time. Honestly, she had.

“I’m sorry.” The doctor’s voice was weary. “We did everything we could.”

No. No! She wanted to scream, but the emptiness she felt in her body left no room for denial.

The baby was lost.

He’d never taken a breath. He’d never opened his eyes. He’d never once felt his mother’s arms around him or nestled against her breast….

A telephone shrilled. Kate came awake with a start. Heart pounding, she tried to orient herself. She rubbed her cheeks and found them wet with tears.

This wasn’t a hospital. This was her bed, in her bedroom. She was in Montebello, in the old hotel that had been converted to serve as the unmarried officers’ quarters. It was over. Finished. Lost.

The phone rang again.

Kate rolled to her side and stumbled across the floor. Sunlight slanted through the window, casting an orange glow over the heavy wood furniture. Her hand shaking, she reached for the phone on her desk. “Mulvaney,” she said.

“Lieutenant Mulvaney, this is Ensign Gordon. I’m Admiral Howe’s assistant.”

Kate wiped her arm across her eyes to dry her tears. “What can I do for you, Ensign Gordon?”

“You’ve been asked to report to Admiral Howe’s office at oh-nine-hundred hours today.”

She acknowledged the order and replaced the receiver mechanically, then dropped her head into her hands. All right. Focus, she told herself. Concentrate on your duty, and this will go away. Just like it always does.

But the dream still hovered, a gray shadow on the edge of her consciousness.

The nightmare had been worse this time. She didn’t need a psychiatrist to figure out why. The reason was obvious. It was because she had seen Sam again. And because she had held that baby.

The thought she’d pushed back so desperately for almost twelve hours—that she’d run from for five years—finally broke free.

Damn it, it should have been their child, not the prince’s, that she’d held in her arms. It should have been Sam’s face, not Lucas’s, that had lit with wonder as he’d gazed at his son.

But she’d never had the chance to hold their baby. The gentle butterfly motions she’d felt while she’d carried him were all she had to remember of the life she’d been entrusted with…and lost.

She pushed the heels of her hands against her eyes, trying to stop the tears from falling, trying to stem the tide of memories, but it was no use.

She had conceived that night on the boat. She hadn’t planned it. Neither of them had. The responsibility of a family had been the last thing on their minds. They both had been due to ship out the next day and they hadn’t wanted to waste one moment of their final night together.

They’d known from the start their affair would be brief. They’d each had dreams and obligations that would force them apart, so they had agreed to make a clean break. No regrets, no strings, no awkward clinging. The only promise they’d made had been to give each other an easy goodbye.

For the first few months, Sam hadn’t tried to contact her. What was it he had said at the hospital yesterday? She had liked nice, neat endings? Well, that’s what they’d promised and that’s what they’d had.

When she’d missed her period, she’d told herself it was the excitement of her first posting. When the nausea had started, she’d thought it might be seasickness. Only when the signs had become too obvious to deny any longer had she finally taken a test.

Sam’s first letter had arrived the day Kate had discovered she was pregnant. He had been about to leave for a training mission somewhere in the South Pacific. His life was taking the direction he had planned. She’d been able to sense his smile in the words he’d written.

She’d known he would have come back if she had told him about the baby. That’s just the kind of man he was. Noble, dependable, determined-to-get-his-way Sam. He would have insisted on doing the honorable thing and getting married.

But he’d just freed himself from the responsibility of raising his brother and supporting his mother. He’d been so eager to embark on his new life as a SEAL, how could she tie him down?

And how could she tie herself to a man who didn’t love her? Sure, they’d been great together in bed—and anywhere else they could find to be alone—but a physical attraction was no basis for a long-term relationship. Getting married just for the sake of a baby would only lead to resentment and bitterness. That’s what her parents had done. Kate had grown up vowing never to follow her mother’s example, never to be dependent on any man. Especially one who didn’t love her.

So Kate had never answered Sam’s letter. She had returned unopened the ones that had followed. And after a while, the letters had stopped coming. He didn’t try to contact her again.

He had kept his promise.

And so had Kate. She was still convinced she had made the right choice. She had fully intended to raise her child alone, even if it meant giving up her dream of advancing in her career.

But then fate had stepped in. She had lost the baby.

She sniffed hard and wiped her arm across her eyes, then dropped her hand to the chain around her neck. Her fingers rubbed the delicate charm that lay against her breastbone. She had made the motion so often the gold was becoming worn, yet the butterfly’s wings still arched as if caught in mid-flutter.

She had bought the charm when she’d left the hospital after the miscarriage. It was her way of honoring the fragile life of the baby she had carried. She had worn it under her uniform, keeping the token as private as she had kept her grief.

Then she had chopped off her hair, sucked up the pain and focused on the career she’d always dreamed of.

Kate pushed herself to her feet. Focus. That’s what she needed to do. Her duty had gotten her through the most painful episode of her life. It would do the same now.

The next time she went running, she would take a different route.

And considering the way she had rebuffed Sam’s tentative overtures when he’d stopped at the coast the night before, chances were she wouldn’t see Sam Coburn for another five years.

“The Montebellan police have the public airport locked down. Every passenger is going through a rigorous security check.” Sam walked to the high-scale map of Montebello that hung from one wall of the base commander’s office. He tapped his index finger against the location of the airport, then moved his hand toward the southeast shore of the island. “The private strip at the oil field is heavily guarded, as well.”

Admiral Howe steepled his fingers and leaned back behind his desk. His bulldog features appeared to be set in a perpetual frown, even though he nodded in approval. “Good. Have you gathered any more information on the suspect?”

“Yes, sir. The FBI obtained Ursula Chambers’s driver’s license photograph from the Colorado DMV and faxed it to me thirty minutes ago.”

“Got someone out of bed there, did you?”

Sam grimaced as he opened the file folder he had brought with him. There was a seven-hour time difference between Montebello and Virginia. The clerk he had reached at Quantico hadn’t been eager to chase down the Colorado people in what had been the middle of the night there.

That’s when Sam had discovered one of the advantages of working for royalty. When the clerk had learned that Sam had the full weight of the king of Montebello behind him, the request had been filled within the hour.

“No problem, sir,” Sam said, handing the admiral two items from the folder. “As you can see, the photograph closely matches the artist’s sketch of the suspect.”

Howe took the photo and the sketch from Sam and studied them briefly. “Yes, the features are very distinctive.”

“The police are in the process of distributing copies of the photograph as well as the suspect’s vital statistics to the security forces stationed at the airports.”

Howe laid the papers on his desk. “Chambers is a striking woman. She should be easy to spot.”

“Apparently she has had acting experience, so it’s possible that she has disguised herself. But since she killed Caruso, who according to Gretchen Hanson was their main contact in Montebello, she probably doesn’t have the resources or the connections here to obtain a false passport or other identification. Therefore it’s highly unlikely that Chambers will be able to slip past the security that’s in place at the airport in order to escape Montebello by air.”

“Excellent.”

“That leaves the water.” Sam turned to the map. “We’ve alerted the cruise lines and other passenger ships. Police will be stationed at the ports, but we need to intensify the patrol of the coastline.”

“King Marcus phoned me this morning to express his concern about that. Which is the main reason I’ve asked you here, Lieutenant Coburn. The king decided this mission requires a Navy officer who is more familiar with Montebello.”

Sam moved in front of Howe’s desk and clasped his hands behind his back. As much as he would have liked to continue the leave that had been interrupted by the king’s request for his assistance, he didn’t want to be relieved of his duty before he’d accomplished what he’d set out to do. He didn’t like leaving things unfinished. “This mission is still in the early stages, sir. Given the geography of Montebello, it was my understanding that the king was aware of the difficulties—”

“Relax, Lieutenant. King Marcus is pleased with your conduct so far. He still feels your training is a valuable asset in the search for the fugitive. In fact, he wants to give you some help.”

“Admiral?”

Before Howe could explain, there was a sharp rap on the door. Ensign Gordon, the apple-cheeked young man who was Howe’s aide, took a step into the room. “Lieutenant Mulvaney is here, sir.”

Howe glanced at his watch. “Good. Right on time. Show her in.”

Sam turned to face the door. Kate was here? Why now? That was the second time in less than a day he’d asked himself that question.

And for the second time in less than twenty-four hours, she took his breath away.

He had never seen her in her uniform. They had been on leave when they’d met, and they’d spent most of their time wearing as little as possible. It was difficult to reconcile the image in his memory to the tall, slim woman with lieutenant’s bars on her sleeves. The dress blues complemented her coloring, making her eyes look greener and her hair appear a fiery shade of auburn. Her chin was up, her shoulders back, and she appeared to be the epitome of a confident, successful naval officer.

Yet when Sam looked at her, he saw the woman who had once writhed in his arms. He felt Florida breezes and smelled gardenias.

She saluted Admiral Howe, giving him a crisp yet cordial greeting. She nodded politely to Sam, then gave the admiral her complete attention.

Once again, Sam felt a twinge of irritation. She was behaving appropriately for the circumstances, so he couldn’t fault her for that. They were on duty. It wasn’t the place for familiarity.

Yet they hadn’t been on duty the night before when he’d driven her to the hotel where they had their quarters, and she’d treated him the same way. The memory of their affair might have haunted him for five years, but it didn’t seem to have had any impact on Kate. She’d told him flat out last night that she wanted to leave the past in the past. And she’d returned the letters he’d sent years ago. When she’d said goodbye, she’d meant it.

Why couldn’t he get that through his head? If her composure this morning was anything to go by, she had probably slept like a baby last night instead of being driven half nuts by dreams of hot sex.

To his disbelief, Sam felt his body stir. She’d always been able to do that to him. The mere thought of what it was like to hold her body against his could make him break into a sweat.

Deliberately, he moved his gaze away from Kate and concentrated on what the admiral was saying.

“Lieutenant Mulvaney, I’d like to compliment you personally on your handling of the situation at the King Augustus Hospital yesterday,” Admiral Howe said. “King Marcus was very impressed with your conduct, both in apprehending Gretchen Hanson and in taking the initiative to ensure the welfare of the royal heir.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“I understand you assisted in the interrogation of Hanson afterward?”

“Yes, sir. That is correct.”

“Excellent. Then we can get down to business. Lieutenant Mulvaney, you are hereby removed from your current duties.”

Kate blinked. “Sir?”

“At King Marcus’s command, you are to assist in the coordination of the Montebellan security forces and the United States Navy in the search for Ursula Chambers.” The admiral leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers and turned his gaze to Sam. “Lieutenant Coburn, meet your new partner.”

Chapter 4

Wasn’t there a saying about no good deed going unpunished? The king had probably thought he was doing Kate a favor. In return for the way she had rescued his grandchild from the hospital flower bed, he evidently had decided to put in a good word for her with the admiral and recommend her for a plum assignment. Right. Some favor.

Kate lengthened her stride as she crossed the base’s central square in an effort to work off her frustration. Seagulls cried overhead, riding the wind that swept in from the pier. She firmed her jaw at the noise. It was as if the fates were conspiring against her, refusing to let her forget and get on with her life.

Seeing Sam and the baby, stirring up all those painful memories was bad enough, but she’d handled it, hadn’t she? How was she going to cope with seeing him every day? Working with him? Breathing his scent, hearing his voice, seeing his smile?

Well, she wouldn’t have to worry about his smile. So far, he looked to be as pleased about their partnership as she was.

“I’ve been given a place to set up a command center in the north building. I’m meeting the superintendent of the Montebellan police there in twenty minutes.” Sam touched her elbow as he changed direction. “Naturally I’ll include you in the meeting now.”

She couldn’t help it, she flinched at his touch. “All right.”

“Before he gets here, I need to ask you something.”

“What?”

They had reached the building on the north side of the square. When the Montebellans had deeded this enclave to the U.S. Navy, they had stipulated that any structures had to reflect the character of the local architecture. Although this building housed an efficient complex of modern offices, the long windows, slate roof and iron-trimmed wooden entrance doors gave it the flavor of a Mediterranean villa.

Instead of going through those doors, Sam detoured to a corner that was shielded from sight by a large cedar tree. He stopped and turned to face her. “Are you going to have a problem working with me, Kate?”

Leave it to Sam to tackle the issue head-on. She kept her gaze on the top button of his khaki shirt. “No,” she lied. “I’m grateful for the king’s notice. This assignment is bound to look good on my record, so of course I don’t object to it.”

“That’s not what I meant. Will it bother you to be my partner?”

“I wouldn’t expect to be in charge, since you were the one who was called in for this project first.” She paused. “Do you have a problem working with a partner?”

“No, I can use all the help I can get.”

“Fine.” She started to move past him, but he didn’t budge.

“Kate, I’m not talking about our work, I’m talking about us.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Given our past association, I thought you might feel awkward about taking this assignment.”

Her gaze went from his shirt to his throat. And she thought about how that hollow at the base had tasted. She fought the urge to lick her lips. “Thank you for your concern, Sam, but as you said, our association was in the past. And I want to leave it there.”

“Right. That’s what you told me yesterday.”

“I wouldn’t let my personal business interfere with my duty.”

“You never did.”

“What does that mean?”

“Your career always came first.”

That’s because when she’d lost the baby, she had nothing else left. She frowned. No, that wasn’t right. She had chosen this career. She loved it. She had put it first before she was pregnant, too. “I think we’ve covered this topic, Sam.”

“Have we? As I recall, we didn’t do all that much talking when we were together.”

That was true. They’d had far more urgent things on their minds than conversation. She moved her gaze to his mouth, remembering how he’d used it on her neck…and her breasts…and her thighs….

Kate quickly looked away, focusing on the flag at the center of the square. “Maybe I should be asking you if you have a problem working with me, given our past association. You’re the one who can’t seem to let it go.”

Can’t let it go? She’s right, Sam thought. He did have a problem. A major problem. It was distracting enough just thinking about her. How was he supposed to work with her? How could he keep himself from touching her, especially here in the sunshine with her hair gleaming like autumn and her pulse throbbing in the delicate vein at the side of her neck?

He’d been wrong before when he’d thought she looked composed. Now that they were in full daylight he could see she hadn’t slept any better than he had last night. There were shadows under her eyes and signs of strain around her lips.

What was bothering her? It couldn’t be the same thing that was bothering him, that was for sure. If she’d been dreaming of hot sex all night she wouldn’t have brushed him off yesterday or continued to treat him like a casual acquaintance today. She had never been shy about her physical needs—their relationship had been as simple and basic as things could get between a man and a woman. He’d thought the memories they shared were good ones. And they had parted on friendly terms—he’d let her go as neatly as she’d wanted—so what was going on?

If this were five years ago, he would have cupped her cheek and drawn her head to rest against his shoulder. He would have stroked her back and pressed soft kisses to her hair and urged her to confide in him.

But he wasn’t part of her life any longer. She didn’t welcome either his touch or him. “Don’t worry, Kate. You made yourself clear twice already, and the Navy has a strict policy regarding sexual harassment.”

“Good.” She moved toward the door.

“But if you ever change your mind,” he added softly, “be sure to let me know.”

A slight break in her stride was the only sign that she had heard him. “I think it would be best if we get on with our mission,” she said briskly. “What have you done so far?”

As they climbed the stairs to the second story, Sam tamped down his frustration and told her what he had related to the admiral. They reached the office he’d been assigned, and he stepped aside to let her enter first. He couldn’t help noticing that she was careful not brush against him as she went by.

It was another jab to his already bruised ego. Had what they’d shared meant so little to her? Had he deluded himself, distorted the memory of how good it had been? He wanted to grab her arm, spin her around and haul her to him so he could find out.

Instead, he closed the door behind them and watched her walk around the room. He couldn’t grab her. He couldn’t kiss her. He’d meant what he’d said about sexual harassment. It would be a serious charge, and he wasn’t about to risk his career to satisfy his urge for a woman.

No, not just a woman. Kate. His Kate. The lover who had spoiled him for anyone else.

Aw, hell.

“Have you obtained charts of the coastline?” she asked.

He pushed away from the door and walked to the large table he’d set up in the center of the room. “Right here.”

She joined him, although she was careful to keep an arm’s length away. She braced her hands on the edge of the table and leaned over to study one of the charts spread out there. “I know this coast. Even though there are many rocky stretches, there are innumerable places a small boat can pick up a passenger.”

“I take it you think she’ll try to escape by small boat?”

“It’s her best course of action. With the airports closed to her and the cruise lines and ferries on alert, she won’t be able to escape the island by any form of public transportation. She’ll likely try to obtain the use of a private boat.”

That was exactly the conclusion that he’d come to. Sam moved closer to Kate’s side and leaned over the chart with her. He couldn’t help inhaling her scent, and he was already leaning nearer to get another whiff before he caught himself. Damn, how was he supposed to keep his mind on business if she smelled like that? He exhaled hard and traced a line on the paper with his index finger. “The nearest island to Montebello is Tamir. Although relations between the two countries have thawed recently, they don’t have an extradition treaty. If Chambers makes it that far, it won’t be difficult for her to disappear.”

“A small private craft would be able to cover the distance to Tamir,” Kate said. “Even a rowboat could make it as long as the weather conditions were favorable.”

“You said you’ve been stationed here seven months. How many private boats do you figure there are on Montebello?”

Kate lifted her shoulders in a brief shrug. “This is an island. The sea is a major influence on Montebellan culture. There are fishing boats, sailboats and pleasure craft of all kinds. If you added them all up, the number would likely exceed the population itself.”

“I suspected as much. That’s going to make this challenging.”

“From what you said, the Montebellan police will be able to cover the airports, but they don’t have the resources to insure that Chambers doesn’t escape by water.” She continued to study the map. “Our navy has been doing coastguard patrols as part of the lease agreement for this base, but with the number of ships in dry dock and the number on maneuvers, we’re stretched too thin to step up the patrols to any significant extent.”

“That’s the problem I’ve been running into,” Sam said. “The admiral authorized the use of any available naval resources to assist the Montebellans, but that only means telephones, radio equipment, this office and a handful of personnel who could be pulled from their regular duties. We couldn’t justify diverting Navy vessels that are stationed in the Mediterranean into forming a blockade in order to look for one woman. That would be ludicrous, not to mention a threat to the stability of the area.”

“So what’s your plan?”

“Still working on it. For now, we’re going to concentrate on checking any suspicious watercraft during the regular patrols of the coastline. The police helicopters will provide added surveillance.”

“But that won’t necessarily stop her from escaping. The craft she’s on might not look suspicious. You would need to check out every single vessel to be certain, but considering the amount of daily boat traffic and the limited number of Navy vessels available, that would be impossible.”

“Hey, I’m open to suggestions. Do you have a better idea?”

She didn’t respond immediately. She studied the map for another minute, then straightened. “Sam, I don’t believe we should rely on the regular coastal patrol.”

He turned to face her, surprised by her comment. “Unless every soul in Montebello is a news junkie and is able to recognize Ursula Chambers from her photograph, and unless they’re completely honest and willing to turn her in, we can’t be certain she won’t be able to find some private boat to hire.”

“Of course, we can’t rely on the general public to stop her from escaping. I meant that we shouldn’t use a high-profile surveillance of the island.”

“Why not?”

“There is already massive security in place at the airports, right?”

“Right,” he confirmed. “Chambers won’t get off Montebello that way.”

“So if her only alternative is leaving by boat, a high-profile search using naval ships and police helicopters might force her underground.”

“Ah, I see your point.”

Kate nodded. “She’s already a suspect in two murders, so she has nothing to lose by killing again. For the sake of public safety, I’m positive the king would want her captured as soon as possible.”

“You’re right. He does. That’s why he’s pulling every diplomatic string he’s got to get help.”

“Which should make our job easier. We’re going to need to pull a lot of strings to organize what I have in mind.”

He crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. “Which is?”

She lifted her chin. “I think we should use the fleet of Montebello.”

Did she know how appealing her neck looked when she angled her chin that way? She used to like the way he would run his tongue along her jaw. And he liked that low purr she made when he would suck on her earlobe….

“Sam?”

He jerked his attention to what she had said. “What fleet? The Montebellans have no fleet.”

“They have fishing boats and pleasure craft.”

“Kate…”

“Think about it, Sam. The waters around this island are usually busy with small craft, so those boats wouldn’t arouse suspicion as they cruise the coastline. They would serve to draw Chambers out. They’re maneuverable, and if coordinated properly they could systematically cover a large area.”

“If coordinated properly?”

“We could man the boats with all available Montebellan police and Navy personnel, who would remain in constant radio communication.”

He stared at her as he rapidly assessed her suggestion. SEALs were trained to make use of anything available when they were on a mission. But civilian vessels? In a naval operation? It was unconventional, but it just might work. “I see where you’re heading, Kate. If we chart a course for each vessel so that it covers one section of a grid near the coastline—”

“With naval vessels positioned offshore as backup for the small boats—”

“And spotter aircraft on standby,” he added.

“By tomorrow we could draw a surveillance net around the island that a rubber raft couldn’t slip through.”

“All right. Sounds good. Let’s set this up.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Just like that? You’re willing to go with my idea?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.”

“You sound surprised.”

“Well, yes.”

“Why?”

“I was under the impression that you liked getting your way.”

“Sure I do. In this case, I want to complete my mission by catching a murderer, and if your idea gets me there, I’ll use it.”

“I see.”

“Kate, just because I was more interested in your body than in your mind doesn’t mean I thought you didn’t have one.”

She took a step back, her cheeks flushing red. “Sam, we agreed—”

He muttered an oath and held up his hands. “Sorry.”

“No problem.” She cleared her throat and turned to the table. “We’d better get started.”

Ursula hated the water. She’d never learned to swim. The only reason she owned a bikini was that she looked so scrumptious in one.

She lifted her arm to hold her hat against the breeze and inhaled deeply. “I just love sailing,” she said. “It’s so exciting, don’t you think?”

The boy nodded quickly, his gaze riveted to her cleavage. His frame hadn’t yet fleshed out, and he looked all coltish arms and legs in his swimsuit, but the gleam in his eye was all man.

Ursula twitched her shoulders so her breasts jiggled, hiding a smirk when she saw the boy’s eyes widen. Teenagers were so easy to manipulate. This one appeared to be sixteen, maybe seventeen, and like all adolescent males, he could be led around by his sex drive.

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing like a cork. “I have a sailboat.”

Of course, she knew he had a boat. She’d noticed him drag up some little thing with a rainbow-striped sail on the sand ten minutes ago. It was the only reason she was giving him this free show. She needed that boat now that she’d had to abandon her plan to leave Montebello by plane.

The past twenty-four hours had been simply dreadful. When she’d reached the airport yesterday, she’d found it crawling with security. She’d been smart enough to work her way past them, but when she’d seen the cop behind the ticket counter, checking everyone’s ID, she’d known it was no use. She wouldn’t be getting on a plane anytime soon.

There weren’t many choices open to her. Either she continued to hole up in the hotel room she could no longer afford until the heat at the airport died down, or she had to leave this godforsaken island by water. And she hated the water.

She should have known better than to team up with Gretchen Hanson. Sure, they’d been childhood chums in Shady Rock, Colorado, but Gretchen had always reminded Ursula of a rat. The woman must have spilled everything the instant she’d been caught. Now the police knew Ursula’s name, and the photo from her driver’s licence was on wanted posters all over the country.

It was dangerous to be seen in public—with a face and body as outstanding as hers, she naturally drew attention. Yet she could have saved herself the trouble of donning the sunglasses and concealing her hair under her hat when she’d decided to troll the beach for prospects this morning. This kid hadn’t looked at her face yet.

“A sailboat. How marvellous.” She paused and tipped down her sunglasses, giving him a slow, suggestive perusal. “And I’ll just bet you’ve got a big one.”

“B-big?”

“I like them long and sleek. Is yours?”

“My…”

“Your boat, honey. Is it big?”

“She’s a twenty-three-foot catboat.”

“Ooh, sounds yummy. Are you… experienced?”

“Uh…”

She adjusted her hat and leaned toward him. “I meant at sailing.”

“Yeah. I’ve been sailing for years.”

“I can see that,” she murmured, drawing her fingertips along his scrawny forearm. “You have such lovely muscles here.”

His jaw went slack. “Uh.”

She sighed, giving her breasts an extra heave. “I wish I knew someone who could take me.”

“T-take you?”

“For a sailboat ride.”

“I could take you out.”

“You? What a great idea. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“We could go now.”

“Mmm. Evening would be so much nicer. The moonlight, the darkness.” She traced his wiry little biceps with a fingernail. “It’s so romantic.”

His Adam’s apple threatened to bob out of his throat. “I, uh…”

“How far have you gone?”

“What?”

“Have you ever gone all the way?”

He shifted from one foot to the other, his body twitching with discomfort. “Sure. Lots of times.”

“Wow.” She rested her fingertips on his chest and leaned closer still. “All the way to Tamir? You must be a really good sailor.”

“Tamir?”

Ursula hid her impatience. The hormones that were raging through the kid’s system were starting to shut down his brain. That’s what she was counting on, but not before she got what she wanted out of him. “You know. Tamir. The island that’s nearest to Montebello.”

“Uh, my mom won’t let me go that far.”

She flicked her little finger teasingly against his nipple. “Do you always do what your mommy says?”

His breathing was getting shallow. “The currents are t-tricky. Sometimes the swells can reach ten meters, and my cat’s not—”

“I would be very, very grateful to get a ride to Tamir.” She rubbed her knee lightly between his thighs. “Very grateful.”

“I, uh.” He inhaled quickly, beads of sweat popping out on his upper lip. “Oh, geez.”

“Would you like a sample of my—” she dropped her hand to the front of his swim trunks “—gratitude?”

He trembled and pushed himself against her hand. His eyes were glazed. “Oh, geez. Oh, geez.”

“We could meet here at sunset.” She glanced up and down the beach. This cove was practically deserted, except for some kids tossing a Frisbee and a handful of sunbathers. And speaking of a handful, this boy felt about ready to burst. He’d probably never been this close to a real woman, let alone felt one touch him. How tiresome. She squeezed lightly and withdrew her hand. “It can be our secret, hmm?”

He fumbled for her wrist. “Sure. Whatever you say. Just do that again.”

It was easy to twist out of his grasp since his palms were so sweaty. Unconcerned with the state she was leaving him in, Ursula turned away, wiping her hand on her thigh. “Later, honey. When we’re on the way to Tamir.”

Chapter 5

It was hard to believe that such a change could take place in twenty-four hours, but the quiet office Sam had led Kate to the day before was now a hive of activity.

Because of the special nature of their assignment, they had been able to bypass the Navy’s usual requisition procedures and had commandeered equipment from every available source. Telephones and a fax machine had been hooked up, along with a row of computers. A printer chugged away in one corner, spewing out maps of the surveillance grid and the course each boat would take. Uniformed men and women, some from the navy, some from the Montebellan police, moved purposefully at their tasks.

The unconventional fleet was already taking shape. In order to keep the operation from the public, only members of the Montebellan police had been asked for the use of their private vessels. The response from the police had been overwhelming. Offers of everything from cruisers to runabouts to sailboats had been coming in all day. As of twenty minutes ago, the number of boats that had been volunteered would be sufficient to cover the grid.

There had been no shortage of volunteers from the Navy and the police to help crew the boats. Cruising the picturesque coast of Montebello in search of a lone woman—and being the acting captain of one’s own vessel, no matter how small—was one assignment that had them lining up at the door.

Communication specialists from both the police and the Navy had set up the radio links, assigning a separate frequency for the boats in each grid and for the nearest Coast Guard or Navy vessel that was cruising offshore. All the frequencies would be monitored at the command post so that reinforcements could be dispatched at any sign of trouble.

Unless they ran into a major snafu, the first shift should be in place within the hour. They just had to hope that Chambers hadn’t already managed to find a boat.

Kate was still surprised that Sam had gone along with her suggestion without protest. In her experience, men usually preferred to put their own stamp on an idea before acting on it. She’d run into this time and again during her rise through the ranks and had learned to handle it with calm, steady logic.

Yet Sam had listened to each of her points and accepted her conclusion without argument. Of all the men she knew, he was one of the most stubborn about getting his way, yet he’d given her credit for having a brain.

Just because I was more interested in your body than in your mind doesn’t mean I thought you didn’t have one.

She should have taken offense at his comment the day before, but in all honesty she couldn’t. After all, she knew perfectly well their relationship had been purely about sex. They’d been clear about that from the start. Five years ago, she’d been more interested in his body than in his mind, too.

Kate glanced over the top of the clipboard she held. Sam was leaning over the shoulder of a young petty officer who was typing furiously at a computer keyboard. The pose flexed Sam’s arms against the short sleeves of his khaki shirt and tightened his pants in a way that outlined his taut buttocks.

He was six feet two of lean, well-muscled Navy SEAL. Broad shoulders, tapered waist and a set of buns that would get the notice of any woman who had a pulse.

She shouldn’t be looking, but simply looking wasn’t going to reawaken the pain, was it? The attraction was there, it would always be there, but she wasn’t going to let it screw up her life again. They had reached an understanding yesterday, and they’d managed to function well together for a full day. The emotions that had been stirred up by the incident at the hospital were once more firmly under control. Yes, they were. She could handle this.

“Lieutenant, I have the meteorological data you requested.”

Kate quickly yanked her gaze away from Sam’s rear end and focused on the young blond woman in front of her. She glanced at the insignia on her police uniform as she searched for a name. “Thank you, Sergeant Winters.”

“Here’s a copy of the printout,” the sergeant said, handing Kate a thick stack of papers. “We’ll be getting hourly satellite updates on the major weather systems affecting the region.”

“Good work. What about forecasting?”

“I’ve networked my computer with the research station. We’ll have the latest forecasts the moment they’re available.”

Kate stacked the printout on top of her clipboard. “Excellent.”

“Would you like me to coordinate the data with Petty Officer Thurlow?”

“Who?”

“He’s setting up the program for current patterns.” The sergeant nodded toward the young man at the computer keyboard, but her gaze was on Sam. To be more exact, it was on Sam’s butt.

Kate wasn’t proud of the feeling that went through her. She had no claim on Sam—she’d been crystal clear to both of them on that issue—so she had no right to be annoyed at the woman’s interest. Furthermore, she had just been enjoying the view herself. It would be hypocritical to disapprove when another woman did the same.

Sam clapped the petty officer on the shoulder and straightened, arching his back in a brief stretch that rippled the muscles in his arms.

Kate’s pulse thudded hard. Enjoying the view was an understatement. He wouldn’t be aware of the display he was putting on. He had always been comfortable with his body and was completely unselfconscious about using it. It went along with his penchant for touching. He was a physical man, so he naturally drew the interest of women, even one who vowed never to let a man get under her skin like that again.

If you ever change your mind, be sure to let me know.

“Lieutenant?” the sergeant asked.

“Yes, that would be helpful,” Kate answered belatedly.

She turned her attention to the papers she’d been given. She could handle this, she repeated to herself. No matter how difficult it was to concentrate, the situation was only temporary. As soon as Chambers was captured, this mission would be over and Sam would be on his way to his next one. Just like last time.

No, it wasn’t going to be like last time, not by a long shot. They were colleagues, that’s all. She wasn’t going to get drawn into a physical relationship with Sam Coburn again. She lifted her hand, her fingers touching the small bulge where her necklace rested beneath her uniform. When they parted this time, her life wasn’t going to take any painful twists. She was going to insure they had an easy goodbye.

The Montebellan policeman who was manning the tip line that had been set up for the public pulled off his headset and swiveled in his chair. “Lieutenant Coburn?” he called. “We have a development.”

Sam strode across the room. Kate hesitated only briefly, then set down her clipboard and followed him.

“A woman just called,” the policeman said. “I thought you would want to listen to this.”

Sam glanced at Kate, then waved away the telephone headset. “Put it on the speaker, Sergeant Chelios, so we can all listen,” he said.

Chelios nodded and punched a button on his console. “Go ahead, ma’am. Please repeat what you just told me.”

“Hello? Yes, my name is Sophia Genero. I’m worried about my son.”

“I’m Lieutenant Sam Coburn, United States Navy,” Sam said. “What seems to be the trouble, Mrs. Genero?”

“Armando’s only sixteen. He’s usually a responsible boy, but he didn’t come home for dinner tonight and I just know something is wrong.”

Sam glanced at the policeman who had taken the call. “Ma’am, this is a special police tip line. It sounds as if you should be talking directly to someone at—”

“No, you don’t understand. He’d been out sailing this morning, and his friends told me they saw him, uh, flirting with a strange woman on the beach around noon.”

“Flirting?”

“He’s only sixteen,” she repeated. “He’s a wonderful boy but not the kind a grown woman would be interested in. It didn’t sound right. He went back out in his boat after that, and no one has seen him since.”

“Your son has a boat?” Sam asked. “What kind? How large?”

“It’s a catboat. Only twenty-three feet.” The woman’s voice hitched. “We gave it to him for his birthday last month. He knows we don’t want him going far offshore with it.”

Sam looked at Kate. She could see by the hard set of his jaw that he didn’t think this was a case of an overprotective mother worrying about a wayward teenager. “Mrs. Genero,” he asked carefully. “Do you have a description of the woman your son was last seen with?”

There was a muffled sob. “That’s why I called this number. From what Armando’s friends said, she sounds as if she could be that woman on the news. The one who’s wanted for murder.”

The police helicopter swooped low over the headland. Shadows from the setting sun stretched across the sand and into the surf like camouflage stripes, making it difficult to focus on the change from light to dark. Sam kept the binoculars pressed to his eyes as he peered through the window.

The surveillance net wasn’t yet fully in place. Most boats had made it to their assigned grids, but there were still holes. Nevertheless, he believed Kate’s idea for a low-key blockade by civilian vessels was already proving to be a good one. Otherwise, Chambers might not have dared to come out of hiding so soon.

“We’re coming up to the beach now, sir.” The pilot’s voice came through Sam’s headset. “This was the spot where the boy was last seen, right?”

“Yes,” Sam said into his mike. “Can you drop your speed so we can get a better look?”

As the helicopter slowed, Sam continued his scrutiny of the area. There was a man tossing a stick for a dog, an elderly couple strolling along the tide line and a few cars parked in the lot on top of the bluff. The police were on their way and would arrive within minutes to do a ground search. This helicopter was the first on the scene.

“Do you see anything, Sam?” Kate asked, her voice crackling in his headphones.

“Not yet.” Sam didn’t lower his binoculars as he replied to Kate’s question. He knew she was peering through a pair of her own as the pilot headed along the coast. “What about you?”

“Two fishing vessels, a moored sloop but nothing matching the description of the boy’s boat. This could be a wild-goose chase.”

“That’s a possibility, but we can’t afford to dismiss it.”

“I agree. The boy’s mother sounded distressed.”

“I don’t blame her. Her kid was last seen playing touchy-feely with a woman in a bikini. Given the lure of sex, a kid that age would be willing to do just about anything.”

There was a silence. Sam could have kicked himself for bringing up the topic.

What he’d said was true, though. Men of all ages tended to put their common sense on hold when it came to sex. He was no different. It didn’t matter how many times he reminded himself of Kate’s disinterest, he still responded to her.

Well, if she didn’t want his interest, she should stop wearing that gardenia perfume, he thought irritably. And stop sitting so close.

He frowned. He knew he was being unreasonable. Neither of them had any choice in the seating arrangements in this helicopter. If they had, Kate would probably have opted for a perch on the landing strut. He instructed the pilot to fly a pattern of parallel sweeps that would take them progressively farther from the shore.

As the helicopter started its fourth sweep, Kate spoke. “I see something that looks like debris in the water about a hundred yards to starboard.”

The pilot brought the helicopter around in a stomach-wrenching one-hundred-eighty degree turn.

Sam felt Kate’s warmth as she leaned toward him to look past his shoulder. “Over there. Do you see the colors?”

Something red glinted on the crest of a swell. Sam adjusted the focus on his binoculars. Red, yellow and blue stripes flowed in a listless swirl on the surface of the water. “Looks like a sail. Fits the description of the one on the kid’s boat.”

The pilot brought them closer. The rotor’s backwash pushed the water into a circle of fuzzy waves.

A long white object glistened in the spray.

“Could be a hull,” Sam said.

The object bobbed in the turbulence from the helicopter, revealing a long, thin keel.

“That’s a hull, all right,” Kate said. “It must be the Genero boy’s boat.”

“Any sign of Chambers or the boy?”

“Not here.”

Sam instructed the pilot to radio their coordinates to search and rescue for assistance as they began a slow, methodical examination of the area.

“If Chambers was aboard that boat,” Sam muttered, “our mission could be over. She might not have survived her escape attempt.”

“Let’s hope she didn’t take the life of an innocent boy with her,” Kate said.

“Yeah. From what we’ve learned about her, I doubt if she’d have cared.”

“We’ve got to find him,” Kate said, startling Sam by slipping her hand onto his knee. “We can’t let him die.”

He lowered his binoculars to look at her. “We’ll do our best, Kate.”

She was leaning toward the window, her frame stiff with tension. She didn’t take her gaze from the sea. “Armando’s mother said he’s only sixteen. Imagine what she must be going through. He’s barely started to live.”

She probably didn’t realize that she was touching him, Sam thought. She was so intent on scanning the waves, she wasn’t aware of what she’d done.

But Sam was. From his knee to his groin, he was extremely aware.

This was the first hint of passion Kate had shown. Okay, it was because of her duty, not him, but at least it was something. She’d always been a passionate woman. It was good to know his memory hadn’t misled him about that much.

He lifted his hand to give hers a reassuring squeeze. Before he could complete the motion, he reconsidered.

If he touched her, she would doubtless snatch her hand away. She would draw herself up in that cool way she had and make some comment about not letting personal feelings interfere with their duty. Sure, she was the one who had touched him this time, but she hadn’t meant to. His hand hovered above hers for a long moment before he closed his fist on empty air and turned to the window.

Five minutes later and four hundred yards farther out, they spotted the boy. His arm was hooked over a piece of what must have been the mast. He didn’t acknowledge the arrival of the helicopter. His face was drained of color, his eyes closed. He appeared to be unconscious.

“Bring us down as low as you can,” Sam instructed the pilot.

“Sir, the swells are too high to risk going lower. Search and rescue has our coordinates and will arrive—”

“Too damn late,” Sam said. “The kid’s going to slip under with the next wave.” He took off his headset and got out of his seat.

Kate twisted to face him, shouting over the noise of the engine. “Sam, what are you going to do?”

“Give Armando some company.” He kicked off his shoes and moved to the door. “It’s no fun to swim alone.”

“Sam, this helicopter doesn’t have a winch. There’s no way we can get you back on board.”

“No problem. The kid and I will hitch a ride with the rescue launch.”

“Sam, no!”

Without further discussion, Sam opened the door in the side of the helicopter, lowered himself to the landing strut, then jumped.

Full darkness had fallen twenty minutes ago, but the pier was alive with more than its usual activity. Several cars with the black and gold markings of the Montebellan police were parked next to a waiting ambulance. A small crowd milled around the vehicles. As the helicopter approached, a dark-haired woman in civilian clothes pulled away from the crowd and hurried toward it.

The moment the helicopter settled onto the tarmac, Kate gathered Sam’s shoes and pushed open the door. Ducking under the rotor downdraft, she went to meet the woman. Kate guessed her identity as soon as she saw the anxious expression on her face. “Mrs. Genero?” she called.

“Yes, yes. Where is he?” She made as if to go past Kate. “Is he here?”

Kate put her fingers on Mrs. Genero’s arm to stop her. “Your son is being brought back on a search and rescue craft. It should arrive in a few minutes.”

The woman spun to face Kate. “How is he? Is he all right? They told me he was found alive, but—” Her chin trembled. She waved her hand, unable to speak.

Kate hooked her arm and drew her away from the noise of the helicopter. “He was unconscious when we found him. The paramedics are giving him the best care available, Mrs. Genero. Young people are very resilient, so—”

“Oh, God,” she said. “This is my fault.”

“Ma’am, it appeared to have been an accident. The boat capsized.”

“No, it’s my fault,” the distraught woman repeated. “I shouldn’t have let him have that boat. I should have known better.”

The boy’s mother was blaming herself for what happened, Kate realized. Guilt seemed to go along with motherhood, didn’t it? Whatever happened to a child, even an unborn child, a mother would forever be haunted by feelings that she should have known better or tried harder, or that if she only had another chance things would have turned out differently….

Kate forced herself to focus. She was doing that a lot lately. “Mrs. Genero, do you remember the Navy officer who spoke with you on the phone earlier?”

“Who?”

“Lieutenant Coburn. He and I are coordinating the naval search for Ursula Chambers. He was in the helicopter with me when we found your son.”

Mrs. Genero looked around. “Yes?”

“I thought you might like to know that Lieutenant Cob-urn is a Navy SEAL. He jumped into the water from the helicopter in order to see to your son’s welfare until the paramedics could reach him.”

The woman spun to Kate and clutched her hand. “A SEAL? Like in the movies? And he saved Armando?”

Kate nodded, pleased to see that Mrs. Genero was taking comfort from her words. The boy had been on the verge of slipping under, so Sam very likely had saved him from drowning. The search and rescue launch had arrived less than fifteen minutes later, but it had been an agonizing wait. All Kate had been able to do was watch helplessly from above as Sam had clamped one arm around the boy, anchored his other arm around the broken mast and let the waves toss them about in the gathering dusk.

There had been no guarantee that the rescue boat would get there as quickly as they’d hoped. Furthermore, a sudden gust of wind could have buffeted the helicopter and knocked its searchlight off Sam and the boy, leaving them to drift off alone into the darkness. They could have been run over by another boat, or they could have encountered sharks. Anything could have happened, and in her anxiety, Kate thought of every nerve-racking possibility, no matter how far-fetched.

Sam had risked his life to save the life of a strange boy. It had been a heroic act, but he hadn’t hesitated. He’d even made light of what he had been about to do. Considering the dangerous missions he must have been on during his years with the SEALs, he probably hadn’t blinked an eye at the risk he was taking.

What he had done today proved he hadn’t changed. He was still the same impulsive, adventure-loving man who had left her five years ago. Witnessing his heroism should have reminded Kate of the reasons she needed to keep away from him.

But it hadn’t worked that way. Seeing him drifting on the swells, so near and yet so far, opened a crack in the wall of duty she’d struggled to keep between them. She’d wanted to stand in the doorway of the helicopter and scream at him for taking the chance he had. And at the same time, she’d wanted to weep over the wonderful, selfless gesture he’d made.

God, she was a mess.

“I can see the lights from the rescue boat now, Mrs. Genero,” she said, pointing to the left of the pier. “If you’d like I could take you—”

There was no point completing the sentence. The boy’s mother was already racing to the edge of the pier.

Armando was conscious and was talking with two policemen as he was wheeled on a stretcher toward the ambulance. His mother stayed by his side, grasping his hand and stroking his hair. The tears on her cheeks glistened in the flashing lights.

Sam was one of the last people off the launch. He had draped a gray blanket over his shoulders, his hair was wet and his feet were bare, but otherwise he seemed no worse for wear. He spoke with the policemen who had questioned Armando, then scanned the crowd. As soon as he caught sight of Kate he started toward her.

She wanted to hold him. There was no logic to the reaction. It came straight from her heart. Her arms felt so empty, it was almost a physical pain.

She hadn’t realized she was running until she saw the surprise on his face.

She slowed before she reached him, stopping a yard away. Oh, God. Now what? “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re sure? You hit the water hard, and the surface temperature that far from shore would have been in the fifties.”

“Kate—”

“Shouldn’t you be getting checked over by a doctor?”

“What for? I just took a little dip, that’s all.” He looked at her carefully. “Why? Are you worried about me, Kate?”

“I…” Oh, God. It was no use pretending to herself that she didn’t care. Even now that she’d stopped herself from barreling into his arms, she still wanted to kiss him. Right here, right now. Despite the people who milled around the pier, despite everything she’d told him and herself, she wanted to grab his wet shirt in both hands, haul him toward her and press her lips to his.

Damn it, she should have run the other way. “I just don’t want you coming down with pneumonia on me,” she said. “We’re partners, and we have a lot to do.”

Sam rubbed his hair with a corner of the blanket, trying to stem his disappointment at her reply. What had he expected? When he’d seen her race across the pier to him, for a crazy moment he’d hoped she would fling herself into his arms.

Yeah, right.

“I noticed the Genero boy was conscious,” she said. “How is he doing?”

“He’ll be okay. He got hit on the head by the boom when the cat went over, so he’s going to have a headache for a few days, but otherwise he should recover.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yeah.” Sam watched the ambulance pull away. “He was lucky.”

“Thanks to what you did,” Kate said.

He returned his gaze to hers. Was that concern he saw in her eyes? Worry? Or his own wishful thinking? “It was no big deal. Haven’t you heard? SEALs are—”

“Tough,” she finished for him. “You mentioned that before.”

“So I did.”

She continued to regard him with an expression he couldn’t identify, then held out the shoes she’d been carrying. “How tough are your feet?”

He smiled crookedly. “No match for the pavement. Thanks, Kate.” He slipped his bare feet into his shoes, rolled the wet blanket into a bundle and started forward. “Come on. I’m going to get rid of these wet clothes.”

She didn’t move. “I think you can manage that on your own.”

He had a sudden memory flash of a hot night, with Kate peeling his damp shirt off his body one inch at a time, her lips brushing each inch of skin she uncovered….

She’d been good at undressing him. She’d been good at everything.

He glanced over his shoulder to where she was still standing. She was also good at her job, he reminded himself. “I thought you’d be interested to hear what I learned from Armando Genero. Seeing as we’re partners and have a lot to do,” he added, giving her own words back to her.

She strode after him, falling into step as he resumed his progress down the pier. “What did you find out?”

“First of all, it’s certain that the woman Armando met on the beach was Ursula Chambers. The police who met the launch showed him her photograph, and he positively identified it.”

“So his mother was right.”

“Ursula wanted him to take her to Tamir.”

“That’s just what we figured.”

“Uh-huh. She practically seduced the poor kid to get him to agree. Promised him more of the same in payment.”

“She would be short of cash by now, and her credit cards are at their limits, so that would be her only, uh, asset left to bargain with.”

“Well, she used her assets effectively. Armando had agreed to meet her at sunset.”

“Was she on the boat when it capsized?”

“No. Armando was the only one on board.”

“Had he already taken Ursula to Tamir?”

“He hadn’t had the chance. He had spent the day cleaning up the cat’s cabin and finagling a way to buy some wine in preparation for what he’d thought would be a hot date. He was in a hurry to meet her and admitted he wasn’t paying attention to the sailing conditions when he ran into trouble.”

“Where was he supposed to meet her?”

“At the same beach where they met this morning.”

“We have to alert the police,” Kate said immediately. “They need to search the area.”

“It’s already being done. I radioed the information from the rescue launch.”

“Oh. Good.”

“I doubt Chambers would have hung around waiting if the kid was late.”

“Probably not,” she said. “At least we know she’s still on the island.”

“Yeah. Our mission isn’t over yet.” He looked at Kate. “And neither is our partnership. Sure you don’t want to help me with my buttons?”

“Sam…”

He held up his hands. “Just checking.”

Chapter 6

Kate lowered her binoculars and turned her face to the sun, inhaling the scent of the ocean as she braced herself against the breeze. It had been too long since she’d sailed. Odd, when she thought about it, that someone who was in the Navy would think she didn’t spend enough time on the water. Still, there was nothing like the crack of canvas and the hissing slap of waves on the hull to remind her why she loved the sea.

“Can you take the wheel for a minute?” Sam asked. “It’s my turn to check in.”

She let her binoculars dangle from the strap around her neck, grasped the top of the cabin house to steady herself and made her way to the cockpit. This sloop had been volunteered for the mission by a retired Montebellan police captain. It was a nimble boat, responding superbly to each adjustment in their course as they navigated along the coast. Although it was equipped with an auxiliary motor, both she and Sam preferred to use the power of the wind.

Of course, they both knew this wasn’t a pleasure trip. The surveillance net had been in place for almost a week now. Ursula Chambers hadn’t yet been spotted despite the close scrutiny the undercover “fleet” had provided. When Sam had suggested that they direct from the front rather than from behind a desk today, Kate had been quick to agree.

Professionally, it was a good idea, but as far as her peace of mind was concerned, it was bad. She had found it difficult enough to ignore Sam when they’d been working together at the base. Hadn’t she realized how much worse it would be when they were alone on a sailboat? Didn’t she realize that sailing with Sam would evoke memories of their time together five years ago, when they’d been on another boat, another sea?

Or was that one of the reasons Sam had suggested this?

Those were questions that were better left unanswered, she decided. She took the wheel from Sam, her gaze following him as he went below.

Like the rest of the personnel who manned the fleet, neither of them was in uniform today. Sam wore a faded T-shirt with a beer logo and a pair of well-worn jeans. To a casual observer he would look like an ordinary man out for a sail.

No, not an ordinary man. Not with those broad shoulders and rangy muscles. Not with that air of determination around him. To Kate he looked good enough to make her palms sweat.

She curled her fingers more tightly around the smooth wooden spokes of the wheel and concentrated on keeping the boat on course.

They were following the eastern shoreline, skirting the edges of several established surveillance grids to verify the effectiveness of the search pattern. So far, they had been spotted by undercover police and Navy personnel at least two times in each grid. From the communications they’d heard on the radio frequency assigned to each area, they had been visually checked out and their progress tracked all morning. It was encouraging. Chambers was bound to make another attempt to leave the island soon, and this time they would be ready.

Sam was carrying two mugs when he emerged from the cabin. “Here,” he said, holding one out to her. “I thought you might like some coffee.”

“Thanks.” She took a mug and eyed it cautiously. Sam liked his coffee strong enough for a spoon to stand up in. It had been an ongoing joke between them five years ago. He’d claimed he’d needed the caffeine boost to keep up with her, but they’d both known he hadn’t needed any chemical help. In fact, he used to demonstrate his stamina delightfully each morning within minutes of awakening….

No, this excursion probably hadn’t been a good idea at all. She took a tentative sip. To her surprise, the coffee was smooth and perfectly brewed. He had even remembered to add a teaspoon of sugar, just the way she liked it. She lifted her eyebrows. “This is good.”

A corner of his mouth curled in a lopsided smile. “Didn’t think I knew how, did you?”

“Well, I remember you prefer it stronger. I wasn’t expecting you to, uh…”

“Compromise?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you seem surprised each time I do something reasonable.” He tilted his head and regarded her closely. “Why is that, Kate?”

What could she say? That she believed he was too stubborn to change, too strong-willed to bend to someone else’s point of view?

Well, she wasn’t wrong. He was still the same man he’d been five years ago. The differences she was noticing lately were minor details. They couldn’t mean anything.

“Did you hear any news when you checked in?” she asked.

“Mmm?”

“On the radio. I couldn’t quite make out what was being said. Any developments?”

His smile faded. He shook his head. “Not really. Someone in sector three is keeping track of a slow-moving trawler, but other than that there’s nothing.”

“Chambers can’t stay hidden forever. It’s only a matter of time before she tries to escape the island again.”

“Yeah.” He looked at his mug for a moment, then drained it in two gulps. “I don’t like waiting.”

All right, that much hadn’t changed. When Sam had wanted something, he’d always gone after it in a straight-ahead take-charge fashion. Sometimes he’d have her half naked before she could blink. Once they had been about to leave the motel room for dinner when he’d reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. His hand had lingered on her neck, then dropped to her shoulder and eased the strap of her sundress down her arm. The next thing she knew the dress had pooled at her feet and his shirt front was rubbing across her bare breasts.

They had ordered Chinese take-out later. Much later.

She sipped her coffee, hoping he didn’t ask why her hand was shaking. “What was your last assignment like?” she asked quickly.

“A lot dryer than this.”

“What do you mean?”

“My team was doing advance reconnaissance. We spent three days in a desert hide.”

“A hide?”

“A camouflaged hole in the dirt. Had to wait then, too.”

“Were you successful?”

“Yes and no.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, we confirmed the supply route for the terrorist group we were sent to locate.”

“That’s good.”

“Sure, but we also stumbled onto a village of goat herders.”

“Goat herders?”

“Or, to put it more accurately, they stumbled onto us. An old woman chasing after a goat walked right over the hide. She spotted the hole where we’d extended the radio antenna and ended up eye to eye with me.” He set down his empty mug and rubbed the back of his neck. “I knew she would raise the alarm if she got back to the village, but if she didn’t go back, someone else would come looking for her.”

“What did you do?”

“What else? We had to cut our losses and get out.”

“Was it difficult?”

He looked at her. “Wouldn’t have been, if the terrorists hadn’t chosen that minute to come to escort their shipment of weapons.”

“What happened?”

“We radioed for the chopper. Made it to the rendezvous with everyone still upright and a whopping twenty-five rounds of ammunition left among us, so it could have been worse.”

“At least you weren’t hurt.”

He remained silent.

She frowned. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“The bullet passed through.”

Her mug dropped to the deck, coffee splashing over her shoes. “What!”

He paused, watching her carefully. “Now I know better than to think you might be worried about me, right, Kate?”

“How bad was it?” she demanded. “Was that why you were supposed to be on leave?”

“I never pay attention to doctors.”

He hadn’t really answered her question, she realized. “Sam!”

“It was just a flesh wound.” He twisted to one side to pull up the edge of his T-shirt. “See for yourself.”

She didn’t even think about the impropriety of Sam pulling up his shirt, so intent was she on examining his injury. She focused on the skin on his side. There was a small puckered scab below one rib and a long, shallow red mark angling toward his armpit. The first was an entrance wound, the second was the gash where the bullet had torn its way out. “Oh, my God.”

“It’s almost healed, Kate.”

“You never should have jumped into the water last week to help the Genero boy. You could have torn this open.”

“I wasn’t going to let the kid drown just because of this.”

She touched her fingertips to his side. “Another few inches to the left and it would have hit your heart.”

“Hey, another few to the right and it would have missed.”

“How can you make light of it?”

“It’s really no big deal.” He paused. “But if you like, you can kiss it and make it better.”

Her fingers trembled at his teasing words. She was standing so close. She had already breached the distance between them by touching him. It would be so easy to go further. All she had to do was lean down and she could press her lips to his taut, tanned skin. Rub her cheek across the washboard ridges of his abdomen. Savor the fresh tang of his scent the way she used to when they were lovers…

Slowly she raised her gaze to his. She recognized the expression in his eyes. It had nothing to do with duty. He looked at her mouth, a brief glance that she felt as clearly as a physical touch.

He’d been doing that more and more lately. A lingering look. A flip comment. Small, unmistakable signals to remind her that he was still interested.

She should tell him to stop, but they had worked together well for a week. Technically he was keeping his distance. He wasn’t harassing her. How could she voice an objection without coming across as uptight and paranoid?

At least, that was the excuse she gave herself.

Let me know if you change your mind….

The words he’d uttered more than a week ago echoed teasingly. For a breathless instant she swayed toward him. Her fingers splayed over his side, soaking up his warmth, tingling at the strength that pulsed under her hand.

The radio in the cabin crackled, snapping her to her senses. She snatched her hand away and bent to retrieve her mug. “We’d better get back to work.”

The black car glided smoothly through the palace gates. At the end of a curving cobblestone drive, the sun-bleached stone of the main structure rose from the surrounding greenery. The car eased to a stop in front of a gracefully arching marble portico. Instantly a young man in the black, white and gold royal livery appeared to open the door.

Kate and Sam were ushered past a pair of guards who flanked the palace entrance. She tried not to gawk as she walked inside, but it was impossible to remain unmoved by the splendor around her. Sam had been here before when he’d initially been assigned to this mission, but this was her first time inside the palace. The entrance foyer took her breath away, its marble floor reflecting stately pillars that stretched two stories to the roof. Sunlight streamed in from a hexagonal dome of glass in the center, illuminating the huge room with warm shafts of gold.

“Gets to you, doesn’t it?” Sam asked. “All this wealth and power?”

She nodded. “It’s beautiful, but it’s a little intimidating.”

“It’s meant to be. The Sebastianis know what they’re doing,” he said wryly. “Ruling Montebello has been the family business for centuries.”

“Some family business.”

Sam lowered his voice. “You’re not looking forward to this, are you?”

“Not really.” Kate smoothed her skirt and checked that her cuffs were straight. “It would be different if we had some progress to report.”

“Yeah. King Marcus seems like a reasonable man, though. He probably didn’t order us here to chew us out.”

“He has no reason to. We’ve done our best with what we have.”

“That’s right. But if they try to take us to the basement, I’m outta here.”

“The basement?”

He winked. “The dungeons, remember?”

She gave him a nervous smile. She knew he was trying to ease her tension and she was grateful for his effort. “Very funny.”

“Lieutenant Mulvaney, Lieutenant Coburn, if you would follow me, please? The king will see you in the solarium.”

The speaker was a short man in his early sixties. His gray hair and salt and pepper mustache were neatly trimmed, his expression the blank politeness of someone who had spent his life as a servant. He led them past the grand staircase that rose majestically from the foyer. They progressed through a corridor, their footsteps echoing between rows of gilt-framed oil paintings of Sebastiani ancestors.

Eventually, the marble floor gave way to carpet and the splendor became less formal. It appeared to Kate as if they were leaving the public area of the palace and moving toward what must be the royal family’s private quarters.

She couldn’t understand why they were being shown here. If the king wanted a progress report, shouldn’t they have been meeting in a more official setting?

Their escort halted in front of a set of ornately carved arched wooden doors. Voices drifted faintly from the other side, along with the fretful cries of…a baby.

Kate looked around quickly. No. There must be some mistake. This butler had brought them to the wrong room and—

The doors parted to reveal a blaze of sunshine. The far walls of the room were all windows. Long, lush cream-colored couches and chairs were arranged to take advantage of the view of the garden and the ocean beyond. It was a beautiful, airy room, as splendid as any of the others she’d glimpsed on their route through the palace, but this one was obviously designed for living.

Several people were gathered, including King Marcus and Queen Gwendolyn. No one had noticed Kate and Sam’s arrival. Everyone’s attention was focused on Prince Lucas as he awkwardly tried to comfort the baby who fussed in his arms.

Unconsciously, Kate lifted her hand to the place where her butterfly charm rested under her uniform. She would have preferred being reprimanded for her lack of progress. She didn’t want to be here to witness this. It had nothing to do with her duty.

“Poor bastard,” Sam muttered, dipping his head close to Kate’s. “He still looks like he’s been hit by a truck.”

She and Sam were standing just inside the doors, but even from this distance Kate could see what Sam meant. Lucas’s chiseled, aristocratic features were as tense as they had been a week ago when she’d seen him in the hospital. His dark hair lay in crooked furrows, as if he’d been raking it with his fingers. Although his shoes were polished and his pants were neatly pressed, his tailored shirt was misbuttoned.

“Fatherhood is going to take some adjustment for him,” she said, keeping her voice low so they wouldn’t be overheard. Still, considering the noise the baby was making, nothing short of a shout would be noticed. “Until this last year, when his plane crash and the business with Jessica happened, he was reputed to be a real playboy.”

“He must have enjoyed his freedom.”

“A lot of men do.” She shifted her scrutiny to Sam, unable to stop the past from tangling with the present. “That’s probably why he left, so he could live the life he’d planned.” Like you, she added silently.

“Why would you assume that?” Sam asked. “I heard he had to leave. There were duties he had to attend to. He tried to contact Jessica but she wasn’t at the ranch where they’d met. By the time he sent someone to look for her, it was too late.”

“If he really cared, why didn’t he try to find her sooner?” she challenged. “If he had, it might not have been too late.”

“I wonder why Jessica didn’t contact him when she discovered she was pregnant in the first place,” Sam said. “She should have. He had a right to know.”

“I disagree. He left her to deal with the situation on her own. Why should she tell him?”

“He still had a right to know he was going to become a father. If he’d known—”

“What? He would have gone back for her sooner? He would have ignored his duties just because of the baby?”

“Well, yes.”

Kate stretched to look Sam in the eye, her words a harsh whisper. “No relationship should be based only on a child. Jessica must have realized she would be better off without a man who didn’t love her. She could raise the child alone and give him enough love for two parents instead of making everyone miserable by forcing an instant family on a man who hadn’t planned to settle down. She made the right choice, I’m sure of it.”

Sam glanced across the room, then looked at Kate carefully. “Jessica is dead, Kate. We’ll never know the real story of what went on between her and Lucas. Why are we even having this discussion?”

She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath. She couldn’t tell him the truth. She couldn’t let him know they had been discussing their own past.

There were too many unresolved issues between her and Sam that would have to stay unresolved. That was the only way they would be able to continue their mission…and it was the only way she knew how to cope. “Sorry,” she said. “You’re right. The prince’s personal life isn’t our concern. I have no right whatsoever to judge him.”

Sam brushed his knuckle over her cheek. “I can see you’re upset about this, Kate.”

She wanted to close her eyes and lean into his caress. But that was crazy. It was because of him she was upset in the first place. “It’s a tragic situation, that’s all.” She moved her head back. “I…got carried away.”

“You were always a passionate woman.” He dropped his hand to his side. “Your emotions run deep. That’s one of the things I—”

“Lieutenant Coburn, Lieutenant Mulvaney,” King Marcus called above the baby’s cries as he walked across the room. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I hadn’t realized you’d arrived.”

Kate took another calming breath, trying to bring her emotions under control. What had Sam been about to say? Part of her wanted to know, and part of her was grateful for the interruption.

“We’ve been having a little celebration here,” the king said. “Considering the role you two played in my grandson’s discovery, I thought you might like to be included. Baby Luke was released from the hospital yesterday. He’s been given a clean bill of health.”

“That’s great,” Sam said.

King Marcus chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. “We don’t need a specialist to tell us there’s nothing wrong with his lungs.”

Queen Gwendolyn reached out to take the baby from her son’s arms. “He probably has a sore tummy from eating too fast,” she said. “You were the same way.” She transferred the baby to her shoulder and placed her fingertips over his back. “You need to rub right here. That helps all the little air bubbles find their way upward.”

Lucas put a new set of furrows in his hair with his fingers. “I’m interviewing several nurses later today. I’ll make sure Luke has the best.”

“I’m sure you will, dear. Just remember, babies don’t break.”

“Oh, he’s just the cutest thing, isn’t he?” A petite young woman squeezed past Lucas to stand at the queen’s side. Her dark eyes danced as she reached out to tickle the baby’s chin. “Despite the fact that he looks just like my big brother.”

“The resemblance still amazes me, Anna,” Queen Gwendolyn said. “Except for his sweet little smile, he’s the image of Lucas.”

The baby lifted up his head, looked around and let out a loud, gurgling burp. His cries ceased immediately.

There was a chorus of laughter and calls of, “Well done.” Anna took her nephew from her mother and cuddled him with delight. She gave a warm smile to a tall, auburn-haired man who leaned against the back of a couch. “Are you ready for one of these, Tyler?”

He grinned. “Ready as you are, darling.”

There was another round of chuckles. It was apparent from the gentle swell of Anna’s stomach that soon there would be another royal baby. Lucas backed away from the group, his smile tinged with sadness. He caught sight of Sam and Kate with his father and moved to join them.

“Lieutenant Mulvaney,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to thank you a week ago. I’m in your debt for your care of my son.”

Kate was surprised by the strength of his grip as she took his hand. For a royal playboy, he was in excellent shape. “I was only doing my duty, Your Highness. I was merely in the right place at the right time. I’m glad that your son is healthy.”

“Yes, his weight is almost up to normal, and he has a good appetite.” Lucas glanced over his shoulder at the baby. “He’s doing well, all things considered.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I only wish—” Lucas clenched his jaw on the rest of his words, leaving the statement unfinished. When he turned to face Sam and Kate once more, all traces of his smile were gone. “My brother-in-law, Tyler Ramsey, is advising the police in the land search for Ursula Chambers and has kept us informed of their efforts. How is the search of the coast progressing?”

Sam spoke, giving both the king and the prince an update on the measures that were in place to insure the fugitive didn’t escape Montebello by water. Kate added a few details, wishing she could give them better news. When they were finished, there was a brief silence.

To her relief, the king appeared satisfied with their efforts, giving them a few words of encouragement before going back to his family.

Lucas remained where he was. He turned the full force of his piercing blue gaze first on Kate, then Sam. When he spoke, his voice echoed with the authority inherited through generations of royalty. “I want you to find her.”

“We’ll do our best, Your Highness,” Sam began.

“She killed my cousin,” Lucas said. “And she killed the mother of my child. She wanted to use my son as a pawn in her twisted scheme to get rich. If not for Ursula Chambers, I could have seen the woman I loved hold the life we created.”

There was no mistaking the look of regret on the prince’s face. As Kate listened to the poignant sounds of the royal

family getting to know baby Luke, she saw Lucas’s eyes grow misty.

Whatever problems there might have been between Lucas and Jessica, whatever had kept them apart, Kate shouldn’t project her experience on them. Theirs was a different story from hers and Sam’s. And Lucas was obviously suffering.

“Find Chambers,” Lucas said. “Whatever it takes, whatever you need to do, I want you to get her.”

Sam dipped his chin once in acknowledgment. “Understood.”

“I can’t bring Jessie back,” Lucas said. “But the least I can do is give her justice.”

Ursula sipped her soda, keeping her gaze on the big wrought-iron gates on the other side of the piazza. They swung open as a black car came through. A red-haired woman and a broad-shouldered, good-looking man were inside, some kind of Navy officers judging by their uniforms. Ursula felt a stab of envy. It should have been her in that chauffeured car. Instead of hanging around this tourist-infested sidewalk café, spying on the palace gates, she should have been riding through them in style like those Navy people.

She batted impatiently at a bee that veered toward her soda. This was getting intolerable. An entire week had passed, and still the security at the airport and the ferries was as tight as ever. Didn’t these Montebellans have anything better to do? Why were they persecuting her?

That was the story of her life, though, wasn’t it? She never got a break. She’d had to fight for everything she had, only to have success snatched away through no fault of hers.

If that stupid kid had shown up with his boat when he was supposed to, she would have been free and clear by now. But no, he’d had to wreck his boat, the idiot. It was a good thing she’d been watching from the bluff and had seen the thing tip over or she might have wasted all night waiting for him.

A stocky, bearded figure moved through the gates. Ursula scrutinized him until the man was close enough to be seen clearly. As soon as she recognized the dark hair and fleshy features, she hitched her purse over her shoulder and wove her way through the tables to the cobblestone square. It was about time. She’d been nursing that soda for an hour waiting for him to finish his shift or watch or whatever it is that palace guards called their work schedule.

“Edwardo,” she called.

Edwardo Scarpa lifted his head and looked around.

“Over here.” Ursula paused near the entrance of a shadowed alley and beckoned him toward her with a flick of her fingers.

He smoothed his hair, curling his lips into a smile as he moved closer. “Well, hello, lovely lady. What can I do for you?”

He didn’t recognize her, Ursula realized. It had been a smart move to trim her trademark blond hair to chin length and dye it black. The hat and sunglasses were serving her well, too, especially with men who didn’t notice anything above her cleavage. And there had never been anything subtle about Edwardo. He’d been easy to manipulate before when she’d needed him. A bit of money, a bit of feminine coaxing and the man had been eager to accommodate her. She took off her sunglasses and tucked them into her shoulder bag. “Edwardo, it’s me.”

He lost his smile, his jaw going slack. “You! What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you, lover.” She smiled and stepped closer, sliding her palm up his chest. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

He grasped her wrist and dragged her deeper into the alley until they were concealed from the square by the dangling ladder of a fire escape. He gave a quick look around before he spoke. “Don’t you know that everyone’s looking for you?”

Did he take her for an idiot? Why else would she be disguised? She pushed her lips into a pout. “It’s just a big misunderstanding.”

“You’re wanted for murder. I heard the whole royal family wants your head.”

She placed her hand above her breasts, spreading her fingers in a way that would draw attention to her curves. “I know. It’s horrible. That’s why I have to get home. You can help me, can’t you?”

“What? Help you?”

“I need to get out of Montebello. I’m sure that an important man like you could find me a boat.”

“No way. I’m not risking—”

“Please, Edwardo.” She slid her fingers up his chest again. This time she grasped his shirt to make sure he couldn’t get rid of her so easily. “We have something very special between us. I’ve always felt it, haven’t you?”

He glanced over his shoulder, obviously nervous.

Ursula dropped her other hand to his belt, slipping her fingers into the waistband of his pants. Without money to bribe him, she had only one option. “Let’s go somewhere private where we can be more… comfortable, hmm?”

For a moment he wavered, his eyes losing their focus. But then he frowned and shook his head. “I can’t help you, Ursula. If anyone found out, I’d lose my job, maybe go to prison.”

“Nothing will happen to you. All I’m asking is that you find me a boat.” She wiggled her fingers. “I’ll make you glad you did.”

Roughly he yanked away from her touch. “No. I’m sorry. I can’t help you.”

“You did before.”

“That was different.”

“You helped me get into the palace. You were risking your job then, too.” She narrowed her eyes. “You know, if anyone found out about the bribe I gave you, that could get you in a lot of trouble.”

“You wouldn’t tell anyone. You’re wanted for murder. I know you killed the king’s nephew. You saw him that day.”

“And who was it that let me into Desmond’s quarters, Edwardo?”

“I didn’t know you were going to kill him.”

“It doesn’t matter what you thought. If I get arrested for murder, you’ll be arrested as my accomplice.”

“You wouldn’t—”

“If I go down, you go down, Mr. Palace Guard Scarpa.” She watched the realization of his predicament spread across his face. Good. She wouldn’t have to seduce him, after all. Blackmailing him into helping her was better. Actually, it was even more exciting to exert control over a man this way. She preened, enjoying the sensation of power. “So tell me, Edwardo.” She smiled and took his arm. “How soon will you get me that boat?”

Chapter 7

“Two fishing boats and a seventy-foot yacht,” Sam said as he climbed to the sloop’s deck from the cabin. “Sector C is getting busy.”

“Do we have enough personnel to track them?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, no problem. We’ve got four vessels in the area. They’ll keep us posted.”

She hovered beside the wheel, her hand lifting to the gold chain she wore around her neck. “With so much activity in that sector, we should send a spotter plane for backup.”

“Already done.”

“Sam, do you think this is working?”

“What? You mean the search?”

“Yes. Maybe we would have been better off trying to put together a conventional patrol. It’s been nine days now.”

He noted the way she rubbed a fingertip over the tiny charm that hung from the chain. Even if he hadn’t heard the tension in her voice, the gesture would have given it away. She often fiddled with her necklace when she was agitated. “We already ruled that out,” he said. “We didn’t have access to enough Navy vessels to provide the coverage we need, and we didn’t want to scare Chambers into going underground. Give it a chance, Kate. Our strategy is sound.”

“Sure, but—”

“But our visit to the palace made the mission more personal, right?”

“Yes, it did. I wish we’d met the king in his offices instead of being part of that family celebration.”

“They’re nice people for a bunch of blue bloods. I think it was beneficial to be reminded of why we’re doing this.”

She dropped her hand and sighed. “I know what you mean. I can’t forget the expression on Lucas’s face.”

Neither could Sam. Even though Lucas was rich beyond most people’s dreams and was destined to rule this prosperous, picturesque island, anyone could see the man wasn’t happy.

That was the problem with love, Sam thought. When you gave your heart to a woman, you were left completely vulnerable.

He took the wheel from Kate and watched as she made her way toward the bow. She moved lithely, her body shifting effortlessly to compensate for the roll of the deck. It was a warm day, so she had dressed in loose, pleated shorts and a modestly cut tank top. Sam knew her garb was in keeping with their guise of vacationing tourists, that this was all in the line of duty, but he was having a hard time keeping his gaze off her legs.

She’d always had fabulous legs, long, tanned and firm, but it seemed as if they were more appealing than ever. Maybe it was because of all the running she did. Or maybe it was because he was slowly going crazy being able to look but not touch.

He wished he could still be annoyed, but the annoyance he’d felt a week ago at the indifference she displayed toward him had faded. The bruise to his ego had healed even faster than the bullet wound in his side. Too bad. That made the situation all the more difficult.

It didn’t seem to matter what she said or how many times she took refuge behind her duty, the old connection was there. And despite her resistance and the demands of their mission, that connection was strengthening with every day they spent together.

She could go ahead and change her hair and change her attitude, but she was still his Kate.

“Over there,” she called, pointing toward the port side. “There’s something dark near the shore.”

Sam took his binoculars out of the locker beside the wheel and focused on the area she had indicated. “I see it.”

“Was there anything reported in this sector today?”

“A white cruiser moving southeast of our position.”

“Then that couldn’t be it.” She ducked under the boom and climbed to the cabin roof to get a better vantage point. “I can’t tell whether it’s a boat. If it is, it’s a small one.”

“Perfect for getting in close enough to pick up a passenger.”

“We’d better take a look.” Kate leaped down to the foredeck and was already moving to trim the spinnaker when Sam spun the wheel. The sloop responded quickly, the bow slicing through the waves as it swung toward shore.

The coastline along this part of the island consisted of tumbled rocks at the base of towering cliffs. If a boat could navigate through the rocks, there were innumerable small coves where it could stay concealed.

They lost sight of the object briefly as they tacked against the wind. Sam kept them on a course that would bring them past a low peninsula where waves crashed against jagged rocks. He was counting on the height of the cliffs to block the wind and provide calmer water closer to shore.

He was right. The moment they cleared the peninsula, the wind dropped and the waves calmed to lazy swells.

“Can you see it yet?” Sam called.

Kate scanned the shore through her binoculars. “Yes. It’s not a boat, it’s some kind of dark area in the cliff.”

“Dark area?”

“I think it’s a cave, Sam. Right at the waterline.”

“A cave? How big?”

“Large enough to hide a small boat.”

“Radio in our position. We’ll take the dinghy and check it out.”

Ten minutes later, they had anchored the sloop in the cove and lowered the small wooden dinghy that served as the sloop’s lifeboat. Sam handed Kate the sidearm he’d requisitioned, then took up the oars and stroked toward shore.

She regarded the weapon with raised eyebrows. “You’re trusting me with your gun?”

“Why shouldn’t I? You know how to use one, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“My hands are full,” he said, nodding toward where he gripped the oars. “If we run into trouble, I wouldn’t be able to react as fast as you could.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

She was doing it again, he thought. She kept acting surprised when he didn’t behave like some macho chauvinist. Did she really have such a low opinion of him? Or had something happened during the last five years to her to make her suspicious of men in general?

Kate was a complex woman. He hadn’t really thought that much about it when they’d been lovers. They’d both been content to keep things simple. Maybe it was just as well he had to keep his hands off her while they were on this mission. He was getting to know her in a whole different way….

Who was he kidding? If he had the chance he would drop these oars and haul her into his arms right now. He’d reacquaint himself with every inch of those long, gorgeous legs she’d been flashing all day. He’d kiss her until she forgot the years that had passed.

As if her thoughts paralleled his, her expression softened. She leaned closer, parting her lips as she sighed in pleasure. “Oh, Sam.”

He had already dropped the oars and was reaching forward before he realized she wasn’t looking at him when she spoke. She was looking over his shoulder.

He twisted on the seat to look behind him.

They had reached the entrance of the cave. It arched overhead, high enough that he wouldn’t be able to touch the roof if he stood and stretched out his arm. Carved by the sea out of the same pale rock as the cliff, its walls sloped gracefully to rounded pebbles at the waterline. Sunlight reflected from the water and from the sand beneath, illuminating the entire chamber with an otherworldly blue-green glow.

“It’s beautiful,” Kate murmured.

“Yes.” He faced her in time to watch a smile spread across her face. “Beautiful.”

“It’s a wonder the place isn’t marked on the tourist maps.”

“I’m glad it isn’t.”

“I know what you mean. I’d hate to see it developed.”

Sam pulled lightly at the oars, guiding them through the opening. As they left the sunlight the air grew hushed, closing around them in a cool embrace. Water dripped from the oar blades, echoing hollowly from stone that had been smoothed by eons of tides.

Kate craned her neck, looking around in silence for a while as they drifted over the mirror-smooth water. “It’s as grand as the royal palace, but in a different way.”

“It’s hard to believe that the destructive forces of the sea could create something as peaceful as this. It’s like a natural cathedral.”

“What a perfect way to describe it. It’s one of those places that makes a person want to whisper.” She set the gun on the seat beside her. “I don’t think I’ll be needing this.”

“A few centuries ago you would have. I bet this was a favorite place for pirates to hide out.”

Her laughter tinkled through the cavern. “Pirates? Oh, Sam, you would have liked that, wouldn’t you?”

He stowed the oars, propping his forearms on his knees as he leaned toward her. He knew they should be getting back to the boat now that they could see the cave was empty, but it had been too long since he’d heard her laugh. Another few minutes wouldn’t hurt. “How’s that?”

“I can picture you now, a sword in one hand, a spyglass in the other as you sail the seven seas to hunt down some notorious pirate captain.”

“What makes you think I would have been one of the good guys?”

“Oh, come on. You always believed in doing the right thing. That’s just the way you are. Noble, responsible Sam.”

“Sounds boring.”

“I doubt if you could describe your life as a SEAL as boring. I remember how eager you sounded to go on your first training mission to the South Pacific.” She smiled. “Was it as much an adventure as you’d hoped?”

“Not really. Aside from paddling around a mosquito-filled swamp with my team…” He paused, struck by what she had said. “You know about my first mission. So that means you must have read my letter, after all.”

Her smile faded. She shifted her gaze to the patch of sunlight at the entrance to the cavern. “We should be getting back to the boat.”

“How come you didn’t reply?”

“Sam…”

“And you sent the other letters back. Why, Kate?”

“It’s what we agreed.”

He should let this go just as he’d let it go for a week, he told himself. Accept the way things were now and get on with their duty. Why keep clinging to the past when she’d made it crystal clear the past was over?

But that was just it. The past wasn’t over, no matter how much she tried to pretend differently. He couldn’t keep burying this under duty—he’d tried that for a week, and it wasn’t working.

Sam caught Kate’s hands, enfolding them firmly in his. “Was it that bad, Kate?”

“What?”

“Is my memory of what we shared that wrong? Am I the only one who felt we had something special?”

She tried to pull away but he held on, twining his fingers with hers. “Don’t,” she said. “There’s no point—”

“I need to know, Kate. Am I the only one whose heart speeds up when our eyes meet? Don’t you ever dream of moonlight swims and making love on the warm sand?”

“Please, Sam. I don’t want to—”

“Don’t want to what? Remember?”

Sudden heat came to her eyes. Her features tightened. “Yes. That’s right. I don’t want to remember.”

He brought her hands to his lips. Holding her gaze, he pressed a slow kiss to each of her knuckles in turn. “It wasn’t bad, Kate,” he murmured. “It was magic.”

Her lips trembled. “Sam…”

“I remember the night we met. You were wearing a blouse with no sleeves that was the color of your eyes. Your skirt was covered with flowers that reminded me of laughter. But do you know what really caught my eye?”

She shook her head.

“Your feet.”

“My… feet?”

“They were bare.”

“That’s because I was walking on the beach.”

“And when I saw the way you curled your toes to feel the sand I said to myself, ‘This is a passionate woman.”’ He rested his chin on their joined fingers and smiled. “It didn’t take long for you to prove me right. Remember the first time we kissed?”

She remained silent, her gaze on his lips.

“We’d heard the saxophone music from the beach and followed it to that club. All I could think about while we danced around the floor was that I wanted to know how your smile tasted. I didn’t even realize the music had ended.” He chuckled softly. “We might still be standing there if you hadn’t grabbed my cheeks and kissed me yourself.”

Kate stared at his mouth, trying to shut out the memories, but they came anyway. She remembered every detail of that night. She had never done anything as bold before, but there had been something so seductive about the throaty wail of the saxophone and the feel of Sam’s body moving in rhythm with hers that she hadn’t been able to resist lifting up on her toes and guiding his head to hers.

They had met mere hours before, but they had kissed as if they’d known each other all their lives. The power of it had blown them both away. They hadn’t even thought that what they were doing was fast or reckless. They hadn’t been able to stop.

He was right. It had been magic.

But it was over.

Gone.

As dead as their baby.

She shuddered as the good memory was swept aside by the bad. She yanked her hands from his before the inevitable wave of pain could follow.

The small dinghy rocked from her sudden movement. Off balance, Kate threw her arms out to stop herself from tumbling backward.

Sam reached for her, catching her before she could fall overboard. But as his large hands closed over her shoulders, his thumb hooked the delicate gold chain that circled her neck.

Kate felt a sharp pinch a split second before she heard the snap. Over the sound of the water lapping against the rocking boat, she heard a tiny splash. She tried to twist around.

“Steady, there,” Sam said, shifting his grip to her forearms.

Kate shook off his hold and grasped the gunwale to peer over the side. “Oh, God.”

In the blue-green illumination from the reflected sunlight that filtered through the water, she thought she saw a glint of gold. She lunged forward, thrusting her arm underwater as far as she could, but she was unable to catch the necklace before it sank out of reach.

Strong arms wrapped around her waist. A moment later, she was jerked against Sam’s chest. “Take it easy, Kate. You don’t need to jump overboard to get away from me.”

“What?”

“If I’m that far out of line, just tell me and—”

“No, Sam. You don’t understand.” She tipped her head to look at him. “I lost my necklace. It must have broken when you caught me.”

His eyebrows angled together. He looked at her neck. “Do you mean that gold chain with the little butterfly you always wear?”

“Yes, I…” She was shaken to hear him describe it so casually. “I didn’t realize you’d noticed it.”

“I notice everything about you.” He touched his fingertips to the side of her throat. “I can see the line the chain left on your skin. Damn, I’m sorry, Kate.”

To her disbelief, she felt tears come to her eyes. “It’s not your fault. It was a fine chain. It would have broken easily.”

“I’ll replace it when we get to San Sebastian. There’s a jeweler’s shop near the palace that’s supposed to be very good.”

She shook her head. How could she explain that it was irreplaceable? What would he do if she told him why that necklace was so important to her?

“If they don’t have a butterfly that you like, I’ll have them make one, okay?” He skimmed his fingers from her throat to her cheek. “Let me make up for this. Please.”

Make up for it? she thought wildly. How could he possibly make up for the child she’d lost? “Forget it, Sam. It’s gone.” Like our past, she thought. Like our baby.

He brushed his fingertip under her eye, catching a tear. “I’m sorry, Kate. It must have meant a lot to you.”

Yes, the necklace had meant a lot. It had given her a way to focus her grief. It had also been a reminder of how destructive love could be.

But it hadn’t been love. No, what had gone on between her and Sam had been sex, that’s all.

But he was touching her so tenderly, and he was ready to comfort her for something he didn’t even understand. Could she have been wrong not to give him a chance?

No. She’d been through this before. She wasn’t going to get drawn into anything with him again. She pulled away and returned to her seat in the stern. “We’d better get back.”

Sam didn’t pick up the oars. Instead, he toed off his shoes, then reached for the hem of his T-shirt and tugged it off.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Going on a treasure hunt.” Dressed only in his cutoff jeans, he braced his hands on the seat behind him and swung his legs over the gunwale. “Lean back so we don’t flip.”

Automatically she moved to balance the dinghy. “Sam, you can’t really mean to dive for it, can you? You’ll never find anything as small as the necklace in this light. I can’t even see the bottom.”

“It’s worth a try.” He touched his fingers to his forehead in a parting salute. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?”

“Sam!”

With a movement that was too fast to follow, he twisted his hips, arched his body and neatly slid feetfirst into the water.

“Sam, you idiot!” she cried. She fought to steady the boat, then leaned over the side as far as she dared.

The surface roiled where he had entered the water. By the time the ripples cleared, she could see that he had turned himself around and was kicking his way downward.

Kate wiped her eyes and blinked hard, straining to keep him in focus. Ripples of reflected sunlight moved over his body, becoming fainter and fainter until finally he blended into the darkness around him and disappeared.

“Sam, you idiot,” she repeated, this time in a whisper. What kind of man would jump overboard in a cave merely to retrieve a necklace? They were on a mission, for God’s sake. He shouldn’t be wasting his time with something personal like this. It was reckless and irresponsible.

It was also an incredibly sweet thing to do.

Sam? Sweet? He’d laugh if she told him that. He was a rough, tough Navy SEAL. He shrugged off bullet wounds. He craved excitement and adventure and freedom. He—

He’d been underwater too long, she thought, peering into the depths. She scanned the surface around her for bubbles, but there was nothing, no sign of any movement.

This was the kind of work he was trained for, she reassured herself. He had to know what he was doing. This dive wasn’t really dangerous. She shouldn’t be feeling so very… alone.

She glanced around the cavern. Without Sam’s presence, the grandeur of the place seemed to dim. It was like that with many of the things they’d experienced together. After the night they met, she’d never been able to listen to saxophone music without thinking about him and the dance they’d shared. And that first kiss.

Unbidden, the memory returned. She braced herself for the pain that would follow, but this time it didn’t come. She remembered the pleasure. And the power that had sparked between them. He hadn’t been sweet then. He’d been hot, hard and sexy enough to steal her breath.

There was a splash behind her. She pivoted quickly and saw Sam’s head break the surface ten yards away. She grasped the oars and propelled the dinghy toward him.

He treaded water, tipping back his head as he inhaled in deep gulps. “Sorry. Couldn’t spot it.”

“It doesn’t matter, Sam,” she said.

“There are some weird currents near the bottom. It must have drifted on the way down.” He turned to get his bearings, then took a deep breath, swept his arms to the side and jackknifed under the water.

“Sam!”

Of course, he didn’t pay any attention to her protest. That’s the way he was, stubborn and determined to get his way.

Only, in this case, she couldn’t find anything wrong with that. Maybe those weren’t such bad qualities in a man. Maybe things could have worked out if she’d given him a chance….

Oh, God, no. She couldn’t think like that. It was only because of this mission. They’d been together for practically all their waking hours. It was only natural that the old feelings would begin to reawaken. As soon as the mission was over, they would go their separate ways, and everything would get back to normal. Yes, it would.

He surfaced and dove twice more, each time working closer to the mouth of the cave. Kate followed him with the rowboat until, finally, he came up right beside her.

“Sam, that’s enough,” she said immediately before he could go under again. “Get in the boat.”

He shook his head quickly to flick the water from his hair, then grinned and tossed something shiny toward her.

Kate caught it in the air. It wasn’t her necklace. It was a flat disk, about two inches in diameter, and it was shaped like a… “This looks like a coin!”

“Yeah. I told you there must have been pirates here.”

“Oh, my God.” She rubbed the coin on her shirt and studied it more closely. “This is gold.”

“It’s gold, all right. That’s why it isn’t corroded.”

“It almost looks like…” She shook her head. “I’ve only seen pictures of them, but it couldn’t be a Spanish doubloon. Not here.”

“Why not? Doubloons were common currency in the seventeenth century, and this area was always a major trade route.”

“But the chances of you finding this—”

“Were slim but not impossible,” he said. “Like I told you, there are some weird currents near the bottom. They could have shifted the sand enough to expose the coin today and then bury it again tomorrow.”

“I suppose so.”

“There’s probably more down there. I could go take another look and—”

“Don’t you dare do another dive.”

He kicked his feet lazily to keep himself upright in the water. His gaze gleamed like the gold in her palm. “Why not?”

Because you worried me, she thought. Because I want you with me… even though I don’t want you with me. “Because our mission doesn’t include a salvage operation,” she replied. “We can tell the people at the Royal Montebellan Museum about this find. They’ll take it from there.”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?”

“You’re the one who always has to go after the next adventure, not me,” she said, her tone harsher than she had intended.

His smile disappeared. “I’m sorry about upsetting you earlier, Kate.”

“It’s all right. Let’s just forget it, okay?”

“No, we can’t forget it. That’s the whole point. We’ve been trying to pretend that our past didn’t happen, and it’s not working.”

He was right, she thought. It wasn’t working. But that only meant they had to try harder. “We’re on a mission, and you’re in the water. I don’t think this is the time or place for a discussion, Sam.”

“Then what is?”

“Would you just get in the dinghy now, Lieutenant Coburn?”

He watched her in silence for a moment before he clamped his hands over the gunwale. “Better lean back.”

Just as she’d done when he went in, Kate leaned over the opposite side to help balance his weight. He kicked hard to heave his upper body out of the water, then hooked one knee over the side of the boat and rolled smoothly inside.

The dinghy was designed to accommodate two people easily, but it suddenly seemed too small. Kate returned to her seat in the stern and tried to do what she’d done for a week. She tried to ignore the six feet two of ruggedly handsome male in front of her.

But as Sam had said moments ago, it wasn’t working.

“Kate…”

She held up a palm. “Please, Sam. We’ve said more than enough. Let’s just get back to the boat.”

This time he didn’t argue. He slicked the water from his chest and arms with his palms, completely unselfconscious about being half-naked. Without another word he took the oars, spun the dinghy around to point out of the cavern and rowed across the cove to their anchored sloop.

The moment they had secured the lifeboat over the stern and stowed their gear, Kate headed for the cabin. But before she could reach the cockpit Sam stopped her with a firm hand on her arm. “Wait,” he said.

“I need to get on the radio and check in,” she said almost desperately. She had to establish distance between them. She had to focus on her duty to keep the memories—and the doubts—at bay. They had to get back to the base before they dug up more things better left buried.

“This will only take a minute.” Sam transferred his grip to her shoulders and gently turned her to face away from him. There was the click of an opening stud and the rasp of a zipper.

“Sam! What are you doing?”

“Trying to get my hand into my pocket.” He grunted. “This wet denim is like glue. Couldn’t get my hand inside unless I opened my fly, and I didn’t want to try this on the dinghy or you might have tried to jump overboard again.”

She felt her breath stop. He was already half-naked. Now he was unfastening the only garment he wore. And he was standing right behind her, close enough for her to sense every whisper of motion. She closed her eyes, but she could all too easily picture how the sun would be gleaming off his moist skin, how each ridged muscle would tighten with his movements, how pale and slim her hand would look as she caressed his body…

No. It was over. Gone. She could control this. She had to.

“Got it. Hang on a minute.” The zipper rasped closed. A moment later he turned her around to face him and held out his hand.

A fine gold chain was draped between his fingers. A gold butterfly glinted in the center of his palm.

Kate’s heart was pounding so hard it took her a moment to realize what he was showing her. When she did, she felt a surge of warmth that had nothing to do with sexual awareness. “Oh, Sam.” She reached out to touch her fingertip to one of the butterfly wings. “You found it, after all.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry about the broken chain, but I think it can be fixed.”

She couldn’t move, caught by the image of his large, strong hand holding her delicate necklace. Her throat grew tight with a sudden lump of emotion. This was too much. The man who had created a baby with her, a precious and fleeting life, now held the symbol of it.

He ducked his head to catch her gaze. “I thought you’d be happy.”

She didn’t know what she was. Right now, she was too mixed up to analyze it. She clasped her hand over his and lifted her face. “Thank you, Sam.”

“You’re welcome, Kate.”

And then, as naturally as drawing her next breath, she stretched up and kissed him.

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