Dream of Me/Believe in Me

breathless. He broke off abruptly and gave his attention to the boat. Several moments passed before Krysta realized that she had sagged back against him. She tried to straighten up but he stopped her with the light pressure of his arms. Belatedly, she realized she had no desire to move.
    They turned in toward a golden strand of shore fronting an isolated bay. Hawk lowered the sail, stepped into the water and pulled the boat up onto the sand. Krysta was about to get out when he caught her around the waist, lifting her easily, and drew her close. The touch of his body all along the length of hers made her tremble.
    Slowly, he slid her down until her feet brushed the sand. She thought he meant to kiss her again, and was awaiting just that with more eagerness than she cared to admit, when he let go of her suddenly and reached into the boat.
    “Are you hungry?” he asked, hefting a small sack.
    Was she? She had absolutely no idea. “I suppose Where had the food come from? She hadn't noticed him carrying anything when they went down to the boat.
    He saw the question in her eyes and grinned abashedly. “I asked Aelfgyth to tuck something away for us.”
    His thoughtfulness touched her even if it did mean that by now everyone at Hawkforte likely knew of their excursion. After living amid so few for so long, she was beginning to realize how precious privacy really was.
    Hawk shook out a blanket, placed it on the sand, and set the sack on it. Straightening, he glanced at Krysta where she still stood, watching him. Gently, he said, “I don't bite, you know.”
    Her cheeks warmed. She supposed she looked very silly to him but her sudden self-consciousness was almost as uncomfortable as her overwhelming awareness of him. He was so tall, so perfectly formed, so male … so
everything.
He seemed to leave her scant room even to draw breath.
    “Would you like to go swimming?” he asked.
    It came to her then that he was seeking some way to put her at ease. How many men would go to such trouble? How many would spend a day away from the pressing demands of their duty to calm a fractious betrothed? Her heart warmed and she found herself smiling.
    “Do you see that rock over there?” she asked, pointing to a large boulder jutting above the water several hundred yards beyond the shore. When he nodded, she reached for the laces of her gown. “I'll bet I get there first.”
    He stared at her in astonishment for a moment beforehis face split in a broad grin. “I'll take that bet. We can discuss the stakes later.”
    She laughed and tugged off her gown, feeling perfectly well covered in her shift. It did not occur to her that the angle of the sun shining through it rendered the fine linen all but transparent. Such did not escape the attention of the Hawk. He was sufficiently distracted to still be tugging off his boots when Krysta dived neatly into the water. She surfaced a good twenty yards off shore, pausing just long enough to glance back at him before heading for her objective.
    He followed swiftly, hesitating only a moment before tossing off his tunic. Best she become accustomed to him. Having seen her swim before, he knew better than to give any quarter. Even so, he only just managed to reach her while she was yet a few yards from winning. His longer and more powerful legs gave him the advantage and he touched the rock scant moments before she did.
    “You could have won,” he said, treading water and grinning at her chagrined expression. He gestured to the cloth floating about her. “That weighed you down.”
    “What about your tunic?” Belatedly, she realized her mistake. He laughed at her sudden flush and followed as she turned back to shore. She was almost there and about to stand up when she stopped abruptly and sank back down into the water.
    Hawk stopped, too, in water that came to his waist. “Is something wrong?”
    “No! That is, everything's fine. I just don't want to come out yet.”
    A suspicion formed in his mind and with it came a smile. She had her back to him but even so, he could glimpse the rosy smoothness of her skin through the linen made transparent by the water. He drew a little closer so that he could see her in profile. Judging by her expression,she was prepared to remain right where she was until she froze.
    Hawk sighed. He spared a fond thought for the days when his relationships with women were simple, then put such memory aside for good and waded out of the water. He heard Krysta give a quick