The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

women soft-voiced, sweet-tempered, gentle and affectionate, preferably with big blue eyes; the old-fashioned type who enjoyed cosseting and cooking for a man; women devoted to hearth and home; women, in short, who reminded him of his lovely Gabriella.

    He definitely did not go for the bossy, assertive, independent, prickly little broads who neither needed nor welcomed a man's protection. He was not into modern-day shrews.

    Any man who got close to Kate Inskip would have to be prepared for skirmishes and fireworks. She was not a lady who would come tamely to a man's hand. Hell, he'd have to find a way of getting her to stop talking, no mean feat in itself, before he could even kiss her.

    Still, that beautiful mouth just might make it worth the effort, he reflected.

    The effect of his thoughts on his body made him realize just how long it had been since he'd gotten tangled up with a woman. The fact that he was even taking a second look at this one was proof that it had been much too long. Ms Inskip was right; one of the problems with living this far from civilization was exactly that: it was damned remote and that severely limited the number of his female acquaintances.

    Attractive, wealthy, trendy women showed up as guests at the resort from time to time, of course, but Jared had long ago learned that being some rich woman's vacation fling was not his thing. Maybe his reluctance to get temporarily involved with the women who showed up at Crystal Cove stemmed from the fact that he had once been happily married and had learned the comforts of long-term domesticity. No doubt about it, life with Gabriella had spoiled him.

    Whatever the reason, he'd never really gotten the hang of casual affairs; never wanted to get the hang of them. He did not like the idea of waking up in the morning with the feeling he'd become one more souvenir.

    He studied Kate's gracefully sprawled form more closely. She didn't really look like the type of woman who collected sexual souvenirs, he told himself. Nor did she look like the overindulged, trendy, jet-setter type. She appeared to be exactly what she'd implied she was, a stressed-out businesswoman who badly needed a vacation. The thought was vaguely reassuring.

    Then he flashed again on the memory of Sharp Arnie's expression of shock when the little man had finally realized he'd chosen the wrong tourist. Jared grinned. The tale of Ms Inskip's fearless stand in the alley would make a good story, and a good story was always a welcome diversion on AmethystIsland.

    When you lived this far from civilization, he reflected, you learned to get a lot of mileage out of old-fashioned forms of amusement.

TWO

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    K ate awoke in flower-scented darkness.

    For a long, confused moment she tried to figure out what was wrong. The bed felt unfamiliar and the soft, balmy air wafting through the room was definitely not coming from her apartment furnace.

    In the next moment reality returned, and she rolled over with a heartfelt groan. She was trapped in paradise for four interminable weeks. She wondered if she would survive.

    She sat up slowly and cautiously, prepared to sink back into the pillows if the effects of jet lag had not yet fully worn off. But she got to her feet with minimal difficulty and realized she felt infinitely better than she had several hours earlier when she'd collapsed shortly after her arrival on Amethyst.

    She had only a bleary memory of what the island and the resort had looked like as she'd trudged up the path from the dock. Glistening white ultramodern buildings elegantly sprawled above a crystal clear cove had been the dominant impression. She'd been blindly following the two bronzed, dark-haired, dark-eyed young men who were carrying her luggage, and as soon as she'd gotten rid of them she'd fallen into bed.

    Why wasn't the sun shining, she wondered in growing annoyance as she fumbled her way across the room. Everything felt out of kilter. A glance at the clock showed it was only 10:00 p.m. She had been asleep for several hours but not all night. What she really ought to do was go straight back to bed. Unfortunately she felt wide awake and hungry.

    She turned her head and was transfixed by the view of moonlight on water that filled the screened opening on the far side of the room. Fascinated, she crossed the cool bare floors and stood staring out at the silvered sea. Palm fronds rustled softly on the other side of the screen. The fragrance of the night filled