Page 6 of An Heir Made In Hawaii (Hot Winter Escapes)

A view Anika had not shared, judging by how she’d ripped this one not down the middle but into long, thin strips she’d fed into the fireplace crackling in her office.

He’d been angry, yes. He wasn’t used to hearing the wordnoand, as he’d discovered over the last few months, he didn’t like it. Some might argue he had been indulged too often. But when it came to business, it had nothing to do with being spoiled and everything to do with the fact that not only was purchasing the inn the right move for his hotel, but it was the best thing for Anika before that damned house collapsed on top of her.

Stubborn, prideful woman.

Yet beneath his annoyance, something else had started to simmer, then pulse through his veins when she’d turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest and arching one eyebrow with a smug smirk on her full lips.

Desire. It had unnerved him to the point that he had left Anika with the less than witty retort of “This isn’t over” before he’d walked out, putting as much distance between him and her as possible.

He enjoyed women. Their beauty, their company, their beds. He wasn’t like some of his class who took a new woman out every night or, worse, balanced multiple lovers at once. But he wasn’t a saint, either. He had no intention of marrying, of having children. Not after seeing the devastation David’s death had wrought on his parents’ marriage, straining it to the breaking point far too many times. Yes, they’d survived and eventually found a new kind of happiness. But years of his mother drifting about the house, a medicated wraith, and his father traveling so much he barely saw his wife and surviving son, had been enough.

Toss in the guilt that had never relinquished its hold on him and he was left with a firm commitment to bachelorhood.

And something about Anika, his reaction to her, told him it wouldn’t be straightforward and easy. No, Anika Pierce was a challenging woman with hidden depths and a fire that would ensnare him.

A point proven by the eye-popping sight he’d witnessed yesterday morning. When Anika had stood and stripped off her dress, he’d nearly swallowed his tongue. Beneath the loose shirts and wide-legged trousers she usually wore back in Slovenia was an incredible body shown off to perfection by a deep orange bikini. A body that had made him uncomfortably hard as he’d taken in the subtly defined back, trim waist and generous curves of her thighs. When she’d turned, hair the color of dark chocolate streaming over her shoulders and fire snapping in her golden brown eyes, he knew he was in trouble. He hadn’t anticipated how much he wanted to touch that pale skin, slide his hands over her hips and pull her against his body and find out just how much passion Anika had been hiding under that cool exterior of hers.

As if to further torment him, her husky voice sounded behind him, low and pleasant. Surprised, he turned to see her smiling at the red-haired clerk.

“I’m here for the turtle snorkeling.”

He had never been jealous of a woman before. But in that moment he was fiercely, horribly jealous of the clerk. Anika was smiling at her like she was a long-lost friend. She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, giving him a view of the excitement sparkling on her face.

“We’ll be heading out in about fifteen minutes. If you’ll just sign the waiver and then head over, I have one other guest needing to watch the safety video.”

Anika turned, her smile fading almost as soon as she saw him. Irritated, he shot her a cocky grin and raised his cup. She turned back to the clerk and pointedly ignored him as she signed the forms.

“Anika, I didn’t know you were coming on this excursion,” he said as she slowly walked over to him when she was done.

“Are you following me?” she asked as she stopped a few feet away, arms crossed. His eyes slid down to the curves of her breasts pushed up past the scooped neckline of her vivid red tank top. With her hair once again loose, a straw bag over one shoulder and blue jean shorts that showcased those long legs, she looked incredible. She followed his gaze, pink staining her cheeks when she realized what he was looking at.

“It’s rude to stare.”

He blinked, taking another sip of coffee to hide his satisfaction at the breathlessness in her voice. She felt it, too, this sudden attraction snapping between them.

“I apologize for staring.”

She tilted her head, her eyes narrowed. “Why do I feel like there’s abutin there?”

He grinned. “Because there is. But I won’t apologize for liking what I see.”

The pink deepened into a red that nearly matched the color of her shirt.

“Stop it. I’m not one of your conquests.”

“I’ve never seen you as a prize to be won.”

“Just my inn?”

Beneath the bravado, he heard the tiniest thread of something he hadn’t picked up on before. Fear. Anika started to fidget as he watched her, glancing off to the side then down at her feet before her head snapped up and she squared her shoulders.

“What?”

“I’m just trying to figure you out.”

“Well, don’t. It’s pretty simple. I don’t like you. I’m not selling to you. End of story.”

“Are you ready for the safety video?”

---