As she stared at the door between her and Sam, guilt knotted in Kinsey’s belly. She should have kept her big mouth shut.

The man had obviously loved his fiancée. If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t still be so touchy. And stupid Kinsey had stirred up all those painful memories.

She squared her shoulders. As a paid companion, she should make his life happier and help him see there was still a lot to be grateful for.

While he was in the bathroom, Kinsey bypassed her suitcase full of clothes and dug into the bags from their shopping trip. She grabbed the bikini she’d purchased and quickly dressed in it, covering up with a pair of shorts and a Santorini T-shirt. She topped it off with the floppy hat Sam insisted she needed and the sunglasses he’d picked out. Then she pulled the beach bag from her suitcase, filled it with sunscreen, her mask, snorkel and the beach towels they’d purchased in the dive shop.

The bathroom door opened, and Sam stepped out, wearing a pair of black swim trunks and a gray T-shirt. He’d shaved the shadow of stubble from his chin, combed back his hair and looked so handsome Kinsey’s breath caught.

He stared across the room, his blue eyes darker than usual. “I’m sorry I was so short with you.”

She laughed nervously. “No. Don’t be. I shouldn’t have pushed. Your past is none of my business, and I had no right to dig into it.” With all the courage she could muster, she pasted a broad smile on her face. “But your two weeks of vacation is my business, and I plan on making it the best two weeks of your life. So get ready for some fun. Because we’re going to have it.” She lifted her chin, grabbed the beach bag and headed for the door. “Do you want me to ask Mrs. D if she has sandwich fixings?”

“No. That won’t be necessary.” He slipped into sandals then settled sunglasses over his eyes and a white baseball cap on his head. “We can stop at a bakery or deli and grab bread and cheese.”

“Sounds good.” She opened the door. “Don’t forget your camera. We have some photo memories to make for your commander.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond, setting off with a light step and a carefree attitude. Her father had always told her the best way to a happy life when you weren’t feeling very happy was to fake it until you felt it. So she faked it. Pushing all the horrors of the past week behind her, she set out to have a good day with her handsome employer. And if she could manage to make him happy in the process, she would have accomplished something. Plus, she’d be one step closer to earning that plane ticket back to the States.

The path to the ocean was a maze of twists and turns and steps leading past the white buildings. Occasionally, they’d break out of the walls long enough to see the views Santorini was known for. At one point, they spotted a blue-domed church.

“Some time in the next two weeks, we need to take a taxi to Oia to see more of the beautiful blue-domed churches this island is famous for,” Kinsey remarked. “They would make great backdrops for pictures to send to your commander. Not to mention great memories of your time spent here.”

Sam nodded.

He hadn’t spoken much since they’d left the room, but that didn’t deter Kinsey. She kept up her end of the conversation and his, as well. Her goal was to get him to smile by the end of the day, if not sooner.

Though they walked in broad daylight, Kinsey was careful passing through shadowy areas, always looking for bad guys lurking there. After the attack the previous evening, she wasn’t taking any chances.

Once they arrived at the main road, they caught a taxi to the beach on the east side of the island.

Kinsey ducked into a shop carrying beach gear and talked Sam into buying a mask and snorkel for himself. When they arrived at the beach, she felt a little safer. The location had no shadows, no bad guys, and plenty of bright sunshine to cheer her day.

She spread the beach towels on the sand, stripped out of her shorts and T-shirt and squirted a liberal portion of sunscreen on her hand. “Come on, you can’t go in the water all dressed like that. And you don’t want to burn that beautiful skin.” She winked and waited for Sam to remove his shirt, hat and sunglasses. “Turn around.”

He did as she commanded.

Kinsey spread sunscreen across his massive shoulders and down his back, trying hard not to get excited by merely touching him. She kept telling herself this activity was just part of a job. As his companion and his fake fiancée, she would be expected to see to his safety and happiness. “We can’t have you getting a third-degree sunburn while here. This should help.”

Her hands smoothed over the hard plains and down to his narrowing waist to the edge of the elastic band on his swim trunks. By then she was barely breathing, her pulse pounding so hard she felt lightheaded.

“Done back there?”

She wished she wasn’t, but she couldn’t continue without making a fool of herself. “Yes,” she squeaked, cleared her throat and tried again. “Yes. You can get the front.”

When he turned she slapped the tube in his hand and spun away, her cheeks burning. Wow, the man had no idea how attractive he was. But Kinsey was fully aware and suffering the effects of touching him all over the hard muscles of his back.

She stared out at the water, coaching herself on how to breathe normally when big hands descended on her back. Kinsey jumped.

“Sorry. I thought you’d want me to do your back, since you were so good to do mine.”

Cheeks burning, she babbled, “Yes. Yes, of course.” She stood in front of him, holding her body stiff, fighting against letting the feel of his hands on her skin make her any more turned on than she already was.

The man had lost the woman he loved, for heaven’s sake. He wasn’t interested in her for anything other than a paid employee to help him fool his boss into thinking he was relaxing in paradise and getting his life back together.

Sweet heaven. His touch felt so good against her skin. Kinsey moaned then cringed as soon as the sound escaped her throat.

He immediately lifted his hands off her skin. “Am I being too rough?”

“Oh, no. Not at all. Maybe a little too good at it, though.” She laughed shakily, stepped away, took the tube from his hands and squirted more of the lotion into her palm. “I can manage the rest. Why don’t you adjust the strap on your mask and snorkel?”

“Right.” But Sam didn’t turn away. He continued to watch as she smeared sunscreen on her chest, arms, legs and thighs.

The sun had nothing on the heat burning inside Kinsey by the time she finished.

Sam must have realized he was staring, because he finally turned away and pulled the snorkel and mask out of its wrapper and adjusted it to fit on his face.

Kinsey slipped her mask over her head and settled it over her eyes. “Ready?”

He nodded. “I’m ready.”

“Good, because the last one in is a rotten egg.” Kinsey shoved the snorkel into her mouth and took off, laughing as she plowed into the water and dove beneath the surface.

The water surged as Sam dove in beside her. For the next hour, they swam, hugging the shoreline, and discovering the sea life beneath the surface. Brightly shining fish, eels and stingrays were in abundance and just as curious about them.

By the time Kinsey climbed out of the surf, she was tired and amazed that during that entire time, she hadn’t given her near-abduction a single thought.

Sam pulled off his mask and took her hand as they slogged through the waves to the shore, their feet shifting in the ebb and flow of water and sand.

When they made it back to the towels, Kinsey dropped down and stretched out, blissfully tired and ready to soak up the sunshine and the salty sea breeze.

Sam stood above her, his hands on his hips, looking around.

Kinsey patted the towel beside her. “Have a seat, and where’s your camera?”

“Huh?” He glanced down.

Shading her eyes with one hand, she waved toward the beach bag. “Your camera. Now would be a good time to shoot some pictures of you having a fun at the beach.” Again, she patted the towel beside her. “Sit.”

He hesitated.

She laughed. “You really don’t know how to relax, do you?” Kinsey sat up. “Come on. The first step is to admit you have a problem. The second is to take the pictures you need to convince your boss you’re having fun and the third is to let me massage your muscles.” She tipped her head. “Come on, you can do it.”

Finally, he sat on the towel and pulled out his smartphone. “My camera is in my phone.” He unlocked the screen and handed it to her.

She touched the camera icon and aimed the lens at him. “Smile.”

He frowned.

“Seriously. If you want your commander to think you’re having a good time, you have to do better than that.” She scooted over to kneel beside him on his towel and reversed the camera so that she could take a picture of them together. “Now, smile like you’re having a good time.” Kinsey held the phone at arm’s length and grinned.

Still, Sam frowned at the phone. “A smile feels so fake.”

“Fake it until you feel it, baby,” she said. “That’s what my dad always said.”

Sam laughed.

Kinsey snapped a picture when he wasn’t aware of her doing it. “That’s right. When I was scared by a nightmare, he would sit at my bedside and tell me to be brave. But I was having a hard time being brave. That’s when he said, fake it until you feel it.”

Kinsey gave her best Wonder Woman impression, flexing her muscles. “I’d pretend I was a superhero and totally capable of anything. By the time I went to sleep I was convinced I was badass, and none of those nightmare creatures could hurt me.”

“I think I would have liked your father.” He touched her cheek. “He gave you such a good outlook on life.”

Kinsey still held the phone, snapping pictures, though she wasn’t sure what she was taking. The touch of Sam’s fingers on her cheek had her heart beating fast and her breathing coming in short ragged breaths. The man didn’t have to do much to turn her inside out.

All she wanted was to lean her cheek into his palm and tell him he could have her. There on the beach. In front of God and everyone.

When she realized what she was thinking, heat suffused her neck and rose all the way up her face and to the tips of her ears. She ducked away and rolled back onto her towel.

“I think we have enough pictures. I’ll go through them and find the best ones for you to share with your colonel.” She kept her head down, looking through the images without actually seeing them.

Meanwhile, Sam stretched out on the towel, lying on his stomach. “You’re right. I don’t know how to relax. It’s been so long since I did absolutely nothing. Even when I have downtime in the war zones, I’m working with the mechanics on my bird or at the gym, trying to stay in shape. I don’t just sit and read a book or watch videos.”

“See? Your boss might have a good point.” The heat in her face dissipating, Kinsey finally glanced over toward Sam. He was looking away, giving her all the time she could want to study his body from head to toe. And what a body he had! All lean and muscular. Even tanned in all the right places. “How do you stay tanned in a war zone?” Kinsey squirted some sunscreen into her palm and moved her towel over closer to his.

“I jog in shorts and sometimes get away with losing the shirt. But don’t tell my commander. He’d have me up for attempted destruction of government property. So, am I getting that massage, or were you just kidding?”

She chuckled. “I’m getting there. Don’t be such a grump.” Kinsey ran her hands across his shoulders. “All I have is sunscreen, but I’m sure our snorkeling washed off what we applied earlier.”

“So, you’re killing two birds with one stone. Or one tube of lotion.” He flexed his muscles beneath her fingertips.

Her heart beat with a little flare of excitement. Kinsey massaged the tight muscles around his neck, working her fingers into them to loosen the knots. “Are you always this tense?”

“I guess, for the most part. But what you’re doing is amazing. It’s getting me so relaxed, I could fall asleep.”

“Then do it. You were up late last night rescuing me.” Kinsey moved her hands lower, marveling at the breadth of the man’s shoulders and the hard muscles beneath his smooth skin. What would it be like to have a man like this making love to her? Her ex had been long and lean, but not nearly as muscular.

Sam was all man, each muscle clearly defined and toned. She squirted more lotion on her hands and rubbed it into his lower back, daring to slide ever closer to the waistband of his swim trunks, wishing she had the nerve to smooth over the rounded curve of his ass.

Sweet Jesus! What was she thinking? Back up to his neck she moved, out of temptation and away from her naughty thoughts.

“Mmm. That felt good.” Sam sat up and took the lotion tube from her hand. “Now, my turn.”

Kinsey’s face burned, and she stammered. “I don’t need you to do that. Really.”

“I can’t have my companion getting lobstered by the sun. What good would you be to me if you’re in pain or out of commission due to extreme sunburn?” He nodded toward her towel. “Assume the position.”

“What?” Her pulse pounded so loudly against her eardrums she couldn’t hear herself think. Which was probably why she rolled onto her stomach, against her better judgment.

Sam straddled her hips, pinning her beneath him.

Even if she wanted to get away—which she didn’t—she couldn’t do it easily or gracefully. With Sam perched over her, all kinds of naughty scenarios raced through her consciousness. But when he rubbed his lotion-covered hands over her shoulders, her thoughts scrambled, and she forgot how to breathe.

He leaned over her and whispered in her ear, “Are you always this tense?”

Sweet heaven. Only when she had a hot guy touching her like he was. She mumbled something. What, she didn’t know.

Sam chuckled and leaned over her again. “Now, you know what you were doing to me.”

“You? I thought you were falling sleep?”

“Not hardly. How can a guy sleep when he has a beautiful woman rubbing her hands over his body?”

Cheeks burning again, Kinsey forced a chuckle. “All in the name of companionship. Right?” So the words were somewhat choked out. She was determined to keep their relationship light. The man wasn’t interested in her as anything other than a paid companion. Hell, he didn’t want any woman on a long-term basis. He’d lost his one true love and probably had no intention of falling in love again.

What a shame. The man would sire beautiful babies, if he only let himself. Kinsey found herself wishing she could be the lucky winner of his DNA lottery. She’d carry his baby, happily.

All those insane musings ran through her head, along with fairy tales of happily ever after with the handsome helicopter pilot. But fairy tales rarely came true, her parents being the exception. The divorce statistics were proof of that. Besides, Sam was very clear he didn’t want women falling all over themselves to be with him. He wanted to learn how to relax and enjoy his vacation, stress free.

Then, he unclipped her bikini bra.

Kinsey sank into the towel, afraid to rise for fear of exposing her breasts to all the people on the beach. “What are you doing?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll hook it back when I’m done. I didn’t want to ruin the fabric with the lotion.”

“Oh.” What else could she say? He’d just sent her to an even deeper level of fantasy she had no hope of swimming out of while he had his hands on her naked back.

Those rough but gentle fingers worked lower and lower still to the elastic band of her bikini bottoms. Wow, if only they were alone and she wasn’t working for him, she’d let him go even lower.

Sam shifted off her hips. “That should do it,” he said, his voice gruff.

Kinsey grabbed her bikini bra with both hands and sat up. “I’m hungry, how about you?”

“Just like that?” He laughed. “One minute you’re putty in my hands and the next you’re starving?”

“That’s me. My stomach rules me.” She struggled to hold the bra in place while reaching behind her to reconnect the fasteners.

He moved her fingers aside. “Let me.” And he secured the hooks. “Better?”

“Much.” Kinsey pulled her T-shirt over her head and down her body, covering the exposed skin that quivered whenever he looked at her, much less touched her. How could she work for this man for the next two weeks when all she wanted was to beg him to make love to her? “Food. We need to find something to eat.”

Sam chuckled, but he stood and shook the sand out of the towels.

Kinsey packed them away in the beach bag while Sam pulled on his shirt.

By the time they’d crossed the beach and slipped into their sandals, Kinsey’s pulse had returned to normal.

“You know, the more I think about the hotel and the guys who tried to abduct you, the more I think we should go to the local police and report what happened,” Sam said.

Kinsey shook her head. “I thought of that too, but I’m still waiting for my passport. I don’t know what would happen if I showed up at the police station and couldn’t provide proof of my citizenship.”

“You have a point. But I hate to think they have some kind of human trafficking ring set up and are taking advantage of vulnerable women.”

Kinsey’s heart warmed. Being with Sam made her feel protected. “When I get my passport in my hot little hands, I’ll be first in line at the police station. Believe me.”

Sam glanced both ways and started to cross the street.

A vehicle sped out of a side road and raced toward him.

Though she saw a blur out of the corner of her eye, Kinsey barely had time to react. She grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the street, just in time.

The car sped past, rolling over the very spot Sam had been standing moments before.

Sam pulled her into his arms where she clung to him, her heart racing.

“What the hell?” Sam’s jaw was tight, his eyes narrowed as he stared after the speeding car. “I swear he looked like he was aiming for me.”

“No kidding. What was he thinking?” Still leaning into the strength of Sam’s body, Kinsey turned her head to watch as the car disappeared around a curve in the road. “You weren’t walking on his side of the road. He swerved toward you.”

Sam’s arms tightened around her. “Come on, let’s get out of the open.”

“Why would someone want to run you over?” Then a possible reason dawned on her. “Do you think he did it to get you out of the way?”

“Yeah. And I’m not happy about that fact,” Sam said.

“I’m so sorry.” Kinsey wrapped her arm around his waist and squeezed. “That attack was all my fault.”

He pushed her to arm’s length. “What are you talking about? You are not to blame.”

She looked up at him, her chest tight, guilt weighing heavily on her. “But if you hadn’t happened on those two men making off with me, you wouldn’t have been nearly run over by that car.”

He smiled gently at her. “Oh, sweetheart. Hold that thought a moment. We need to get out of the street before another car tries to make speedbumps out of us.” He hurried her across the street and out of any path a car could possibly take before he stopped and pulled her into his arms. “You aren’t the trouble here. You’re the potential victim.”

She leaned into him, smelling the fresh scent of salt on his skin. Kinsey loved the way his strength infused her body. “Now, so are you.”

“I can handle the heat.”

“You’re supposed to be relaxing, not dodging murderous drivers.”

“I am relaxing.”

She laughed. “How can you, with me around?” Kinsey’s smile faded and she pulled away. “I need to leave you alone. You don’t deserve to be harassed because of me.”

He frowned. “Are you backing out of our deal?”

“I don’t see any other way to keep you safe.” She took another step away.

“We have a deal. I bought your ticket home.” He reached for her hand. “You owe me two weeks of companionship. A verbal contract is as binding as a written one. We shook on it.”

Couldn’t he see that she had to leave? To protect him? “You’re in danger because of me.”

His lips pressed into a thin line. “We have a binding contract. I haven’t released you from it. You owe me two weeks.”

Kinsey stared into his eyes. The man could have been carved in stone. He wasn’t backing down or releasing her from their contract. “I think you’re making a mistake.”

“Yeah, but the mistake is mine to make. Now, are we good? Because I’m not relaxing by arguing with you.”

“I’m sorry.” Her lips quirked upward on the corners. “I’ll try harder. But you don’t have to be such a hard ass.”

“It’s the only ass I have.” He chuckled. “Now, let’s find some food before another car tries to run us over.” He took her hand in his and weaved through the buildings until they came to a bakery with fresh bread and then stopped at another store selling cheese and olives.

Sam purchased enough food to make a decent lunch, and they took it back to the B&B, climbed the ladder to the roof and had a picnic while looking out at the amazing view.

If not for the attacks on herself and Sam, Kinsey could almost believe they were on an ideal vacation or a date.

But ideal wasn’t quite the right word to describe what had happened in the past twenty-four hours. She hoped and prayed the next twenty-four were spent happily getting to know each other better and not nearly as dangerous or hair-raising.