Alanna (When Hearts Dare Series Book 2) by Kathleen Bittner Roth

she watched the figurehead dance at the ship’s bow—a white and gilt goddess, her carved gossamer robes flowing about her sylphlike body, her outstretched arms pointing the way. Legend had it that the figureheads adorning ships knew every dolphin. And when they swam alongside the ship, the figureheads called each of them by name. A wave arced in the sunlight, casting a shimmering rainbow upon the waters.
    “Alanna, you get back here before you fall overboard!” Her mother’s screech swooped through the air like a squawking seagull.
    Humph. If Mother only knew what the exercise period entailed, she’d faint dead away. Thank heavens Father had seen to that situation years ago. Straightening, Alanna made her way to where her mother and the tiny Asian maid sat with lounge chairs pulled together, sewing colorful glass beads onto a length of fabric. Busy work. Certainly nothing Alanna was interested in. Separating her chair from theirs, she stretched out in the shade of the cabins with an open book in her lap and feigned a nap to avoid her mother’s nattering.
    Movement caught her peripheral vision. Wolf and Thompson strolled from the opposite side of the ship into full view, their backs to the women. A sharp thrill rushed through her. Wolf appeared relaxed as he walked alongside the captain. Each step he took was fluid and graceful, and when the two halted at the bow, he planted his booted feet apart to steady himself. She smiled. He’d gained his sea legs. He stood tall and straight, like a towering spruce, his finely tailored clothing accenting his broad shoulders. His hair was tied at his nape, revealing the clean, chiseled cut of his profile.
    Judging by a few words floating in the breeze, the captain was giving Wolf a detailed tour of the ship. She studied him through eyes hidden by lashes she closed discreetly whenever her mother turned her way. The men headed toward them.
    Her mother grunted her disapproval.
    Acting as detached and aloof as she could manage, Alanna drank in Wolf’s every movement, burned his image into her memory. Even from such a distance, she could feel the power that coiled within him. As he and the captain conversed, the sound of Wolf’s voice reached her, sending one delightful tremor after another through her.
    “Well, would you look who’s on deck?” Thompson left Wolf’s side and stepped over to the women.
    Alanna raised her head. Wolf stood directly in front of her. He just stood there, devilishly handsome with those compelling blue eyes and a vague smile as intimate as a soft kiss.
    Her cheeks flushed at being thrown off guard. The heat in them heightened when he bent at the waist, gently lifted her hand from her lap, and let his warm mouth touch her bent knuckles. Only she could have heard the soft chuckle in his throat as his mouth opened a sliver and he nipped her skin. An electrifying shudder shot up her arm. Her lungs froze.
    Heedless flirt!
    She inclined her head and desperately searched for some form of balance while she pretended not to have been cognizant of his bold gesture. Heat emanated from his body, and a current moved out of his fingertips and into hers before he released her hand. She managed a slow, imperceptible exhale, centering herself. She thought she had regained control, but when she looked up once again, the smoldering flame in his eyes startled her. Why, he was taunting everyone, not just her, by getting away with what he just did. Damn his boldness!
    Her mother strained to peer around the captain who had—could it be?—planted himself most strategically between the two women. He leaned over her mother in animated conversation until finally, she grew so perplexed in her straining to try to catch a glimpse of what might be going on between that man and her daughter, she lost her balance. Beads and crystals scattered across the deck, shimmering in the sun as they rolled about.
    “Oooh, nooo!” her mother squealed.
    Both the captain and Wolf dove in hot