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unnecessary. And yes, my name is Jackson Black.”
    “So you have deemed it unnecessary to lie about your name,” Kailin parried and felt a tug at her lips as if a smile threatened to escape.
    He laughed, a short chuckle that held the warmth of his gaze, and Kailin’s heart took off like a spooked horse. Her fingers pressed against her breast bone as if to keep the wild steed inside her chest. Irritating. And invigorating , a small voice inside cried. Ridiculous!
    She looked back out over the rail. “We are north of Thebes and Karnak, are we not?”
    Jackson stood up and the glow of the rising sun broke over the edge of the far off dunes, flooding him with an orange-yellow light. It was as if he reflected the unleashed solar power of the pharaoh’s sun god himself. He walked to the rail and Kailin admired the way his rugged pants fit his hindquarters and muscular thighs like wavy sand over a landscape. He turned and for the briefest of heartbeats she stared at his groin before her gaze flew up his chest to his…grin.
    Kailin’s face flamed with the sun. Long fingers caught in her skirts as she tried to force the blush to recede, but it continued along with Jackson’s teasing look. She didn’t notice anything except the heat in her cheeks until Jackson pivoted to lean out over the rail.
    “Kailin!” he yelled. She swallowed hard over the sound of thrashing and splashing. Kailin leapt up from the chaise lounge and ran across the deck. Birds, reptiles, even some fish jumped from the water. Two crocodiles clawed their way up the steep bank on the opposite side of the small boat. Bubbles popped and boiled along the surface of the Nile. Heat steamed up from the surface. Jackson turned to her, a whispered order already on his lips. “Kailin, stop! The river…it’s bloody boiling!”
    Air churned somewhere between her lungs and her lips, stuck. She forced a breath out. “Touch me, Mr. Black.”
    Jackson’s eyebrows lifted, but he didn’t argue. He clasped her upper arms, yanking her into his chest. It was an embrace, and to anyone looking it would seem the rough embrace of lovers. Kailin’s face flamed more.
    “Don’t let go of me,” she whispered. He shook his head as he stared at her. As if he knew that her blush had caused the Nile to boil. His command to stop…He…did know. Kailin swallowed and stared into his face.
    After a few minutes the splashing died away and Kailin felt her cheeks cool. She focused on the small scar just under the indent of his chin, just visible beneath his unshaven shadow. He cleared his throat, but she didn’t meet his eyes.
    “So…Miss Whitaker, for future reference. Do you embarrass easily?”
    The easy drawl sounded like a tease. His lips, full and inviting, turned upward. Kailin tilted her head backward, forcing herself to brave his gaze. “I’m just asking,” he continued without releasing her, “for when I take a bath. I’m prone to cleanliness so my chances of being caught in a boiling cauldron could be rather high.”
    He was teasing her, wasn’t he? She didn’t have any experience with teasing men, or women for that matter. Anthony and Bruce had sheltered her, even after she’d learned to control herself, for the most part.
    “I…I don’t know,” she stuttered, totally at a loss as to what to say. His hands slid up to her shoulders and down her back across her rigid shoulder blades. “I don’t ever do anything to be particularly embarrassed about. Usually.”
    He chuckled low and Kailin watched the golden sun glint along the blond highlights shooting through his tawny hair. “Where is the fun in that?” he teased again. His fingers stroked her back and she stiffened as voices came around the corner.
    Kailin drew back, latching onto her anger to re-chill her composure. Eventually Jackson released his hold and she leveraged some distance between them. “The alternative, Mr. Black, is rather unpleasant for those around me.”
    He stared hard at her as if