‘And make sand-castles?’
He grinned. ‘Not just sand-castles. Sand extravaganzas. Want to learn?’
‘Cade, I’ve really got to go back to the city.’
‘Sure,’ he said pleasantly. ‘Go on. I showed you which way to go.’
He ducked as she flung a handful of sand at him. ‘I’ll ignore that act of violence for the time being, Padgett. Pay attention, now. All you need is something to carry water—this cup will be fine—and a little imagination. And then, you pick the perfect spot—right about here should do it. We’ll have to make strong fortifications, though. I get the feeling that a really big wave washes up here once in a while.’
Shannon watched in silence while he began scooping up handfuls of the fine white sand and flinging it aside. Finally, she shook her head.
‘Are you crazy?’
‘OK, don’t help me. See if I care! I built my best castles without girls, anyway. Girls don’t know the first thing about defenses and walls and turrets. Girls...’ He ducked as a mussel shell hit him on the shoulder. ‘Second act of violence. Three strikes and you’re out.’
‘Girls—even in Kansas—build mud pies and play in the dirt. And we know all about turrets. After all, did you ever hear of princes getting locked away in castles? It’s always princesses, isn’t it? Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty and... go on, Morgan, shove over,’ she said, pushing up her sleeves and kneeling opposite him. ‘I’ll build you a castle the likes of which you’ve never seen before. Just don’t get in my way.’
Ignoring Cade’s snort of disbelief, Shannon began to dig in earnest. The top layer of sand was sun-warm under her fingers, but as she dug deeper, it became pleasantly cool and damp to the touch. She glanced at him as she worked; he was concentrating on his piece of the sand sculpture with the same intensity he seemed to bring to everything. It was what she’d seen in his performance that night at the Coliseum, and it was what had impressed her most during the time they’d spent together on the set and at the workshop.
Was it that intensity that he’d bring to their love scene, she wondered suddenly, or was it something else?
‘How’s it coming,?’ he said. ‘Ready to admit that all the engineers in the world should be men?’
She gave him her number one nasty smile. ‘Go on, laugh. Just wait until the first wave comes in. We’ll see who’s the better builder.’
Maybe his walls were stronger-looking, she thought, glancing from her piece of the castle to his, but her turrets were more imaginative. Surely that was important. Turrets were...
‘Rats!’ she shrieked, scrambling to her feet as a sudden wave engulfed the shoreline, racing across her bare feet and ankles. The water was so cold that it took her breath away, but all that mattered was that it knocked down a piece of her wall. She fell back to the wet sand and touched the damaged structure with one finger. ‘Cade,’ she wailed, ‘look what happened!’
He sighed dramatically as he knelt beside her. ‘I should have known a woman couldn’t compete in a man’s game. You faked me out with that bit about mud pies, but what’s a mud pie, after all? It doesn’t require a man’s skill and talent. It... Hey, no fair, Padgett, cut it out!’
Her first handful of sand missed its target, but the second sprayed over his shoulders and face. ‘Can’t take the truth, huh?’ he laughed, reaching for her hands. ‘Is that your problem?’
‘You’re a male chauvinist pig, Cade Morgan. That wave came in and headed straight for me... Cade, don’t! Come on, that’s not fair! Cade...’ With a shriek of laughter, Shannon tried to roll free of his grasp, but he pulled her down to the sand and stuffed a handful of the damp stuff down her collar. ‘That’s not fair... Cade...’
‘Damned right it’s not,’ he laughed, throwing his leg across her and pinning her body beneath his. ‘Men build better castles than women, Padgett. They’re also bigger and stronger.’
‘That’s it,’ she gasped, ‘if you can’t win fair and square, win by intimidation.’
She was laughing up at him, squirming beneath his weight like a kid in a wrestling match when suddenly the laughter caught in her throat.
Cade’s eyes met hers; the gleam in them faded, replaced by a dark intensity that made something stir deep within her.
‘Cade...let me up.’
; Her plea was a whisper, a husky sigh on the salty breeze. He shook his head.
‘You’re beautiful, Shannon,’ he said softly. ‘My fairytale princess with sand on her cheeks.’
She drew in her breath as he reached out and stroked her face. Her skin felt as if it were glowing beneath his fingers.
What would he do if she turned her head and pressed her mouth to his palm, she wondered suddenly? Would he take her into his arms and kiss her? Would he make love to her here on the empty beach, with only the gulls to see them while the ocean roared and the wind cooled their passion-heated flesh?
‘Listen,’ he said, and she could hear a touch of urgency in his voice, ‘listen, forget the damned play.’
‘What?’ She closed her eyes and then opened them again. ‘I’m not thinking of the play. I...’