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off as he pulled her closer, his laugh a muted growl.
    "And so we are." His
grinning face came closer. "That was quite an exhibition, Sister. Do you coach swimming
at this school of yours?"
    Hearing the mocking inflection
in his voice, Teel frowned. His glittering golden eyes dared her to question
him.
    She breast-stroked
away from him. He swam ahead of her. She dove deep in the opposite
direction—and surfaced inches from his bare chest. No matter which way she
turned, he was there. She had no choice but to confront him.
    "Yes, you could say I
teach swimming," she told him. "I help coach our children, who
compete in the Special Olympics, not just in swimming but also in the broad
jump and the fifty-yard dash. In the winter I coach them in cross-country
skiing and snowshoeing." Teel touched bottom as she and Chazz entered
shallower water. She felt his eyes on her as they emerged but refused to look
at him.
    When she leaned down for her
towel, he took it from her hand. Before she could protest, he was drying her
off. He turned her to face him, his grin irritating her but taking her breath
away just as the swimming had. "I can't allow you to catch cold," he
said. "Darby would kill me."
    "Your concern
is touching," she retorted sarcastically, trying to pull the towel from
his hands. When he wouldn't release it, she glared up at him.
    "At least now
you're looking at me," Chazz said, his eyes narrowing on her as they moved
over her from ankle to eyebrow. "Your eyes are like green fire," he
mused. His eyes turned to liquid gold, his neck and shoulders tightening with
some hidden strain.
    Teel opened her
mouth to make a willing retort and froze. Her eyes had a will of their own as
they looked at his broad, muscled body. It didn't matter how many times she
told herself she didn't like the kind of man Chazz Herman was. He still exerted
a powerful hold on her. He was too tall. She didn't like looking up at men. She
felt more comfortable if they were on eye level... or lower. She didn't try to
analyze why Chazz had such an unsettling effect on her even when he wasn't in
her company, but she knew her former peace of mind would not return until she
had put him behind her for good. Why in heaven's name did he wear those silky
briefs? They made his thighs look even more muscular than they were already.
Teel turned her back on him on the pretext of drying her hair.
    "Shall we go?" The
gentle question was whispered into her neck, making her stiffen.
    "Ah—yes."
    They crossed the beach in
silence, the walk seeming even farther because of the shifting sand under
Teel's feet.
    "I should have gotten the
dune buggy for you," Chazz said, giving her a long look.
    "No. It feels
good to do something as safe and sane as walking on a beach on a hot, sunny
day." His arm went round her waist, an impersonal support. She watched
many of the bikini-clad women stretched out on towels stare as Chazz walked
past. They irritated Teel.
    "Darby tells
me you're quite a mixture and not the purebred Irish girl he took you
for." Chazz chuckled.
    "I'm not a
girl at all, Mr. Herman," Teel replied. "I'm a twenty-seven-year-old
woman with a very satisfying career."
    "Sorry, Sister, I didn't mean to tread
on your toes. I was just making conversation."
    Teel shrugged. "I'm jumpy
about my age, I guess. A few of the board members think I'm too young to handle
the job adequately." She glanced at him. "I didn't mean to bark at
you. I'm really very grateful for all you've done for me."
    "The pleasure
has been all mine." His deep, smooth voice made her skin tingle.
    "Ah, you mentioned my
background. Tell me about yours. What sort of name is Herman?"
    "My father
was Jewish—German Jew on his father's side, Sephardic Jew on his mother's side.
My mother was of English descent. She and my father met at school in the Bronx. Father sold musical instruments. My Mother taught piano. They were killed in a fire
at the store when I was seven. I stayed with an aunt who was kind to me