After a few seconds, Jimmy gave him a nod and said, "Go ahead and give it to her, Andrew. Let's see what she can do."

Reluctantly, Andrew shot the ball her way, fast and hard, and she caught it with both hands without flinching, as he no doubt expected. She walked onto the basketball court and up to the three-point line, and her audience followed behind to watch.

She calculated the distance to the basketball hoop, bounced the ball a few times to get a feel for it, then glanced back at the small group of boys waiting with varying degrees of feigned boredom and subtle curiosity etching their expressions. Ben stood off to the side as well, his arms crossed casually over his chest, amusement flickering in his gaze.

"Okay, boys, and that includes you, too, Ben," she said, winking at him. "Pay close attention, because I'm about to show you what this girl can do."

She dribbled the ball a few more times, positioned herself, then concentrated on all the important elements of making a basket that her high school basketball coach had taught her. Visualizing the shot, she sent the ball sailing through the air, watching as it arched toward her target. The ball hit low on the backboard, and instead of bouncing back onto the court, it circled the rim of the basket before dropping through the net.

Yes, she thought in exhilaration as she suppressed the urge to do a victory dance of some sort. It wasn't the cleanest shot she'd ever made, but it was enough to prove that she was a girl with a few hoop skills of her own.

Nick ran out to fetch the ball as the other three stared at her in shock and blatant disbelief.

"Whoa," Samuel breathed in awe.

"That was awesome," Jimmy added, his eyes wide.

"Not bad for a girl," Andrew muttered beneath his breath.

"Nice shot," Ben said, the bland tone of his voice belying just how amazed she knew he really was beneath that indifferent façade of his.

Feeling a little cocky after mastering her shot, she strolled back toward the boys, her gaze on the biggest, sexiest one of the bunch. "Awww, come on, Ben. You were impressed. Admit it."

The corner of his mouth twitched with a smile, but he managed to keep his humor under wraps. "Maybe that was just beginner's luck."

"Hardly." She stopped in front of him and gave him a smug look. "I'll have you know that I was a guard on my high school varsity team."

That bit of news finally shook a surprised reaction out of him. "You played basketball in high school?"

He sounded as stunned as her mother had been when Christine had announced her choice of extra-curricular activity at the all-girls boarding school she'd attended. Audrey had been pushing for ballet or something equally feminine and had been less than pleased to discover her daughter had chosen what she considered a boy's sport.

"I know it might be hard to believe, but it's true," she said to Ben, as well as the boys who were still gathered close by. "Of course, it's been a while since I've actually played a game, but I'm sure I can hold my own. How about a quick ten-point game with the boys?"

"Yeah!" the foursome cheered enthusiastically in response.

Ben's gaze narrowed. "You're kidding, right?"

She spread her hands wide. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"

His gaze took her in, all the way down to the red painted toe nails peeking from her open-toed shoes. Then he gave her a private, teasing smirk. "You'll break your neck in those stilts you're wearing."

Which was easily remedied. She kicked off her Jimmy Choos, pushed up the sleeves on her top, and glanced back up at Ben, now four additional inches shorter than him-and much closer to the boys' heights. "I'll go barefoot."

He shook his head, not the least bit moved by her efforts to sway him. "I don't think so."

He was in full bodyguard mode, obviously trying to protect her from something as simple as a game of basketball, which she found ridiculous. Sure, she was smaller than most girls, but she was far from being a delicate debutante, and she wasn't about to let him treat her like one.

"I'm not that fragile, Ben. I swear I won't break if I get bumped around a little bit."

He blinked lazily and rocked back on his heels. "Maybe not, but you'll definitely get all hot and sweaty."

Something about the low, husky tone of his voice and the too sensual way his gaze held hers gave his comment a whole different meaning and inspired tantalizing fantasies of hot, sweaty sex… with him. The sudden awareness flaring between them made her feel restless, and a bit daring, and she didn't hesitate to act on the impulsive moment.

Still mindful of their young spectators nearby, she leaned closer to Ben to give them a small measure of privacy, licked her bottom lip, and whispered, "That's what showers are for."

Ben experienced a swift kick of lust straight to his gut as Christine's less than innocent comeback flooded his mind with provocative, erotic images-of her joining him in his shower, a steady stream of water sluicing down her naked body and a come-hither smile on her lips as he lathered all her sleek, sensual curves.

He swallowed back a low groan and shoved those dangerously arousing thoughts of Christine right out of his head. But despite the disappearance of those risque images, he still had to deal with the flesh-and-blood woman standing in front of him, who seemed so bound and determined to tempt him with what he couldn't have. Her.

Ever since they'd left her parents' house that afternoon, he'd noticed a distinct change in Christine. While she'd always teased and flirted with him in the past when their paths crossed, now that he'd been assigned as her bodyguard for the next three weeks, there was a stronger, more tangible seductive quality to her behavior he found way too inviting.

Like now. The irresistible dare in her sparkling blue eyes encompassed a slew of possibilities, and beckoned him to accept every single one of them. Then there was that beguiling curve to her lush mouth that captured his full attention, along with the fact that she was standing close enough for him to look down and watch the intriguing rise and fall of her small, firm breasts.

"Awww, come on, Ben," Jimmy said, effectively reminding him that he wasn't alone with Christine, as he suddenly wished he were.

"It's just one quick game." Nick added.

Christine batted her lashes, taunting him in that affable way of hers. "Yeah, come on, Ben," she cajoled, her tone sugar-sweet. "Or are you afraid I might whoop your butt?"

"Ooooo," the foursome chorused together, as if she'd just issued the ultimate challenge to his masculinity. Which she had.

He pointed a finger toward her pert little nose. "You're so on." After that bold, nervy statement, he wasn't about to say no. "And don't expect me to go easy on you because you're a girl."

She tossed her head back and laughed. "And don't whine like a little boy when you lose."

God, she was too much, though he had to admit that her confidence was a huge turn-on.

They divided up into teams, with two boys on each side. With a toss of the ball, the game began. Christine took the sport seriously, using exceptional skill when it came to playing with the kids, but she saved all her womanly wiles for when it came to dealing with him. Like when he came up behind her to steal the ball from her grasp, and she turned the move into a full, frontal body assault as she scooted back and pressed her curvy bottom against his groin, forcing him to retreat from the too-intimate position or risk embarrassing himself in front of the boys with a raging hard-on.

But putting distance between himself and Christine on the court didn't stop him from noticing how a gradual pink flush suffused her face, or enjoying the fun-loving laughter that pierced the air as she managed to outwit her opponents. She played aggressively, and she was in it to win. She passed the ball to her teammates when the opportunity presented itself, made a few shots of her own, and didn't mind getting down and dirty for fear of breaking a nail or messing up her hair.

Every time she got close to him, Ben caught a whiff of her signature scent-a warm, vanilla fragrance that made him want to take a big bite out of her. Or lick her skin to see if she tasted as good as she smelled. And the harder she played the game, the stronger the scent grew, combining with everything else about her to distract the hell out of him.

He couldn't focus on the game, couldn't make a shot if his life depended on it. Because when he tried, she was right there in front of him, trying to take the ball away-and using everything in her feminine arsenal to do it.

She didn't play fair, at least not with him.

By the time the game ended, with his team losing by four points, he was sweating and breathing too hard, and it had little to do with the October sun overhead, and was more a result of Christine's frisky moves.

As she celebrated with her teammates with high-fives and atta boys, all he could do was grin, shake his head, and take the loss like a man.

His teammates, Jimmy and Andrew, weren't as benevolent.

"I can't believe we lost to a girl," Jimmy grumbled.

"Yeah, that totally sucks," Andrew added with a frown.

"Come on, guys, don't be poor sports," Ben said as he clasped both Jimmy and Andrew on the shoulder in a small attempt to soothe their bruised egos. "They won fair and square, so let's go congratulate them."

With a little push from Ben in the right direction, the boys headed toward the champions and issued a "good game" compliment. The foursome went back to playing basketball on their own, and Christine picked up her shoes and strolled toward Ben, glowing from the exertion of playing the game, and from her recent victory.