Nick, another one of the boys, looked pointedly at her outfit, her bangle bracelets, then her high-heeled shoes before meeting her gaze. "We'd ask you to play hoops, but you look way too girly for us."
There was an edge of sarcasm to the kid's voice, and she arched a brow at him. "Just because I look like a girl doesn't mean I play like a girl."
"Yes, it does," Samuel chimed in, backing his friend with a succinct nod.
Smiling, she held her hand out to Andrew, the one who was holding the basketball. "Let me have the ball," she said in a friendly, easygoing tone.
Andrew frowned and took a small step back, unwilling to give her the coveted ball that clearly defined them as "men" in their minds. "You're a girl?"
"Why, yes, I am," she agreed, and kept her hand stretched toward him.
Beside her. Ben sighed. "Christine-"
Ignoring her bodyguard, she kept her gaze locked with the boy's. "Come on, give me the ball, please? I'd like to show you something real quick, and then you can have it back. I promise."
Still skeptical, Andrew glanced toward Jimmy, establishing the other kid as the leader of their pack and the one who made all the crucial decisions in their circle of friendship.
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."