It was a moment of exquisite torture. Cynthia's nerves tingled madly underhis piercing blue-eyed gaze.

"Understood?" he asked, his voice as commanding and arousing as his look had been.

"Yes," she managed, turning away, breaking the spell he had cast over her.

But what did she understand? She had come to concentrate on her work, andhere she was utterly distracted by Jonathan Roaman, the most attractive manshe had ever seen. Who would want to hurt her on this tiny island off therock-bound coast of Maine? And, more important still, if she put her life inhis hands, who would protect her heart?