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a little brighter. Without any way to check short of getting out of bed and going down to the kitchen,
which she wasn t willing to do she supposed four fifty-one was close enough. How handy was that, to
not need a clock?
Dante was lying on his side, facing her, one arm bent under his head, his breathing slow and deep. The
room was still too dim for her to make out many details, but that was okay, because she wasn t ready for
details yet; the general impression was sexy enough as things were.
What was a woman supposed to think when a healthy, heterosexual man slept with her for the first time
and didn t even try to cop a feel? That something was wrong with her? That he wasn t attracted to her?
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She thought he was dangerously intelligent and intuitive.
Sex was definitely part of their relationship, if knowing someone for roughly thirty-six hours could be
described as a relationship. Some of those thirty-six hours had seemed years long, especially the first four
or five. She couldn t say that their time together had been quality time, either. On the other hand, since
she hadn t seen him at his best, she thought she might know him better than someone who had known
him for a much longer time but only in a social setting, so she wasn t surprised that he hadn t made a pass
at her during the night.
She wasn t ready for sex with him, might never be ready, and he knew that. If he d tried to storm the
barricades, as it were, she would have stiffened her resistance. By simply sleeping with her and not
making any overtly sexual moves, he was, in a way, counteracting those first terrible hours together and
making sex a possibility, at least.
He wasn t even naked, though the boxers he d worn to bed didn t cover much. She wasn t naked,
either; he d hadall her clothes brought to her, so she was sleeping in her usual cotton pajamas.
Perversely, because hehadn t tried to have sex, she began to wonder what it would be like if they
did then suspected that he d known that would be her reaction.
Sex wasn t easy for her. She didn t trust easily; she didn t arouse easily. Voluntarily giving up her
personal sense of privacy was difficult, and the payback was usually not worth the cost. She liked the feel
of sex, and when she thought about it in the abstract, she wanted it. The reality, though, was that the
execution didn t live up to the expectation. Regardless of what she was doing, she seldom relaxed
completely, which she thought good sex probably required.
The thing was, she was more relaxed with Dante than she d been in a long, long time. He knew what she
was, knew she was different, and he didn t care because he was even more different than she was. She
didn t have to hide anything with him, because she didn t care if he liked her or not. She certainly hadn t
tried to hide her temper or sweeten her tart tongue. Likewise, she had no soft-focus ideas about his
character. She knew he was ruthless, but she also knew he wasn t mean. She knew he was autocratic,
but that he tried to be considerate.
So maybe she could let herself go and really enjoy sex with him. She didn t have to worry about his ego;
if he started going too fast, she could tell him to slow down, and if he didn t like that... tough. She
wouldn t have to worry about his pleasure; he would see to that himself.
She wondered if he took his time, or if he liked to get down to business.
She wondered how big he was.
Maybeshe could relax enough to enjoy it, and even if she didn t, at least she could satisfy her curiosity.
With a suddenness that startled her, he threw back the covers and got out of bed. Where are you
going? she asked, surprised when he headed toward the door instead of the bathroom.
It s sunrise, was all he said.
And? The sun rose every day. Did he mean he always got up at this time, even when he d had only four
hours sleep? Or did he have an early appointment?
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She didn t follow him. She had her own appointment with the bathroom. She also wanted to give him
enough time to have that first cup of coffee.
When she left her room forty-five minutes later, after having made the bed and put away her clothes, she
went to the kitchen but found it empty. A pot of coffee had been made, however, and she smiled with
satisfaction.
Where was he? In the shower?
She didn t intend to stand around waiting for him to make an appearance. She was in the living room,
heading toward her bedroom, when he appeared on the balcony two floors above.
Come up here, he called down. I ll be outside.
His bedroom had a deck or was it a balcony, too? that faced east. She had looked at it yesterday,
but hadn t gone out, because his damn command had kept her from stepping outside. There were two
comfortable-looking chairs and a small table out there, and she d thought it must be a comfortable place
to sit in the afternoon when the sun had passed its apex and that side of the house was shaded.
She went up the two flights of stairs to his bedroom. His bed, she noticed, had been stripped; that gave
her a sense of satisfaction. She could see him sitting in one of the chairs outside, so she went to the open
French door. Coffee cup in hand, he sat with his head tilted back a little, his eyes almost closed against
the brilliance of the bright morning sun, the expression on his face almost... blissful.
You re handy with the salt, aren t you? he said neutrally, sipping the coffee, but she sensed he wasn t
angry. Of course, the coffee from the kitchen wasn t dirt-flavored. When he made the next pot of coffee
in here, he might not be as sanguine about things.
Payback.
I guessed.
He didn t say anything else, and after a moment she shifted her weight. Was that all you wanted, just to
say that?
He looked around, as if he d drifted off into a reverie and was faintly surprised by her presence. Don t
just stand there, come out here and sit down.
Just thinking about doing so gave her the sense of running into a wall. I can t.
That got a quick smile from him as he realized she was still housebound. He didn t say anything, but
immediately the mental wall disappeared.
Crap, she said, stepping outside and going to sit beside him.
What?
You didn t say anything, you just thought it. I d hoped you had to speak the command out loud, that I
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