The Adventurer

remember?"
    "Expert advice doesn't come cheap."
    "You've already told me you're not a professional treasure hunter. You just write about treasure hunting."
    "I'm a lot more professional than you are."
    Her resentment flared. "Too bad I can't get hold of the famous Jake Savage, isn't it? Then I wouldn't need you."
    His mouth thinned. "You said you thought I'd do just fine, remember?"
    She wrenched her wrist free of his grasp at last and shoved open the car door. "I'll make my decision in the morning."
    He didn't try to stop her as she stalked toward her room, flexing her hand to see if her wrist still functioned. It did. He hadn't really hurt her. He was a powerful man but one who was very much in control of his own strength.
    Just like one of her heroes.
    She refused to give Gideon the satisfaction of glancing back over her shoulder as she opened the door of her room. He didn't start the car until she was safely inside. Hurrying over to the window, she peeked through a small opening in the curtains to watch as he drove off into the night.
    When the parking lot was silent again she switched on a light and sank down on the edge of the bed to think.
    No doubt about it. Her impulsiveness and blind faith in her own intuition had gotten her in trouble again. She had moved too fast without taking the time to analyze just what she was dealing with.
    Just because she had started to fall in love with Gideon Trace from the moment she had opened his first letter did not mean that she understood him. The man was turning out to be much more of an enigma than she had anticipated. The fact that he could even begin to suspect her motives was proof of that. She did not see how he could possibly doubt her.
    Sarah twisted her hands in her lap, aware of a chilled feeling in the room that was not entirely a result of the gathering fog outside. She did not want to face the obvious, but she had to force herself to do so.
    She had to wonder if she was making the same kind of mistake she'd made with Richard. She had to wonder if she was turning a blind eye to the obvious warnings.
    Margaret was right. Impulsiveness was a dangerous quality.
    With a wretched sigh, Sarah got to her feet and went about the business of getting ready for bed. There was nothing she could do tonight. She would wait and see if dawn brought a clearer notion of how to handle the situation.
     
    G O BACK TO YOUR BIG , cold house and your cats.
    Hours later it occurred to Gideon that he had been sitting for a long time in the darkened living room. There was a half-empty glass of brandy on the table in front of him. Ellora was curled up against his thigh, purring contentedly. Machu Picchu was stretched full length across the back of the sofa.
    Gideon hadn't bothered to turn on any lights. It was almost midnight. And the house was cold. He wondered if it was worth building a fire.
    "The place was just fine until she arrived. It didn't seem cold at all until after she'd been in it and left," he told the cats.
    Machu flicked his ears, not bothering to open his eyes. Ellora slithered around a bit until she was more comfortable.
    "No offense, but you two aren't the world's greatest conversationalists."
    Gideon got up off the sofa. He picked up the brandy glass and walked over to the table where the chess pieces had been set out. Idly he fingered the wooden figures for a moment and then he set them out in a slightly different pattern.
    Machu rumbled inquiringly.
    "Think she'd have made the deal with Jake Savage if the bastard was still around, Machu? Savage always had a way with women. He sure wouldn't have screwed up the way I did tonight. He'd have charmed her straight into bed."
    Machu didn't answer but his gem-hard eyes watched Gideon intently.
    "You and me, we're not exactly loaded with charm, are we, pal?" Gideon studied the new positions of the wooden figures. The balance of power had now shifted to his side of the board. "But Savage isn't here. I am. And she wants the Flowers. I can lead her to them. The question is, do I really want to get mixed up with her? We've been doing pretty well here on our own."
    Ellora lifted her head and meowed silently.
    "So why does the house seem cold, damn it? It's almost summer."
     
    G IDEON T RACE was at Sarah's door before she had even finished dressing for the day in a pair of white jeans and a lemon-yellow shirt. Deliberately she made him wait while she anchored her hair in an off-center twist over one ear. Then she went to open the