The Adventurer

pointed the dripping whisk straight at him. "I can see that when I arrived on your doorstep, I was already light-years ahead of you in terms of my position within our relationship."
    "Hell. Are you still on that kick?"
    "Of course. What we need to do is let you catch up with me. Your progress has been severely retarded by the fact that you've got a few unpleasant events in your past that have made you gun-shy when it comes to relationships. In short, you're afraid I might be as foolish and as uncertain of what I really want as your ex-wife was. You don't trust my judgment."
    "I didn't say Leanna was foolish or uncertain."
    "No, but it's obvious she was if she actually thought she wanted someone else instead of you."
    "I don't know what makes you think I'm such a hell of a catch, but—"
    "On top of having your wife desert you, you also had the traumatic experience of being betrayed by a close male friend. In short, you've got a legitimate fear of being betrayed by people you trust. You're carrying some serious scars. You've obviously learned to keep yourself aloof from people who try to get too close to you. You've gotten in the habit of questioning everyone's motives. It's entirely understandable."
    Gideon stared at her. "No kidding?"
    "Don't act so insulted. We're all shaped emotionally by our pasts even when our rational mind tells us we don't have to repeat our mistakes. If we're reasonably intelligent, we're afraid we might repeat those mistakes. If we're not too intelligent or self-aware we go on repeating them. Either way, it's hard to break the cycle."
    Gideon propped one shoulder against the doorjamb. He looked fascinated. "What hang-ups have you got from your traumatic experience of being left at the altar?"
    "Well, for one thing, you'd never find me waiting in a wedding dress in front of a church full of people again, that's for sure."
    "You don't plan to marry?" he asked slowly.
    "I didn't say that. I just wouldn't risk a big wedding with all the trimmings. Believe me, if I ever decide to try it again, it'll be a quick trip to Vegas or Reno." She grinned. "See? We all have our scars. Rationally I tell myself that I wouldn't screw up and make such a major error in judgment again. I'll be sure of what I'm doing the next time and it will be perfectly safe to plan a big wedding if that's what I wanted."
    "But you won't plan one?"
    She shook her head swiftly. "No, I won't. Emotionally I couldn't face it. I couldn't bear to risk that sort of humiliation again, no matter how sure I was of the man I was marrying. Just the prospect of addressing invitations to all the people who witnessed the first fiasco is enough to make me cringe." She shook off the old pain and smiled reassuringly. "You see? That's how our mistakes affect us. We try to learn from them, to protect ourselves and in doing so we sometimes err on the side of caution."
    He watched her intently. "If I'd have been there, I'd have nailed the bastard's hide to the wall."
    Sarah was instantly warmed by the unexpected words. She smiled mistily. "Gideon, that's about the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. Thank you."
    "Forget it." He came toward her.
    Sarah felt the immediate tingle of sensual awareness ripple through her. She wasn't sure what the determination in Gideon's eyes meant, however. Instinctively she stepped back and found herself up against the kitchen counter. "Gideon?"
    He didn't halt, just kept coming toward her until he was looming over her, crowding her against the counter. He was overwhelming when he was this close. Sarah was mesmerized by the pattern of crisp, curling hair on his broad chest. She gripped the whisk handle as if it were a lifeline to sanity.
    Deliberately he reached out and removed the bowl of pancake batter and the whisk from her frozen fingers.
    "Gideon, I don't think…"
    "Sarah," he muttered, his voice lower and grittier than usual as his hands slid up her arms to her shoulders, "let's get something understood here. You don't have to go through a lot of crazy rationalization or try to see me through rose-colored glasses if all you really want is for me to take you to bed. I'll be glad to lay you down on that sofa over there right now."
    Sarah panicked. "Don't you dare do this to me, Gideon Trace. This is a relationship we're building here. I'm not about to let you reduce it to nothing more than a roll in the hay."
    "I wasn't going to do that."
    "Yes, you were. That's exactly what you were going to do and I won't