The Adventurer

Not this time."
    "What more can you ask?"
    "I want you to admit why you did it."
    "Why I did it?" he asked blankly.
    "Yes. Why you did all of it. Why you said those things about the reasons I was sleeping with you, why you whisked us away from the cabin and why you're so determined to keep me here instead of letting me go back to Seattle."
    He stared at her, wishing he could see her face. "But I told you why I did all those things."
    "You gave me a fine song and dance about having legitimate reasons to question my motives and how you were going to protect me from Jake Savage in spite of myself, but that's not the real reason."
    "It's not?"
    "No, it's not. I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've finally figured out what's going on inside that thick skull of yours. It's time you admitted to me and to yourself the real reason you've been acting the way you have today."
    "All right, I give up. What is the real reason?"
    Sarah sat up against the pillows, her eyes glinting in the shadows. "Actually, there are two reasons. First, you're afraid to admit how much you've come to care for me, and second, you're jealous of Jake Savage."
    "Jealous?"
    "You're afraid he's going to steal me, not the Flowers, aren't you? Isn't that the truth? Isn't it? Come on, Gideon, say it. You've finally started to realize you're in love with me and you're afraid I'm going to get swept off my feet by Jake Savage. That's the real motivation behind your actions, isn't it?"
    Gideon felt as if he'd been sandbagged. "Is that why you didn't put up much of a fight about staying here with me?"
    "Of course it is. If I didn't think there was hope for you, I'd have gone straight back to Seattle. But I finally realized the real reason you were acting like a lion with a thorn in its paw and I decided to give you a little time to understand your own actions. But I'm not about to sleep with you again until you finally acknowledge how you really feel about me. Then we'll discuss your little problem with jealousy. Don't worry. It's nothing we can't work out."
    For once Gideon managed to keep his mouth shut, although how he managed it, he never knew. Jealous? Jealous of Savage? The blood was pounding in his veins, but not from desire. He hadn't been this furious in a long time. He turned on his heel, picked up his discarded clothes and stormed out of the room. He slammed the door so hard the wall trembled.
    He was damned if he would admit he was jealous of Savage. He would not give Sarah that much power. Never in a million years. He would never again give any woman that kind of power over him.
    Besides, she was a hundred miles wide of the mark. He wasn't jealous, he was just cautious. He was keeping her out of Savage's reach only because he was trying to protect her from her own naïveté. If she couldn't see that, she was a fool and a manipulative one at that.
    If she wanted to think she was in love with him, that was fine, Gideon told himself. But it would be a cold day in Hades before he set himself up to be betrayed again by his woman and his ex-partner. This time around he was going to stay in charge of the situation.
    He'd learned a long time ago that the only safe way to exist was to keep his emotions under rigid control. Sarah Fleetwood was not going to force him to break the rules under which he had been living successfully for the past five years.

9
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    S ARAH TRIED HER BEST to ignore Gideon's foul mood for the next two days. She pursued a variety of activities as if she were on vacation, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, taking long walks on the beach, reading books from Gideon's extensive library.
    She was unfailingly good-natured and upbeat, even though she had to grit her teeth on more than one occasion when Gideon turned on her like a cornered cat. In truth, there were some very discouraging moments.
    But Sarah was determined that one way or another Gideon was going to learn that this relationship worked on trust, not good sex.
    "How long do you think you can keep this up?" Gideon demanded as he washed dishes on the second night.
    "Keep what up?" Sarah reclined at the kitchen table, her feet propped on a chair as she recovered from her labors. Dinner had been a particularly spectacular affair, one of her best efforts yet. The Thai-style noodles, hot-and-sour soup and raspberries in filo had been a culinary triumph as far as she was concerned. Gideon had made no comment as he'd worked his way steadily through the meal. He'd