The Adventurer

risen to do the dishes without a word.
    "You know what I'm talking about." Gideon rinsed the dishes under a spray of hot water. "How long are you going to flit around here acting like you're my roommate or a boarder I've taken in for the summer?"
    "Oh, that. As long as it takes, I guess."
    A pan clattered loudly in the sink. "As long as it takes to do what, damn it?"
    "As long as it takes for you to realize that we're supposed to be building a relationship."
    He swung her a brief, angry glance. "If your crazy intuition is telling you this is the way to create a good relationship, you've got bigger problems than I thought."
    "What do you want me to do, Gideon?" Sarah asked as Ellora plopped into her lap. "Sleep with you on demand even though you don't trust me and won't admit you love me? What's in it for me?"
    "What the hell do you want from me?"
    "You know what I want."
    He snagged a dishtowel and began drying plates with swift, violent motions. "You started throwing yourself at me the minute I met you. I thought for a while you wanted me."
    "I do."
    "You don't seem to be having much of a problem pretending I'm just the landlord lately."
    "That's not true," Sarah said. "This is as hard on me as it is on you. I'm suffering, too, you know."
    "Not as far as I can see." He slung the dishes into the cupboard. "How does this new tactic work? If I go down on my knees and swear I love you and will trust blindly in you forever, do I get to go to bed with you?"
    Sarah held her breath. "That would certainly be a promising start."
    He shot her a scowling look as he put the rest of the dishes away. "Don't press your luck, Sarah."
    She sighed. "It's all Savage's fault. If he hadn't shown up out of the blue when he did, you'd have made much more progress by now. I just know you would have. I wish he'd stayed gone."
    "You and me both." Gideon closed the cupboard door and stalked over to stand in front of her. "Come here." He reached down to grab her hand.
    She looked up warily. "Where are we going?"
    "If you're going to act like a roommate or a summer boarder, you might as well give me a few of the benefits I'd expect from one."
    "Gideon, I told you…"
    Ellora squawked in annoyance as she was dumped unceremoniously from Sarah's lap. It wasn't Sarah's fault. Gideon had yanked her to her feet and was pulling her through the doorway into the living room.
    "Sit." Gideon used a hand on her shoulder to propel her into a chair in front of the chess table. He took the seat across from her and studied her as she sat scowling at him.
    "You ever play chess?" Gideon asked.
    "Nope."
    "Somehow I thought that might be the case. Well, if you're going to hang around here, you'd better learn. I need a regular partner. My neighbor obliges once in a while but he's not always around when I feel like a game."
    Sarah felt a sudden glow of pleasure at his words. Her expression softened instantly. "You want me to play chess with you? Gideon, I'm touched. It's wonderful that you're starting to see me as something more than a convenient sex object."
    "You were never that."
    "Never a sex object?"
    "Never very convenient. In fact, you've been nothing but inconvenient since the day you arrived." Gideon began setting out the chess pieces. "Pay attention. The first thing you're going to have to learn about chess is that you can't rely solely on your famous intuition."
    "Why not?" She surveyed the pieces with deep interest.
    "Because you'll lose if you do. Chess demands foresight, planning and strategy."
    "That's the sort of thing you're supposed to be so good at."
    Gideon smiled grimly. "Right. You're going to have to work hard if you want to beat me."
    "I don't mind learning to play, but I should tell you I don't have the killer instinct when it comes to games. Somehow it's just never seemed all that important to win." Sarah was increasingly fascinated by the carved wooden chess figures. She picked up a knight. It felt good in her palm. "Did you make these?"
    "Yes." He eyed her as she fingered the knight. "One winter when I had a lot of spare time. Why?"
    Sarah shrugged and put the knight back down on the board. "Oh, I don't know. They're just interesting. Unusual. Maybe you have heretofore undiscovered talents as a sculptor."
    "I doubt it. All right, we're all set. You ready?"
    "That depends. Are you going to yell at me a lot if I don't learn fast enough to suit you?"
    "Probably. I'm not feeling real patient at the moment."
    Sarah glared at him. "If you start