The Adventurer

around her. She felt alone in the world and at the same time, threatened by something she did not yet understand.
    One by one the doubts began to creep in and take root.
    Maybe she was handling everything all wrong, she thought. What did she really know about dealing with a man like Gideon? It was true that in some mysterious way he was the personification of the heroes in her books, but she was also discovering that there was a lot she did not know or fully comprehend about those heroes. They were a part of her and yet they were strangers—alien lovers about whom she understood certain aspects but not others.
    She had the ability to fashion exciting stories around such male characters but the raw truth was that she could not make real life turn out as neatly as a novel of romantic suspense. She had landed on Gideon's doorstep fully prepared to live out the fantasy of 'Beauty and the Beast."
    But in real life a man like Gideon Trace was not so easy to rescue from the curse of his past, not so easy to gentle and tame. He was more complex, more unpredictable and far more powerful than any fictional hero.
    Sarah came to an abrupt halt near a small tide pool as a familiar sense of tingling awareness went through her. She definitely was not alone on the beach. She stood very still, waiting.
    A moment later Jake Savage materialized out of the fog, not more than ten feet in front of her. He was dressed with his usual flair, polished boots and khakis and a leather jacket that, although it appeared to be brand new, was designed to look well worn and extremely macho. His black hair was damp from the fog and his bright blue eyes were alive with an almost feverish anticipation. Sarah suddenly wished that Gideon was not sound asleep in the house.
    "Hello, Sarah. I'm surprised Gid let you out of his sight. Or did you slip the leash?"
    "I just felt like taking a morning walk. What are you doing here, Jake?"
    "What do you think I'm doing here? I came to find you. I've been keeping an eye on the house since yesterday, waiting for a chance to talk to you alone for a few minutes. I caught a glimpse of someone coming down the path through the fog a while ago and decided to see if it might be you."
    "You've been spying on us?"
    "Like I said, just waiting to talk to you. I knew Gid wouldn't let me anywhere near you if he had anything to say about it."
    "Why did you want to talk to me?"
    Jake smiled wryly. "I know it's none of my business, but I thought you ought to be told a few facts. Call me sentimental, but I didn't want to see you go through what Gid's wife went through."
    "Oh, yes, Leanna. She cheated on him with you, didn't she?"
    "Is that what Gid told you?"
    "Isn't that what happened?"
    Jake ran a hand through his hair, tousling it rakishly. "She was a very unhappy woman, Sarah. She turned to me for comfort. I guess I felt sorry for her."
    "But not sorry enough to marry her after she left Gideon for you, right?"
    Jake frowned. "Leanna wanted rescuing and I'm not much into the role of knight in shining armor."
    "You prefer the role of seducer and betrayer."
    Jake's eyes narrowed. "Gid really told you a story, didn't he?"
    "No. I've managed to piece a lot of it together for myself, thought. It's pretty obvious what happened. Leanna was an immature, unhappy woman who was probably initially attracted to Gideon's strength but later dazzled by your flash. I suppose one could say she got what she deserved, which was nothing, but that doesn't make you any less guilty of betraying your partner. Why did you do it? Surely one woman more or less wasn't that important. A man like you can probably have his pick of women."
    "Is that supposed to be a compliment?"
    "No. An observation. Why, Jake?"
    "That's none of your damned business. I took what was being offered on a silver platter, that's all. Hell, Leanna was a beautiful woman. If Gid couldn't keep her satisfied, that wasn't my problem."
    Sarah shook her head thoughtfully. "No, I think there was more to it than that. You were jealous of Gideon, weren't you? Sleeping with Leanna was a way of getting even with him."
    "Are you nuts, lady? Why in hell would I be jealous of Gid?"
    "Because you were nothing except a hustler without him and deep down inside, you knew it. He was the one who made the partnership work. He was the one who had the skill and the talent to find whatever you two went looking for."
    "The hell he was."
    "You knew that you were totally dependent on him and eventually you must