he seized her hand, kissing the palm fiercely, looking up with a question in his eyes.
‘Please,’ she murmured.
He gave a sudden groan. ‘All right, I give in. I’ll do whatever you want. You’re the boss lady.’
She looked at him, unable to believe it. The feelings that had risen and swamped her made the tears flow more than ever.
‘Don’t,’ he begged. ‘Don’t… Look…come here.’
His arms tightened about her, his lips brushed her wet cheeks.
‘It’s all right,’ he said fiercely, ‘
‘I just want you to be safe,’ she whispered.
‘And I will be safe, as long as I have you.’
‘You’ll always have me.’
‘Look at me,’ he murmured, lifting her chin with his fingers.
There was a dark light in his eyes, not the anger that had been there before, but one that seemed to open a new door. If only she knew-
Their mouths were close and she could feel the warmth of his breath against her lips. Scarcely knowing what she did, she moved until they brushed softly against each other. It was the faintest touch, yet it was enough to bring back the moment on the beach when he had kissed her. She was shaking now as she had been then, and so was he. Now she sensed in him the same mixture of reactions-joy, disbelief, wonder, confusion-as she sensed in herself.
He lowered his mouth to touch hers more completely. Even then he was hesitant, but only for a moment, until he read the message of tender willingness in her lips, her hands touching his face. The wild excitement that had taken them by storm on the beach was there, but still lurking in the shadows, tempting them on with the promise of sweet discoveries, when they should have the courage to make them.
‘Charlene-’ He drew back a fraction. ‘Do you think-?’
‘Hush. What I think is…that this is no time for thinking.’
He hesitated only a moment, as if needing to be quite sure. Then he rose slowly, taking her hand for the short journey to his room. The huge windows, looking down over the lights of the city, were uncovered. But they didn’t draw the curtains across. There was no need. Up here, in the dark, nobody could see them as their clothes fell away.
For a while, lying on the bed, they were strangely still, silently asking each other questions, seeking answers, happy when they found them. Then the first movements, tentative, discovering each other, realising that all was well.
His touch was gentle, fingers drifting across her naked skin, pausing, exploring slowly as though ready to retreat, but never doing so. She was glad of that. If he had stopped now she would have been devastated. She tried to convey her feelings through her own fingertips, caressing him softly, letting him know that this was right, perfect. The moment when she became his was the sweetest of her life.
Afterwards there was peace, the joyous satisfaction of lying back with his head on her chest, both of them totally still. In a few moments she was asleep.
She awoke in the early hours to find Travis restless, moving here and there as though desperately seeking something. His eyes were closed and his breathing deep. He still slept, but even in the depths of sleep something was disturbing him.
She touched him gently and at once he grew still. After a moment he moved again, reaching out until his hands encountered her, touched her face, her eyes, her lips.
‘I’m here,’ she whispered. ‘I’m here beside you.’
Slowly she felt the tension drain from him. A long sigh came softly from his lips. He turned so that his head was resting on her shoulder, and after that he never moved again until they awoke together in the early morning.
He rested on his elbows to look down at her.
‘Is everything all right?’ he asked.
‘Everything’s fine with me. Did you have a good night’s sleep?’
‘I did in the end. I don’t know what happened. I was restless for a while. I wanted to wake up but I couldn’t make it happen. But then suddenly all the trouble vanished and everything was peaceful.’
‘Dreams can be like that,’ she whispered.
He stroked her face. ‘Was it just a dream? Charlene, I don’t know how to say this, but-’
‘Then don’t say it,’ she whispered, her finger over his lips. ‘Not now.’
He rose from the bed, divided by two conflicting desires, to be close to her, feeling her warmth and comfort enfold him again, and to be alone with his confused thoughts.
Which of them, he wondered, had led the other into the bedroom? He’d been the first to rise to his feet, take her hand and draw her after him. But he knew he would never have done so if he hadn’t felt her willingness, sensed that she was urging him to take action and would be disappointed if he didn’t.
So who had led who?
But there was another question, more urgent, more worrying.
Last night she had rescued him, as so often before. But who was the woman who had come into his bed? Charlene, the lover who had touched his heart? Or Charlie, the sister and protector who pandered to his needs like a nursemaid?
And if it was the second, might there not be a tiny hint of contempt in her kindness?
That thought made him shiver.
Over the next few days Charlene had the feeling that Travis had changed towards her. He never spoke of the passion they had shared, nor did his manner invite her to speak of it. He seemed uneasy in her company, as though he felt they’d come too close and was trying to step back. Several times he took her out to dinner, but always with other friends present. It was as though he didn’t want to be alone with her.
She waited, hoping that he would open his arms to her and take her again into his bed, where they could rediscover the tenderness that had been so special. Then she would know what it had really meant.
But she waited in vain. Travis seemed to have put their lovemaking behind them as completely as if it had never happened. Sometimes she would look up to find him regarding her with a strange questioning expression. But when he saw her glance he would immediately begin to talk about something unimportant.
With pain and dismay, she realised that he’d turned to her, not in love but in need. She could give him something he’d found nowhere else, but he wasn’t ready for the next step. Perhaps he never would be.
But she refused to give up hope yet. It would take time for them to find each other, but she would be patient. There was everything to gain.
A location shoot caused him to be away in Washington for several nights. His calls home were cheerful, but left her wondering if he was glad to be away from her. Perhaps she would know everything when she saw him again.
But when she met him and Joe at the airport there had been a development that briefly blotted out everything else.
‘I’ve had a call from Marcel,’ he said. ‘His wedding is next week.’
‘Yes, it’s got to be fitted in with some money-making project.’
‘How does the bride feel about that?’
Travis grinned. ‘I should have mentioned; it’s her money-making project. So next week we’re off to Paris.’
‘Can you get time off?’ she asked.
Travis looked over his shoulder to Joe, walking just behind them. ‘You said there’d be no problem, didn’t you?’
‘Sure thing,’ announced Joe. ‘Great PR stuff. You’re a Falcon among Falcons. Big names. Lots of spotlight. Go to Paris, have a great time and do your stuff, both of you.’
The next few days were hectic. Travis devoted himself to filming while Charlene went on a shopping binge,
