Fascinated

nothing more than your current sexual partner. Is that better?'

He slowly exhaled and then ruefully smiled. 'I beg your pardon, most profoundly.'

'Apology accepted. Might I suggest, though, if you're concerned with some woman trapping you, you should consider using a condom. It would be a sensible idea.'

'I usually do.'

Her eyes opened the merest fraction more. 'But not with me?'

He looked momentarily afflicted, and then he dazzled her with his warm, boyish smile. 'I have no explanation.'

'And you have no intention of thinking about it.'

He grinned. 'No.'

Her smile this time was well-bred and urbane. 'Nor do I. We are neither in a position to think unduly about'- she sweepingly gestured around the room-'this tantalizing interlude at the Hotel de Paris. If we did, we would have to stop this madness.'

'And I have no intention of doing that.'

She put up her hand. 'A small intermission, perhaps, if you'd be so kind. I really do have to go home and let my servants know I'm safe.'

'Have them come here.'

'I'd be embarrassed in the extreme.'

'Then, I'll go home with you.' He didn't wish to relinquish her, however briefly, for myriad selfish reasons.

She gently shook her head. 'Let me go first and smooth the way.'

He laughed. 'You sound as though you have chaperons.'

'I suppose they are in a way, but they've also been of great solace to me; so I shall go ahead, and you may follow me if you wish.'

'Of course I wish.' His voice was gruff.

Her smile was filled with delight. 'I was hoping you might.'

'How long do I have to wait?' He felt like an adolescent with his first lover, burning with impatience, filled with longing.

'Give me, say, two hours. Enough time to explain what I can of this'-she grinned-'relationship… and I use the term loosely, and time also to allow them to assimilate the good news of our casino winnings.' She reached out to touch his hand. 'And for that I shall be eternally in your debt.'

'As I am for your delightful company,' he smoothly replied, facile charm second nature to him. 'And if I must wait two hours, I'd be grateful if you left posthaste, so I may see you that much sooner.' Throwing his legs over the side of the bed, he quickly came to his feet. 'I'll help you dress.'

She wasn't entirely sure his haste was sincerely motivated or predicated on the notion he could rid himself of her sooner if he helped her along. A man of his licentious tastes didn't inspire any ideals of genuine devotion. And whether he would appear in two hours was highly moot. But if he didn't, she would have not only wonderful memories, but the necessary money to save her home and a new and delightful appreciation for the enchanting congress between a man and a woman.

He kissed her as she stood by the door, once more dressed and presentable, thanks in no small part to his swift proficiency as lady's maid.

'Thank you,' she quietly said, 'for everything.' Wanting one last moment of physical contact in the event he didn't appear, she touched the lapel of his robe in a lingering caress.

Disconcerted by sentiment, by goodbyes, by the disarray of emotions she occasioned, he glanced at the clock on the mantel. 'We needn't say more than adieu. I'll see you in two hours.'

Her heart leaped with joy even as she cautioned herself to be sensible about a man like Flynn. 'Then, I'll just say adieu.'

'Two hours, darling, and you'd better complete your explanations to your servants, because I intend to monopolize you once I see you again.'

'How charmingly masterful you are.' Her voice was a low, sensuous purr.

'Don't start that,' he warned, reaching for the door latch, 'or you'll never get out of here.' Pulling the door open, he gently pushed her out into the corridor. 'Claude has a carriage waiting for you. And I'd escort you downstairs, but I'm sure you'd rather I didn't.'

She blew him a kiss. 'Thank you again.'

'Hurry,' he brusquely said.

She floated down the hall and then down the stairs, and when Claude caught sight of her as he waited near the outside door, he repressed the knowing smile that came to his lips. 'Good morning, Miss Greenwood,' he said as she approached. 'It's a beautiful morning, isn't it?'

'The most beautiful, indeed, Claude.' She ran her hands lightly over her coiffure-for all the good luck she had experienced. 'Quite the most beautiful,' she softly added, walking past him to the carriage waiting at the entrance to the Hotel de Paris.

Chapter Three

While Felicia enjoyed her morning drive home, Flynn summoned two shop owners to his suite, and when they arrived, his orders were crisp and concise. Neither asked for clarification. They both understood the Duke of Grafton demanded the very best for his lady loves. His requests weren't unusual in any event. They were, in fact, quite ordinary for the style of man who spent a great deal of his leisure time in ladies' boudoirs.

They both left the suite much richer for their visit. While Felicia explained as much of the previous evening as she deemed necessary to her devoted servants, and during the happy interval in which they all exalted at the good fortune that had befallen them, Flynn sent new instructions to the captain of his yacht at anchor in the harbor.

In truth, Claire and Daniel were already party to much of what had transpired the previous night, related as they were to a bevy of servants at the Hotel de Paris. They joyfully fussed over their beloved charge, assuring her in the casual way the French had in relation to amour, that they were pleased and happy for her whatever came of the evening she had spent with the man who had won them a fortune.

'You've been too long alone anyway,' Claire observed as she helped Felicia into a bath. 'You deserve some amusement. '

A bland word for the enchantment she had experienced, Felicia thought, smiling at the memories. 'He's coming here, you know.'

'I suspected as much. You're smiling like a woman in love.'

'Nothing so romantic, Claire. But as you say, amusing, certainly.'

'You must wear something delicious.'

'As if I have anything so risque.'

'We'll find something, and I'll have Daniel bring up the best champagne.'

'And perhaps some cognac. I'm not sure what he likes.'

'He likes you, my lady. He's not coming for the liquor.'

'Do you think so?' It was a delectable thought when her life had been so devoid of happiness.

'I know so.' Claire refrained from saying all the servants at the Hotel de Paris had never been so generously bribed into silence. As relatives who could be trusted, she and Daniel had received a full report.

Sometime later, when Felicia had been bathed, toweled off, perfumed and was seated on the terrace in her robe having her hair dried by Claire, two carriages appeared on the steep drive.

'Oh, Lord, is he here already?'

'No, no… the carriages are from Boulonge and Madame Denise. See, Henri and Bertram are driving.'

Under their curious gazes, the carriages were unloaded of an astonishing number of baskets filled with roses and a lavish array of beribboned boxes in the distinctive periwinkle blue of Madame Denise's exclusive shop.

And in only minutes more, when the gifts had been carried upstairs to Felicia's suite, she found herself surrounded by an overwhelming quantity of various-colored roses and blue boxes. Fluctuating between alarm and joy at Flynn's extravagant gesture, she anxiously surveyed the spectacle. 'I don't know, Claire…' The scandalous