His neck-craning was nothing compared to hers. Jan was on the petite side and had to look up at Brittany if they were standing too close, but Dalden's seven feet were a bit intimidating. She'd been amazed at his handsomeness, but his size had her literally backing up until she was almost back in her bedroom.

She stopped at the door and said, "Holy cow!" And then as an explanation occurred to her, "One of your brothers, right? You could have warned me he was coming."

Jan had never met any of Brittany's brother's, but for some reason she assumed they were all a lot taller than Brittany was. Which wasn't the case at all. York was six-six, but both Kent and Devon were a bit shorter than that.

Brittany replied, "I'm happy to say he's no relation."

"Oh?" Jan's eyes swung to Brittany and, seeing the blush, added, "Ohhhh," which made the blush even brighter.

Brittany made introductions and offered a bit of explanation about why Dalden was there. She then escaped to the kitchen with the excuse of getting dinner started, and stayed there until her cheeks cooled off. It was appalling that she'd blushed more in this one day than she had in the last several years.

She didn't have to worry about leaving Jan alone with Dalden. That longer "oh" had been clear understanding on her part. Jan even managed to disappear for most of the evening. She was a compulsive matchmaker, after all, had been trying to fix Brittany up with one guy after another in the three years they'd shared the apartment, and wasn't about to be a third wheel tonight when it was so obvious that Brittany was attracted to their guest.

Brittany cooked one of the most lavish meals she'd ever prepared. She even broke out the cookbook for it, not wanting to make a single mistake. Realizing afterward what she'd done, going to so much anxious effort to impress Dalden, she was disgusted with herself. If he couldn't like her the way she was, then there was no point in even thinking that they might be able to form a relationship, even if only a brief one. She wasn't going to change for anyone, was very comfortable with her life and her goals.

He was impressed with the meal, though-at least, he cleaned his plate thrice over. She knew men his size could eat a lot at one sitting, her brothers being testament to that, but even she was amazed at the amount of food Dalden consumed. Fortunately, she had prepared enough side dishes that she didn't run short. Still, there were no leftovers, and thank goodness Jan had a sweet tooth, so there was half a chocolate cake available for dessert as well. With half of that and a full carton of milk, she was reasonably sure her guest was finally replete.

And then she got nervous.

It was natural, she supposed, with a few hours yet to kill before her usual bedtime, that she'd start thinking about sex. Not that it hadn't been in the back, or forefront, of her mind all day, when she'd never before met someone she was this powerfully attracted to. And since that attraction had seemed to be mutual, she was pretty much expecting Dalden to make a move on her at some point in the evening.

For an immediate distraction, she turned on the television. It wouldn't be the first time she had used it to ease awkward moments with new acquaintances. But Dalden didn't seem the least bit interested in it, was staring at her instead, which just increased her nervousness.

"What would you like to watch?" she asked him.

He chuckled. "Is that not apparent?

Back came the pink cheeks. "I meant on the TV," she explained. He finally glanced across the room toward where she nodded and, after a moment of visually examining the floor console sitting there, rather than what was on the screen, said, "It is a strange-looking computer."

"It's not a computer-" She paused with the incredulous thought. "Oh, come on, don't try to tell me you know about computers, but have never seen a television set before, when television has been around long before computers."

"I am told it is a means of entertainment."

"But you didn't know that until Martha just told you, did you? How is that possible?" she asked, then answered her own question. "Okay, so maybe you live out in the boonies somewhere, and maybe your village doesn't even have electricity. But, newsflash, most computers require electricity, too. So how can you know of one and not the other, when most households have a TV or two or three, long before they even think about buying a home computer?"

He didn't reply. He got to his feet, moved to stand in front of her, and pulled her to her feet as well. One hand came to her cheek, and tilted her head so she would meet the eyes looking down at her. That easily all thoughts of questioning him gone. She'd wonder later if it were deliberate on his part, to avoid answering her, but at the moment she was knee-deep in anticipation and simply didn't care.

"I like your concept of dating, now that I understand it," he told her. "But I think you will like the concept of my fun even better. We each of us know what the other wants, thus would dating best be seen to after we first have fun."

She could barely think to decipher what he'd just said, but managed to get out, "I get the feeling you have a really odd definition for fun."

"Not odd at all," he countered. "Though you may call it making love, you must agree no matter what it is called, it is fun."

''I-I agree it's reputed to be, Yes, but-are You suggesting we forget about the getting to know each other better part and get right down to the bottom line?"

He smiled beautifully. "If that means you will take me to where you sleep, yes."

« ^ »

BRITTANY'S STOMACH WAS DOING THE BUTTERFLY THING. Her heart was slamming in her chest. Her instinct was to drag Dalden straight to her bedroom, and yet she had twenty-eight years of strict upbringing rooting her feet to the spot there in her living room.

He hadn't even kissed her yet. They'd only just met, not even six hours ago. How could she possibly give in to these primitive urges she was feeling? How could she not, when she'd been waiting so long for the right man to come along?

It wasn't as if she had to wait for marriage. Very few women did anymore in this day and age of self-gratification. And she'd been willing to sleep with Tom before he made that tactless remark that killed her feelings for him. But there was the rub. She'd had feelings for him after their many months of dating, had felt she knew him really well. That might not have been the case in the end, but she'd thought it was. But she didn't know Dalden at all, and she was reacting to him in a purely physical way that had absolutely nothing to do with emotions.

She suspected she might be more old-fashioned than she'd thought when she heard herself saying, "I'm not sure I can relax my morals quite that much, Dalden, when I barely know you."

He didn't exactly look disappointed, but then he hadn't been told a flat-out no yet, either. "You require the dating first?"

"That's usually how it's done."

"Our finding each other cannot be considered usual, kerima. In all the universe, we have managed to meet. What is felt here, between us, is stronger than either of our cultures, stronger than any ideals."

Was it? She'd certainly never experienced anything like this herself before. Was he saying he hadn't, either? She was so thrilled with that thought, her knees actually got weak. But a small, rational part of her warned that some men would say just about anything they thought you wanted to hear if they sensed they were close to sexual victory.