“And what games they were…” His eyes wandered slowly from her breasts down her body. “You’re beautiful, you know. Even more beautiful than you were in that garden. That’s one of the disadvantages of having to concentrate on maintaining a fantasy. I have to build the entire picture when I’d prefer to enjoy the reality of you.”

“Bastard.” She was jerking on her clothes. “It was all fantasy. I had nothing to do with it.”

He shook his head. “I’m sure that would be comforting, but it’s not true. All I did was lull you into a responsive state and give you a pleasant setting. Every one of those emotional reactions were your own. That’s the way it works, Jane.”

“Then it was a physical response to what you were doing to the flow of my blood.”

“Perhaps a little. Most of it was—”

“I’m not going to listen to this.” She glared at him as she finished buttoning her blouse. “It was deceit. I’m not going to forgive this, Caleb.”

“Someday. Just another hurdle to overcome.”

“The hell it is.” She got to her feet and strode toward the bathroom. “That was an … invasion.”

“Only mentally. Just imagine what it would have been like if I’d actually been in you.”

“You imagine. You’re so damn good at it.” She splashed water in her face. “And my mind is as important as my body. You make me—”

“Forget your outrage for a moment. I did nothing to hurt you physically. I was careful and didn’t let it interfere with getting you well. Do you realize how strong you’re feeling? Stop a minute and gauge the difference from when you walked into this room. I don’t want you to leave me until I’m certain that I’ve done my job.”

“Done your job?” She wiped her face on the hand towel and threw it on the vanity. “Oh, you’ve done more than your job, Caleb.” She strode back into the bedroom. “I want to strangle you.”

“No pain? No exhaustion?” He was ignoring her rage. “You feel entirely normal? Think. That’s why you came here. Let’s get that right.”

She drew a deep breath. It was hard to think through this emotional turmoil. “I feel normal physically. I believe that part came out okay. Other than that I feel … used.”

“Really? Then that makes two of us.” He sat up and leaned back against the headboard. He was still naked, and he looked arrogant, beautifully indolent, and an entirely sexual being. Yet she was suddenly aware that that indolence was false, beneath it a storm was brewing. He was angry. “So don’t expect me to feel too badly about returning the favor.” He smiled. “It’s not my nature.”

“You’re angry.” Caleb had disguised it behind his usual enigmatic, cynical facade, but Jane was now realizing something else. “And you’ve been angry since the moment I walked into this room.”

“Why not? Trevor gave me orders, and you graciously but reluctantly agreed to do what he wanted. No one asked me to help you. It was all between the two of you. I was merely the go-between, a tool.” His smile vanished entirely. “I didn’t like the role I was assigned to play. I’ve been an outsider all my life, but I’ve never felt it quite this deeply. I made it clear to you that all you had to do was come to me, and I’d help you. If you’d just come to me, it could have gone differently. Who knows? I might have even been able to go against nature and shown you a little of Trevor’s magnificent selflessness.”

“You’re saying it’s my fault?”

“I’m saying that there’s blame enough for everyone.” He shrugged. “And that I could have been far worse than I was tonight.”

“If you were that resentful, why didn’t you refuse? Why didn’t you turn your back and walk away from me?”

He didn’t speak for a moment. “I find I’m not capable of doing that.” He shrugged. “So I made the best of it. You got what you wanted. I didn’t entirely get what I wanted, but you’re not going to be able to forget that little preview of what’s to come. We’ll be even more fantastic when we finally come together.”

“We’re not ever going to come together. I hate to be weak, and you took advantage of that weakness. Do you think I’d ever trust you again?” She drew a long, shaky breath. “You’re right, Trevor and I did use you. It was wrong. I should have shown you gratitude and not taken anything for granted.”

“Screw your gratitude,” Caleb said roughly. “And I never expected trust from you. You’ve been wary of me from the moment we met. I accept that since the fringe benefits will be extraordinary. As for being weak, you’re not weak. You’re strong, and I love that strength. You just wanted what I gave you. If you feel a little overwhelmed, you’ll rally and find a way to control anything I do to you.”

She shook her head adamantly. “No, Caleb.”

“Yes, Jane,” he said softly. “Now go on out to Trevor and tell him all is well and that I’ve done as ordered. He’s probably ready to have a breakdown by now. Not that I’d mind. But you’d be all teary and emotional, and it would be another step back for me.”

“Not just a step. Trevor is miles ahead of you,” she said quietly. “What happened tonight proved that to me.”

“But the game’s not over. It’s scarcely begun.”

“It’s over, Caleb.” She opened the door and saw Trevor standing at the door of the balcony gazing out at the city. She felt a sudden rush of relief and joy. “You just can’t see it. It couldn’t be more clear to me.”

*   *   *

TREVOR MUST HAVE HEARD HER because he turned to look at her as she shut the door behind her. “You were a long time.”

“Yes.”

“Three hours and thirty-five minutes.”

“You kept track?”

“Oh, yes. Every minute. Every second. Are you okay?” He gazed at her searchingly. “It did what it was supposed to do?”

She nodded. “I feel the same way that I did after Caleb did his voodoo the last time. It should last me long enough. I only need a few days.”

“Yes.” He was silent a moment. “And was everything else about it the same?”

“Yes … and no.” She came into his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. “Hold me, Trevor.”

He stiffened, then his arms slid around her. “Why do you need me to hold you? Should I go kill Caleb?”

“No, I don’t need protection. Caleb and I understand our positions. He told me to tell you that he’d done what you ordered.”

“You said yes and no. What was the no?”

“He was angry.”

His grip tightened. “Did he hurt you?”

“You want to know details?”

“Not if you don’t want to tell me.”

“I want you to know everything you want to know. I don’t want to close you out of what happened. I know sending me to him wasn’t easy for you.”

“It was hell.” He paused. “Did he rape you?”

“No.” She added, “And no, I didn’t really have sex with him.”

“Really? That’s a little too tentative.”

“Mind games. I told you that Caleb had that capability.” She paused. “And the touching was more intimate than the first time. That’s all that was different.”

“I still think I should kill him.” He tilted back her head and looked into her eyes. “Because I’m sensing something else about you. There’s a difference. You’re more…” He searched for a word. “Open.”

He was right, she had never felt more open, more free. All the boundaries were gone. She smiled. “But that’s a good thing. Can’t you understand that?”

“No, why don’t you tell me?”

“I will. Because I realized something when you sent me to Caleb tonight. Not at first, I was too confused and hazy to be able to think clearly during those first moments, then Caleb was dominating every—”

“I don’t want to hear that.”

“But I have to be honest with you. I want you to know everything that I’m feeling. It’s important. You were right when you said that I have an erotic response to Caleb. I can’t seem to help that response. It may have something to do with that damn blood thing. I don’t know. But I don’t have to act on it. And it’s just sex, Trevor.”

“Just? That’s damn important.”