"It doesn't have a zipper. It slips over my head," she said dreamily. He wanted her. After all the aching years, at last he wanted her.

"Then take it off, dammit. I want to see you."

Her eyes flicked open. "Here?" she asked.

"Anywhere." His eyes were hot and smoky. "I want you. At the moment I wouldn't care if we were out there on that stage in front of your thousands of fans."

She felt a melting in every bone of her body. She didn't think she would care either. "Philip, I'm not..." She was interrupted by a new voice.

"Pandora, will you fasten this damn ..." The door had opened, and through a haze she saw Neal in elegant tuxedo pants and a white dress shirt. He stopped just inside the door when he saw Philip. "Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt something? I just wanted you to fasten these damn cufflinks." He strolled forward. "Be a luv and do them up for me?" He held out his wrist to her.

"What?" She shook her head and the room came back into focus. Philip straightened behind her and his hands fell away from her shoulders. "Oh, yes, of course. Neal, this is Sheikh Philip El Kabbar. Neal Sabine." Neal nodded civilly at Philip. Her hands shook as she fastened the cuff link. "I don't know why you bother to wear them. You never manage to get them fastened."

"Elegance, luv. I like to see the expression of shock on the birds' faces when they see the campy rock star in all this sartorial glory." He held out the other wrist, and while she fastened the cufflink he said genially to Philip, "They're the very devil, aren't they? Are you coming to the promoters' big do tonight?"

"No." Philip's voice was so dangerously soft that Pandora stiffened, and her eyes flew to his face. "And neither is Pandora. Sorry to disappoint you. She's coming away with me tonight." He turned away and crossed the room. "I'll wait for you in the car, Pandora." The door snapped shut behind him.

"He's the one, isn't he?" Neal asked quietly. His blue eyes were fixed musingly on her face. He had never seen her look so glowingly alive, not even when she was on stage performing. "He's the man you wanted to impress with our cozy little setup." His lips twisted ruefully. "If I'd known he was so intimidating, I might have hesitated a moment or two. I wasn't sure if he was going to leave quietly or order me beheaded first."

"They don't behead people in Sedikhan anymore," she said with a shaky smile. "Yes, he's the one."

"You're leaving for good?"

"You won't have any trouble replacing me. You'll find someone else. Maybe shell even have a decent voice."

His face was grave. "We'll miss you. You're sure you won't change your mind?"

"I told you when we started out that it was only temporary, that there'd come a time when I'd walk away from it. It's not my kind of life. It's not what I want."

He bent and kissed her on the cheek. "Then go for what you do want. I'll be rooting for you." He

straightened. "I'll send Gene and Pauly in to say good-bye. We wouldn't want his royal munificence to get impatient, would we?" He stood there a moment, looking down at her. "I remember the first time you walked into that club in Soho where we were playing. You were only sixteen and you looked like a hungry chicken."

"I was hungry," she said. "And scared. God, I was scared."

"I'd never have known it. You were the most boldly alive person I'd ever met." His lips curved in a whimsical smile. "It's a wonder I didn't go completely bonkers over you. Isn't it lucky that I didn't?"

"Yes, very lucky," she said gently. "I refuse to give you too much credit, though. It was probably my froggy voice that turned you off."

"Maybe." His hand touched her hair. All the light in the room seemed to be gathered in that silvery-blond mass. "I always did have a sensitive ear." His hand dropped away. "Well, if things don't work out for you, come back to us. I can always wear earplugs if you offend my sensibilities too drastically. Good luck, luv."

"Good-bye, Neal," she said huskily. "And thank you. Thank you for everything."

His shoulders lifted in a shrug as he turned away. "You gave more than you got. You always do. Keep in touch."

She watched the door close behind him, her throat tight with tears. So many years. She hadn't realized how hard it would be to say good-bye and walk away. She'd had her mind so fixed on the goal at the end of the road, she hadn't realizedwhat treasures she had acquired along the way. She stood up and pulled the ivory silk costume over her head.

If things didn't work out, Neal had said. The memory of those words sent a frisson of panic through her. Things had to work out. She couldn't bear it otherwise. Her whole life was wagered on this toss of the dice. Oh Lord, they had to work out.

Three

"Good afternoon, Sheikh El Kabbar. Everything has been taken care of, just as you ordered," Raoul Coupler said as he met them at the front door. The words were as casual as if it had been only a few hours instead of six months since Philip had left Sedikhan. Raoul snapped his fingers and two white-uniformed young boys appeared to fetch the bags from the limousine. His thin, pale face was as impassive as usual as he turned to Pandora. "May I say what a pleasure it is to have you with us again, Miss Madchen?" he asked politely.

"Thank you, Raoul," she murmured, trying to suppress a smile. It was difficult to believe that he could be sincere, considering all the uproar she had brought to his serene, well-ordered life in the past. She had taken a heathenish delight in playing the most outrageous pranks just to see if shecould disturb the cool aplomb of Philip's personal servant. She had never succeeded. "It's good to be back."

"I took the liberty of ordering dinner in your suite tonight. Sheikh El Kabbar," Raoul said as he preceded them across the foyer and down the gleaming, mosaic-tiled hall. "You must be very weary after your trip. Miss Madchen. The time difference can throw your system a bit out of whack."

"I feel fine." It was good to have Raoul as a bulwark between them. He was ignoring Philip's grim and forbidding demeanor with the habit of years. "I'm not at all tired."

"You've forgotten what a powerhouse of energy Pandora can be, Raoul," Philip said caustically. He stopped at the door of his suite. "Time zones and jet trips of thousands of miles scarcely faze her at all."

"I haven't forgotten." A pained expression appeared on Raoul's face. "Miss Madchen was always exceptionally enthusiastic in all her . . . endeavors."

"However, well definitely have dinner in my suite. I find I'm not as resilient as our Pandora. I don't bounce back as quickly as the dynamic young rock stars she's accustomed to dealing with."

The barb in his last statement was obvious, but Pandora felt only a sense of relief. At least he was getting it out in the open. He had been in a foul mood since the moment Neal appeared in her dressing room. He'd practically ignored her for the entire trip, involving himself in a voluminous stack of paperwork from his many corporations.

In a way it had been easier for her. She hadn't had to keep up her guard, to maintain that nerve-racking air of sophistication. "Oh, I don't know. You should see us after two weeks of one-night stands. We practically fall into bed every night."