Ten years. She felt tears sting her eyes. "If I weren't afraid you'd be completely impossible, I'd tell you that you were pretty good."

"Pretty good?"

"Very good."

"More."

"A stud, a stallion. Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, and Casanova rolled into one. I don't know why Diane ever let you go."

"She was a smart lady. She knew she deserved more than I could give her. It was a mistake from the beginning."

She raised herself on one elbow to look down at him. "Why did you marry her, Joe?"

"It will scare you if I tell you."

"The hell it will."

Silence.

"Why, Joe?"

"For you. I married her for you."

"What?"

"You were too isolated. I thought you needed a friend of your own sex."

"You're kidding."

"I told you it would scare you."

"Men don't get married to provide--"

"I did," he said simply.

She stared at him.

"You were my center. Everything revolved around you. It was a time in my life when I'd almost given up hope of being anything else to you. I thought I'd chosen someone who could give you the companionship you needed. Diane liked the nice things I could give her, and I honestly tried to make a go of our marriage." He shrugged. "It didn't turn out the way I hoped."

"That is scary."

"Obsessions always are." He put his finger on her lower lip. "As you should know, my love."

She stiffened.

"Love," he deliberately repeated. "Get used to it."

"I don't have to get used to anything."

"No, but you might as well. It will be more comfortable for both of us." He paused. "Don't be afraid to love me, Eve. I'm not a helpless child who can be taken from you. I'm tough and mean enough to survive for another fifty years or so."

"I'm not afraid."

"The hell you're not." He lowered his head, his lips barely touching her own. "But that's okay. You don't have to say you love me. I can wait."

"I don't love you. Not the way you want me to love you."

"I think you do." His lips moved back and forth in a gossamer caress. "But if you don't, that's okay too."

"It's not okay. It's all wrong. I'm damaged. No one should know that better than you. You should have someone who--"

"You're damaged? I'm the one who's been obsessed for the last ten years."

"It's not the same. I can't--"

"Shh." He moved over her again. "Don't think. Don't analyze. Let everything fall into place. Enjoy . . ."

HE WAS GONE when she woke.

Emptiness.

Loneliness.

It was stupid. She was acting as if she'd never slept with a man before. Sex, pleasure, departure--it was the way she liked her relationships. No lingering that might interfere with her work.

"Time to get up." Joe opened the door and came toward the bed.

"It's almost noon. I called Charlie and he's on his way back from Azora. He has the photograph."

She sat upright. "Are you sure I'll be able to see it?"

"You can ask Spiro yourself. He's on his way here."

"Why?"

"To pick up the doll."

Of course. "You called him this morning?"

"As soon as I got up. I told the security guys to let him in." He went to the closet. "Hit the shower. I'll get your clothes. What do you want to wear?"

"Anything. Jeans . . . a shirt." She ran into the bathroom and got in the shower. Joe could not have been more cool or businesslike. It was as if last night had never happened. Not that she objected. She would have felt awkward if he'd been any other way. Last night had been too--She shook her head. She didn't want to remember how erotic those hours with Joe had been.

"Come on. You need to eat before Spiro gets here." It was Joe standing outside the glass shower door. "Hurry."

"I am hurrying."

She opened the door, and he enveloped her in a huge bath towel and started patting her dry.

She reached for the towel. "For God's sake, I can do that."

His gaze dropped to her breasts. "I'm enjoying it."

Enjoy.

She felt heat move through her.

"I brought that blue plaid shirt. I like you in blue. Is that okay?"

"I guess so." She should stop him. The lazy movement of his hands beneath the soft towel was incredibly arousing. For some crazy reason the act seemed as intimate as sex. She moistened her lips. "You never told me you liked blue."

"I never told you a lot of things." He bent his head and kissed the hollow of her shoulder. "But I mean to make up for lost time. Want to go back to bed and hear the story of my life?"