"The hell I am." He opened her shirt. "We both know I've been wanting this."

"But I'm not. You may not like it."

"I'll like it." His eyes were glinting with sudden humor as he raised them to look at her. "If you don't break my neck."

Incredibly, she found herself smiling.

Replace bad memories with good.

She knew that the memory of the guards would never be quite as bitter after tonight. "I wouldn't do that."

"Good." He dropped down on the bed. "Then let the play begin."

"I don't want you to. I'm. damaged. I want you to get something out of this, and I'm not sure how to make sure of that. It's not fair to you." She moistened her lips and said unevenly, "I could pretend. I'm good at pretending."

He drew her down beside him, leaned over her, and slowly, carefully spread her short hair on the pillow. She had never realized what an intimate gesture that could be. Suddenly she was aware only of the darkness and the heat and his eyes glittering down at her. He whispered, "Don't you dare."

Chapter 8

"It wasn't good for you, was it?" Elena stared into the darkness. "I cheated you."

"It was good." He pulled her closer. "And it will get better."

"I told you that I should pretend."

"I've never been fond of fakes. I like the real McCoy." He kissed her temple. "My ego again. When we finally make it, I don't want there to be any doubt about it."

"You were. very good. I think."

"Thank you. I value your opinion." He chuckled. "Even though you have only a sadistic son of a bitch and a young kid to compare me to."

"Do you want to do it again?"

"Definitely. But not right now. I'm enjoying holding you too much."

"You are?"

"Yes. I like touching, and I've wanted to have my hands on you for a long time." He stroked her back, from her shoulders to her buttocks. "You have wonderful muscles, strong and smooth."

She lifted her head to look at him. "That's a weird compliment."

"I like strength. I think it's sexy."

"I wasn't very strong tonight."

"Sure you were. You had the strength of your convictions and determination." The tips of his fingers grazed lightly up and down her spine. "You were bloody wonderful."

"And you're lying."

"No, it doesn't all have to be about frantic urgency. There's truth and trust, and you gave me both of those. I feel honored." He playfully pinched her butt. "Of course, frantic urgency can be nice too. We'll work on that."

She stiffened. "You're acting as if this is a long-term project."

"Am I? I sometimes have difficulty letting go even after I've solved a problem. But I'm sure you'll make sure I don't get too possessive."

"I will. I have to do that."

"But that's down the road a bit." His smile faded. "I think it's time I had a progress report. How was it for you?"

"Scary. At first, I wanted to fight you."

"I know. I felt your muscles tense."

"But when I managed to relax, it was better."

"Did you think about him?"

"Yes, of course." She swallowed and blocked out the memory. "Not toward the end. He was gone then."

"Why?"

"I was distracted."

"Hallelujah." He chuckled. "Distracted is good. Though I never thought I'd be grateful for that description of my sexual expertise." He gave her a quick hard kiss. "Now all I have to do is worry about distracting you from step one."

"It may never be good for you."

"Don't be a pessimist." He paused. "If it was never any better than it was tonight, it would still be worth it. Remember, you told me that men just think of women as vessels. Do you still believe that?"

Not Galen. She'd learned a good deal about him tonight. His patience and humor and the protectiveness that had enveloped her like a velvet cloak. He had taken a long time to arouse her and a longer time to try to keep her from being frightened when he'd entered her. "Maybe not all men."

"Maybe?"

"Okay, not you."

"Because I'm truly exceptional," he prompted.

She suddenly smiled. "Because you're truly too egotistical to let any woman pigeonhole you that way."

He sighed. "Cut to the quick. Now you have to say something nice about me to soothe the wound. Do you like my body?"

She studied him. "Yes, I like it." He looked hard, totally masculine. He was without an ounce of fat and far more muscular than she'd dreamed. A patch of dark hair thatched his chest. "You have nice muscles too."

"Touch me."

She didn't move.

"Touch me," he repeated. "I'm going to touch you. Everywhere. Every place. Tonight. Tomorrow." He took her hand and put it on his chest. "Every time I get the chance. Not around Barry, but whenever else the opportunity presents itself. I'm going to pet you and nuzzle you and enjoy the hell out of it." He rubbed her palm up and down on his chest. "And hope that you'll enjoy it too."

"I'm not used to being fondled."

"All the more reason. So you'll have to bloody my nose to keep me from doing it." He guided her hand down to the tight muscles of his stomach. "And even then I'd still be thinking about how it would be to do it, and you'd know exactly what was on my mind. Do you like the feel of me?"

Her hand was tingling as he rubbed it against him, and her breathing was becoming shallow. She closed her eyes. "Yes."

"Yes," he repeated softly as he moved her hand again. "How I love that word."

Galen waited until the screen door closed behind Elena before he went into the barn.

Judd was without a shirt, dousing his head under the water running from a pump. He scowled as he looked up. "No more favors."

"How is she doing?"

"Too good." He toweled off his hair. "Better than me. She could have downed me twice today but didn't. Do you realize how humiliating that is?"

"You'll survive. She's sharp?"

Judd nodded. "She's ready. I'll give her one more session and cut her loose." He paused. "But can she take Chavez?"

"That's the question. I called Manero and had him do a little in-depth questioning of a few of the survivors of Chavez's little games. There weren't many, and they survived only because Chavez grew bored with them. He's very, very good."

"She's waiting for him. You could go after him yourself."

"I've been thinking about it."

"Not too hard." He grinned. "You've been a little busy for the last week."

"Shut up."

"Whatever you say." He reached for his shirt. "Hey, I'm glad you got lucky."

Galen ignored the comment. "Don't cut her loose yet."

"Why not?"

"I want you to keep her occupied for as long as possible. She's thinking, planning, and I'd bet she's trying to get a scenario together that would protect Barry and Dominic and still give her the result she needs."

"Has she talked about it?"

"No."

Judd's eyes twinkled. "Not even in the wee, intimate hours of the night?"

"That's not what we talk about."

"Astronomy, great literature, cloning?"