"Can you go all the way at a drive-in?" she asked in a strained voice.

"Yeah."

"You never took me there. qVhy did you take me out twioe and then just drop me? Did you stop liking me so quicWy?" He cursed softly under his breath. "You've got it exactly backward. I wanted to make love to you, and I was pretty sure I could get you to say yes. But you weren't that kind of girl: ' qs gaze remained trained on her face. Flushing, she q1q away and was relieved when the waiter brought ' appetizers. :::qeqn cleared his throat. " There's something else you to know. Sir Douglas's background check dug up information that we went to the same school, but I told him we didn't know each other. He also knows about the incident at Mr.

Dubinski's, but he doesn't know who came in and got the guy. " " "What? " "When he and I first talked about the shooting in the jewelry shop, I figured that it was safer for you if he thought we weren't connected."

"You took the chance of lying to Sir Douglas?""Yes. To keep you from getting involved.""But you told me how dangerous that was.""I didn't want him getting his clutches on you: 'Noel stared at him and saw his face turn red."We'd better get our stories straight. It's all right for you to remember me. I guess I was one of Highland Town's celebrities. But it's more dangerous for you if he thinks I care about you "

She raised questioning blue eyes to his dark ones.

Jason reached across the table and took her hand. "He could threaten to hurt you-to keep me in line I don't want to put that thought into his mind: '

Noel looked down at her salad, waiting for words she desperately wanted to hear. He'd lied to try and keep her away from Frye. For old times' sake? Or what? Only the droning of the Greek music filled her ears.

Jason released her hand.

She curled her fingers around the water glass and took a quick sip.

"Do you understand the position I'm in?" he questioned Not trusting herself to speak, she nodded and began to push an olive around

her plate. In due course, the appetizers were replaced by spicy kebabs and

rice. But neither one of them ate much.

After Jason paid the bill, Noel stood up unoertainly, wishing fervently that they didn't have to go back to their cramped little room.

"Our friends have a make on our car. We need another one before we drive north," he said as he lookeq up and down the Street "You look as if you're planning to steal one."

He laughed. "Hitting the motorway in a hot car isn't my idea of smart. But I've got something else in mind. Come on, let's drop in on the local pub."

It was called the White Stallion, and Jason started with a neat shot of whiskey, which he chased with a pint of bitter. Another pint followed.

Noel watched him uncertainly, wondering if he'd started to crack under the strain of the past few days. "Haven't you had enough?"

He laughed loudly. "Go on back to that gripe-water place we rented, if you like. I'm here on holiday, aren't I? And I'm going to have a good time."

His cockney putdown brought approving nods from the men at the bar. Jason scraped back his chair, left Noel languishing at their corner table and bought everybody a round.

Noel sat sipping warm bitters and thinking about slipping out the door and leaving him to find his own way back to the Sea Side. But the key was in his pocket.

So she watched Jason let his new mates draw him into a game of darts. At first he won and bet extravagantly on the outcome. Then he began to lose.

"I've got to save twenty quid for the landlord, but you might fancy the fine little machine outside at the curb."

Suddenly wise to his plans, Noel bit back a smile.

When the men came back, she stood up, put her hands q her hips and lifted her chin at a haughty angle. " " You royal ass. How are we going to get back to London without our car? " she asked in an imitation of the accent he'd been using.

Jason gave her a leer and patted her on the rump. "The wager is my wheels against his, love. Plus a nice little cash incentive." 'liirning abruptly, he picked up a handful of darts.

He lost the match with artful grace and mock chagrin. When the deed was done, they were the new owners of a battered but mechanically sound Granada.

The fellow who scooped up their car left soon after, probably afraid that the mark from London would come to his senses and demand redress. Noel had enjoyed watching Jason's performance. She felt her tension mounting again as they made their way through the dimly lit streetsq Jason didn't speak. And there wasn't enough light to see his face. But she sensed the tautness of his muscles as he turned the wheel and shifted gears. Was someone following them? Noel swiveled to look. A set of headlights was closing in on them fast. But the car sped past and left them quickly behind.

Most of the lights at the Sea Side were out, and the car park was full when they returned to their lodging. So they left their new vehicle on the Street Their host and a few guests were gathered around the TV in the lounge. Noel and Jason didn't speak as they skirted the group and went up the steps. Jason turned the key in the lock. Then they were alone in the small bedroom. He closed the door, but he didn't turn on the light. She stood facing him, seeing only his outline in the dim light from the streetlamp outside. But she knew how he would look, as she knew so many things about him, things that seemed to be more than the sum of the time they'd actually spent together-and more than the sum of the fantasy time, as well. " " Jason? "

"Noel, I drank a lot tonight." "

" I noticed. "

"It wasn't just so I could get that guy to trade cars. There's something

I've known we had to talk about beforeCastle I. ockwood. "

Chapter Twelve.

Noel tensed. " " After I took the chip out, you were fighting me. Do you remember? "

"Yes." The acknowledgment was barely a whisper.

"Do you remember why?" : ".

"You thought I was someone named Gilmore."

She didn't speak.

He reached out for her, and she knew why he hadn't turned on the light.

"Frye told me about him. I hoped to hell it wasn't true. But it was, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"It was while you were alone in Baltimore."

"A couple of months after my mother died."

She heard him swallow. "I keep thinking that if I'd been there, it wouldn't have happened."

"Jason, don't torture yourself with what might have been. Sir Douglas is the only one who can go back and change the way things happened. And in this case, he did: '

"What do you mean?"

Her vision had accustomed itself to the low light. When she tipped her head up, she could see his eyes intent upon her face. But the darkness was still around them, making it easier to finally say what she'd wanted to for days. "When you made love to me, it was wonderful Everything I ever dreamed it would be."

"Oh, God, Noel."

" " I did dream of you, you know, " she continuerl in a soft voice. " Your cousin told me you were in the marines , so I knew you were straightening your life out. I used to weave fantasies about your coming back to Baltimore and marrying me. "

"I spent a lot of time thinking about you, too."

"That night when we made love, the chip was in my head, and so were all the false memories."

" I'm sorry. "

"No, don't be. After that night with-with Gilmore, I was afraid to get involved with anyone. Afraid I couldn't let another man put his hands on me. But, don't you see, when you touched me, Gilmore didn't exist. I didn't have to worry about my reactions. I didn't have to wonder what it would be like if I were with someone I cared about " qIe stared down at her as if he could hardly believe shat he was hearing. "Someone you cared about," he murmureq. qqIt was just you and me. And. . and no nightmares from the past to haunt me. " ,qIqve been feeling guilty about taking advantage of q The safe thing would be to simply accept his apology. But she couldn't leave it at that. " I've been feeling mortqed about throwing myself at a stranger. " ::qIe stroked her hair back from her face. " "Not exactly :qanger. And it wasn't the least bit one-sided."

"'qI've wanted to hear you say that."

"I've wanted to say it." Again she sensed that this was right. So achingly right.

Emboldened by his response and the honesty in his Her hands moved restlessly, touching him every place voice, she went on. "I'm not trying to assign blame. And that she could reach, marveling at the way his body felt I'm not telling you my head is one hundred percent norso familiar and yet so new. Every one of her senses was mal or that I know what we'll mean to each other when full of him. The tensile strength of his muscles, the this is over. But right now, please don't let your feelings scratchy rasp of his beard against her face, the dark, of guilt color the way you treat me." musky scent of aroused male.

He clasped her tightly, his arms a haven. "Noel, I And he seemerl to be reacting in the same way-like a promised myself I wouldn't take advantage of you man relearning a lover's body and at the same time again ." charting exciting new territory.

"I need you. I need your strength if I'm going to get Before, there had been a dreamlike quality to the en through the next few days." counter. This was real. Herself and Jason.

"I don't have the right to ask anything more of you " His lips moved against hers, his teeth nibbled at her " " You don't have to ask for something that's freely seasitized flesh, his tbngue teased delicate tissue. As the given. " intimacy of the kiss deepened, one hand slid around to In the darkness, the texture of the encounter changed. cup her breast.

Nothing was really settled between them. But when his A little sound of pleasure welled up in her throat. It lips brushed back and forth against hers, they opened to built into a moan as his fingertips found her hardened him. nipple. Wonderful. It felt wonderful. Better than be Her hands stole around his neck and shoulders, clasp- fore. Because now she was making a conscious choice to ing him tightly, the way she'd been wanting to for days. be with this man. And it felt so right. The way she'd known it would. = -"Yes. I.ike that, sweetheart. Just like that. Let me "God, I've been wanting you to hold me like this," he know how much you want me. " said in the uncanny way he had of echoing her thoughts. She raised up on tiptoe, trying to align her body more One of his hands sifted through her hair, curling the perfectly with his. Now her hands moved urgently, him strands around his fingers, sending prickles of sensation grily, finding the hem of his rugby shirt so she could slip along the nerve endings of her scalp. hq fingers underneath and caress his bare skin.

"I love your hair. I've always loved your hair," he q Ashudder rippled under her fingers. murmured. q he was reaching down to tug at the covers on the As he spoke, the other hand made a leisurely trip down her back, stopping to stroke the hollow of her waist and qq-q blinked when he switched on the lamp beside the then slipping lower to splay across her bottom and draw . He turned back to her and cupped her face in his her tight against his taut length.

"This is really you. Not the woman who didn't have a choice, " he whispered.

Again the words were so close an echo of her thoughts that she couldn't trust herself to speak. She only nodded gravely.

"I want the same thing you wanted last time. I want to see you. See your face when I come into you: '

"Oh, Jason. Yes."

He took her down to the bed with him, and it began with whispered love words and hands that brushed like lapping flames. Heat danced over her skin, suffused her being, turned the core of her to molten desire.

"I want you to remember this, love."

She wanted that, too. The memory of the two of them together. True and real and vital.

And she wanted the same for him. She wanted to buro herself into his memory so that he could never forget her. Never leave her.

But she couldn't ask for that. She could only show him how she felt by returoing his passion-and tenderoess.

He covered her face and neck and breasts with soft, warm kisses even as his fingers stroked her most sensitive flesh, bringing her to a state of exquisite need.

She didn't have to tell him how aroused she was. He knew that, too. Knew how close he was to sending her over the edge.

His body pressed over hers, and she opened to him eagerly They both murmured their pleasure as he entered her. He stared down at her, caressing her face, looking deep into her eyes as he began to move.

Then he was stroking her body with his, moving faster , taking her to a higher, shimmering level of sensation She looked up in wonder at his features, intense and changed by his possession of her. With a cry of gladness , she lifted to touch her lips to his. And then she was spinning out of control, crying out her rapture at the fierce peak of her pleasure. A moment later, it was his turn, and her joy was complete.

q re Daxxqqss, something woke him from a light doze. A noise.

He tensed, his eyes probing the shadows of the room, but he detected no danger.

Noel stirred, and he nuzzled his lips against her cheek, marveling all over again at how it had been between them. His guard was down, and he let himself give in to the longing that hovered at the edge of his mind every moment he was with her. Against all odds, fate had brought them back to each other.

They had a few moments together. A few moments in a long, lonely lifetime. Was it possible to think farther than that? To think about the future?

Then the guilt came slamming back. Not for making have with her. It was clear how much they had both q =:. q-q-that physical comfort. But for what was going to happen in a few days. He was taking her north-to Sir Douglas Frye's lair. There was no way that q"..q :.. q qqd qlly comprehend the danger. Only he understood the risk they were both taking.

Adrenaline pumped through his system, and it was quddenly impossible to lie still. He looked at the lit dial of his watch on the bed stand. One o'clock.

He had missed another check-in with the Sovereign, qlthough the arrangement was flexible if he had other to take care of. Like getting a car Montgomq "S men wouldn't recognize.

Quietly he slipped out of bed and stood looking down at Noel. She stirred and reached for him.

"Jason?"

He leaned down and softly kissed her cheek. "It's all right. I'll be back in a minute."

Trying not to disturb her further, he climbed back into his jeans and shirt. There was a phone in the front hall. He didn't have to say much. Only give his location and report that they were still in the clear. And maybe there would be some information about Montgomery's plans.

The crowd of watchers around the TV had long since gone to bed. Jason made his way past the darkened sitting room. After glancing over his shoulder, he picked up the telephone receiver in the hall and was momentarily surprised at the lack of a dial tone. Then he realized that someone else was already on the line That must have been what wakened him. The phone ringing. About to replace the receiver, he stopped suddenly as a stray phrase leaped out from the conversation. " " Customs service. " Hand clenched around the cold plastic, Jason brought the instrument back to his ear. " " . checking out a tip on illegal materials coming in at channel ports. "

"Bother." That was the proprietor responding.