Jamal grinned."Nothing."

"That wasn'tnothing . You were tickling me."

"Didn't you like it?"

He was so close that she could see the various shades of brown, black and green that made up his dark irises. His tanned skin looked smooth from a recent shaving, although she could see the line where the stubble would start later in the day.

Not sure it was allowed, not sure if she had the courage, she slowly reached up and pressed her palm against his cheek. He turned into her touch and pressed a kiss against her palm.

"Who are you, Honey Martin?" heasked, his voice low and husky. "What are you doing in my life?"

She smiled slightly. "I don't know."

"What will I do with you now that I have you?"

Another shiver rippled through her. "Do you have me?"

"Not yet, but I think I will."

She couldn't believe they were having this conversation. It was so grown-up and flirty and sexy, and she

never wanted it to end. She loved how being in Jamal's arms made her feel.

It didn't matter that she felt unsure of what to do, or awkward about putting a foot wrong. So far he hadn'tseem to notice her trepidation or her innocence. Thank goodness.

He lowered his mouth again. This time she parted her lips as soon as their lips touched. He cupped the back of her head, as if holding her still,then plunged inside of her. She wanted him plunging into her. She brushed against him, then followed him back to his mouth and did the same to him.

The heat inside of her increased as did the strange tension.When he touched her belly button again, it didn't tickle anymore. Instead, the shivering increased and that place between her legs seemed to swell and tighten.

His fingers trailed up her bare belly to the bottom of her fitted shirt.

Her breath seemed to catch in her throat in anticipation. Was he going to stop there, or was he going to keep going? Her nipples swelled. She felt a dull ache that was more pleasure than pain, but still uncomfortable.

Oh, please, she thought as he continued to move higher and higher. She couldn't think about their kissing, couldn't respond to anything but his touch. Closer...closer...

His hand closed over her left breast. He cupped the virgin curve, holding it gently. Pleasure rippled through her with an intensity that nearly made her weep. She hadn't known touching like this could be so incredible.

Without thinking she clamped her lips around his tongue and sucked. Jamal responded by taking her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, then gently rubbing the tight bud.

A small explosion of intense perfect pleasure filled her chest. Between her legs she felt a sudden spurt of wetness. This couldn't be really happening to her. Why hadn't she known all this was possible? She was drowning, and it was the best experience of her life.

Jamal pulled his hand away and broke their kiss. She wanted to grab his fingers and put them back on her, but she wasn't sure that was allowed.

"Thank you," he said.

"What?"

Before she realized what he was doing, he'd helped her up into a sitting position,then eased her off his lap.

"I don't understand," she said, sitting next to him rather than risking a standing position. Between her quivering thighs and her high heels, she was a fall waiting to happen.

He cupped her face,then briefly kissed her mouth. "I need to get back to the palace," he said.

"You're leaving?" He was leaving? But...but...weren't they going to kiss anymore?Although she wasn't about to ask that question."Um, what about lunch?"

"I didn't come here for lunch," he told her as he got to his feet. "I came here to see you."

"Oh." What on earth was she supposed to say to that? "Will I see you again?"

"Of course."He kissed her forehead,then rose to his feet. Before she knew what was happening, he was

gone.

Heidi stared after him, then kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot to the floor-to-ceiling windows. From there she could see the street below.

Several minutes later a silver Lamborghini pulled out and started moving in the direction of the palace.

"Now what?" she asked herself, more confused than ever.

The plan was working. Jamal was attracted to Honey-his kiss proved that.

And what a kiss! She pressed her fingers to her lips, which were still swollen. He'd made her feel things she'd never felt before. He'd touched her in ways no one else ever had-and she'd liked it. She'd wanted more.

Except...

Heidi sighed and turned away from the windows.Except Jamal was interested in a woman who wasn't his wife.Sort of. She was the other woman, but he didn't know that, so he was cheating on her...with her.

"I can't figure out if I've made progress or messed up the entire process," Heidi said to herself as she headed for the bedroom where she would change back into her normal clothes.

Still, his passionate response gave her hope. He wasn't completely caught up in the past. At least she hoped he wasn't. Maybe he'd been faking the whole thing. Maybe- "Stop it," she said aloud as she moved into the large marble bath off the master bedroom. "He kissed you, you liked it. End of story."

For now she would stop speculating, at least until she had more information. One thing was sure-this secret-life stuff sure made for an interesting afternoon, she thought with a smile. And she'd married a man who knew how to kiss. All in all, it had been a very nice day.

Three days later Heidi sat on her bed in the palace and studied the papers in front of her. Usually she was able to concentrate on her work with no problem, but lately she was having a little trouble. She wasn't sure how much of the cause was her new location and how much was her changing relationship with her husband.

She put down her copies of the ancient documents. She hadn't wanted to carry the fragile papers across the palace and keep them in her room. But her current situation didn't let her work in her office. After all, she wanted to be available to talk with Jamal if he called "Honey," and the private phoneFatimahad arranged only rang in her dressing room. They'd discussed putting an extension in her office, but Heidi had been afraid there would be too many questions. After all, why would her work require a private line that didn't go through the office receptionist?

So here she was, working on her bed instead. She felt as if she was back in high school waiting for a boy she had a crush on to call. Well, she'd never had a crush on a boy in high school, mostly because she hadn't known many. Her all-girls boarding school had been strict with its policy of fraternization between the genders. But she imagined this is how it must have been for other women living through that time. She had trouble concentrating on anything but the call. When the phone rang, she got all fluttery inside, and after he called, she couldn't stop smiling.

At least Jamal had been playing into her fantasies by phoning every day.

And they had another lunch

date at the end of the week. This time he'd promised to actually stay and eat food. Although the way her nerves were firing at the thought of being with him again and maybe kissing him, she wasn't sure she would be able to choke down a meal. But he hadn't called yet that day, so she was stuck working in her bedroom.

One nice thing that had happened out of all this was that she'd learned to-

"What are you doing here?"

Heidi glanced up then jumped when she saw Jamal had entered her bedroom.

She looked around guiltily to make sure she hadn't left out any "Honey"

clues.

"Nothing," she said quickly."Just working."

"In your bedroom?Don't you like your office?"

He lounged in the doorway of the bedroom, a tall, handsome man in a perfectly tailored suit. The gray material emphasized the gleaming darkness of his hair, while his white shirt made his tan seem deeper.

She'd always thought he was nice-looking, but now that she knew how it felt to be in his arms, to have his hand on her breast, she found herself responding even more strongly than usual. Her heart rate increased, and if she'd been standing, she would have felt a definite weakness in her knees.

"The office is very nice," she said, answering his question and hoping she didn't sound too stupid.

"So why are you working here?"

She glanced toward her dressing room and prayed the secret phone wouldn't ring. Then she remembered that if Jamal was standing in front of her, he wasn't about to be calling his mistress.

So why was she working here? Heidi hadn't expected him to come looking for her, so she didn't have an excuse prepared. She also wasn't much of a liar, so she would have to think quickly.

"I, um, really like, the um, view," she said feebly. "Youknow, the ocean and all that. It, uh, helps me think."

Jamal took a step toward her,then glanced around. "Heidi, your window faces the garden."

She looked to her left and saw that he was right. Argh! "Oh, not in here,"

she amended. "When I need a break, I walk into the living room and look from there."

Feeble, she thought to herself. That was one pitiful excuse.

He didn't say anything for a long time. Then he shrugged in what she hoped was confused acceptance of her tale.

"I have something for you," he said, then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a computer disk.

"Do you remember that general you were talking about?The one who was away from his pregnant wife?"

Heidi put down her papers and sat up straighter."Of course. I've been through dozens of documents, but I can't find anything more about him."