Going to his leather jacket draped over one of the chairs, he extracted a long velvet box. Bethany knew immediately she didn't want to have anything to do with that box, didn't even want to see what was in it. She didn't want to be one of the temporary women he wined and dined for a week, then sent away with consolation prizes.

When she shook her head, refusing to take it at his offering, he opened the box. Inside was a thin bracelet studded with sapphires. It had to be more expensive than her entire jewelry collection.

"You like it?" he asked eagerly, setting the box on the table to lift the bracelet out.

"It's beautiful, but it can't take it, Rod. It's too soon."

He took her arm. "Too soon for a bracelet? I didn't know there was an etiquette." He fastened the delicate bracelet around her wrist, and she was unable to forbid him. "It's perfect for you. It matches your eyes."

Looking so proud and happy, he made Bethany lose her argument.

"Just wear it while you're gone, OK? To remind you of me. You don't have to keep it if you don't wanna after that."

He wanted her to remember him while she was gone. Not knowing if it was good or bad, she nodded though she knew she couldn't keep it even that long. She wanted to cry. He kissed her as if he was the one who had been given the gift.

To hold back the tears, she concentrated on serving dinner. While they ate, she asked when he'd found time to get the bracelet. His answer shamed her, because she'd asked to find out if Nicole Martini had just left her "consolation prize" behind.

What was wrong with her? Was she just a fool, or was everything everyone said about him true? Every minute she spent with him convinced her they were all wrong. While she had no trouble believing he was a womanizer, she couldn't get herself to accept that he used women for his own selfish purposes. Rod wasn't selfish in any sense of the word. Maybe he was just lonely.

Regardless, she didn't want to spend what could be her last hours with him fluctuating between fear of what she'd heard of him and dismissing it in the face of reality.

They cleaned up together, putting the dishes in the dishwasher, and Rod repeatedly told her that her cooking was better than any of the restaurants he'd been to. The lasagna had been excellent, so she knew he wasn't saying it just to be nice.

She poured them each a mug of the coffee she'd started earlier, then they went into the living room. Rod turned on the stereo, which blasted out his musical preference, then turned it to one of the softer channels.

"Thanks for making me dinner," he said again, when he sat as close as he could to her on the sofa and put his arm around her.

"I wanted to." Her cheek swept his bare shoulder when she turned to smile at him.

"You never wear a shirt." The observation was out of her mouth before she could consider the riskiness of it. The only thing on his chest was a thin gold chain with a winged angel pendant hanging from it.

"Shirts are too confining. I can handle vests and jackets, just barely.

Good thing I've got a chest worth flaunting." He grinned, which could have meant he was joking.

Bethany's gaze lowered to his chest, confirming instantly that he positively had a chest worth flaunting. He was muscular without being bulky. His flesh was smooth and dark. It invited touching, and her fingertips wanted to do just that.

It took effort for Bethany to lift her eyes to his. His face was as serious now as, she realized, hers must be following his "joke."

Wishing she could get inside his head to confirm all her hopes or suspicions, she set down her mug so she wouldn't drop it in her lap. Rod imitated her, and when he returned his back to the couch, he covered her cheek with his hand. "I don't want you to leave me tomorrow, Bethany. I want you."

That he could be so forthright thrilled her as much as it frightened her, because she wanted to believe him more than anything else.

"I'm coming back in a couple days," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. She couldn't lower her eyes from the intensity of his, not even when his thumb brushed over her lips.

"A couple days might-as-well be forever if I can't look at you or touch you during them."

"I could call you or you could call me, when I find out where I'll be staying." Her head was starting to feel the way it did when she infrequently drank more than a gla.s.s of wine. His smell, his beautiful eyes, his words and touch and mouth whirled around her, mesmerizing her. She couldn't resist him. It was why Sunday had happened, why she'd cried when he showed up after all, why she'd let him put the bracelet on her.

He seemed to know exactly what she wanted, even when she feared admitting it to herself. And always, always he was gentle and undemanding. Rod was everything she'd ever wanted in a man, if it wasn't for all the vultures circling him, waiting to discredit him.

Slipping his fingers into her hair, he said softly, "I really like you, Bethany. Not just cuz you're so pretty and I wanted to make love to you the minute I saw you."

The shock made her cringe away from him, but he pulled her into a hug, chuckling under his breath. "You're so sweet. I love it when you blush."

"Novelty" went through her head, but she ignored it. She was pressed against his bare chest with her cheek and one of her hands. Nothing else seemed to matter in light of how good his skin felt to her virgin hands. In her lifetime, she'd shaken a man's hand, hugged her brother, and been kissed on the cheek and mouth. Touching a man's chest was new and exciting, and she wanted to do more than lay against him idly.

Concentrating all her courage on the hand resting against his rib cage, she got herself to move it. She kept her palm flat, her fingers splayed as she explored the textures and muscles of his stomach. He was warm and hard, and she felt him twitch as she stroked him with greater courage. The courage came from the knowledge that he enjoyed it and wanted more, the way she did.

Her hand followed the hard lines of muscles from stomach to side and higher. Soft, lingering touches seemed to make his breathing and heartbeat quicken, as did hers.

"G.o.d, Bethany," he muttered before lifting her head for a kiss that rocked her in its need. What had she created? She didn't know, but she was swept away by the intimacy his mouth demanded of hers. Her total response was willingness.

Outside of that, she was too spellbound to partic.i.p.ate.

Why did everything feel so good and right with him? If another man had put his tongue in her mouth, she would have been revolted, yet Rod's made her ache in ways she'd never even fantasized about. The fantasies weren't about imaginings or wishes. They were subconscious desires inside of every part of her.

"I wanna touch you, Bethany. I wanna see you," he muttered against her mouth, so hoa.r.s.ely she couldn't help remembering Scott's voice when he tried to get more than she was willing to give.

His urgency sent her panicking. She turned away from him, unsure if she could say anything and what she would say anyway. Rod had to know she was a virgin, and was therefore aware she wasn't ready for the kind of intimacy he was.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind. "I'm sorry. I can wait. You just make me want. . ."

Urging her to face him, he pulled her against him as he had before.

"Anyway, I've got the feeling cuddling with you is as good as making love with you."

Bethany closed her eyes tightly. He'd said the words! He'd said "I can wait", and she wanted to believe that as much as she wanted to believe he was the man for her, despite the vultures that had begun circling her too.

Rod got up early--no hardship since he hadn't been able to sleep anyway--and took Bethany to the bus station.

Although he'd wanted to spend the night in her bed, he now realized what he was dealing with here--the difference. Bethany Briggs would be the difference in his life, and some of the changes would be rough. As far as he was concerned, he'd go to h.e.l.l and back for her as long as the outcome was the same. She had to be his baby, his woman, his one and only for the rest of their lives. And that was all she wrote.

He watched her until the bus pulled out, and when he got back in his car he found the bracelet he'd given her last night on the pa.s.senger seat. Although her reasons for doing it worried him, he couldn't help smiling. Smiling, because it was exactly what he'd expected her to do. She hadn't been ready for any words of commitment, and so he hadn't said any. But, being the woman she was, she wouldn't take anything else from him either, until she was good and ready. And until he'd proved himself.

G.o.d, he'd miss her. Even if it turned out to be only a day or two. Even though he'd worked out a plan so he could call her. Once she got to her hotel, she would call his lawyer, who would call Rod with the phone number. Travis had agreed to it after some of Rod's famous coaxing. Since he wasn't sure where he'd be today, he hadn't wanted to give her a list of phone numbers to go through, so this had seemed the easiest answer.

She'd turned his whole life upside down, that was for sure. He didn't sleep much, he only ate when she cooked for him or went out with him, and he was half insane wanting to make love to a woman he had to be a perfect gentleman with or else. But, hey, that was all right. Anything, as long as she let him into her life.

That was the difference, he realized. For the first time in his life, he didn't have control of the relationship. It wouldn't be his choice to end it.

The wild man had been tamed.

CHAPTER FIVE.

It wasn't until much later, when she was escorted by a employee of the investor to the hotel, that Bethany realized she'd made promises she couldn't keep. Agreeing to Rod's triangle of connection had been instinctive. If it was the only link she had to him, she'd call his lawyer so he could give Rod her hotel phone number.

The bus ride had put too many things into sharp perspective. While Rod had said many things she'd wanted to hear, he hadn't made the commitment she wanted most from him. And that meant he was free to find someone else, for the few days she was gone or permanently. Her pride couldn't allow her to accept either situation.

Maybe she'd known it was over before, when she left the bracelet in his car. She didn't want consolation prizes. She wanted his love exclusively. It was something she'd been told, and acknowledged deep down inside of herself, she couldn't have. Yet she had fallen in love with him, to regret only that it couldn't last.

Too soon to react or common sense, Bethany told herself to let it go as easily as it'd come. She wouldn't call Rod's lawyer, she wouldn't fall apart.

Life would go back to simply existing day to day. Besides, what was most important, what would be the greater loss was her salon.

On the bus, she'd gone over the financial records for the past year and one thing stood out: she couldn't go on the way she'd been. Beauty by Bethany hadn't made any money for more months than she wanted to admit to herself. Ever since the chain beauty salon had opened a few blocks from her own. All the profits she made went right back into the business. What little savings she had from her successful first year of the salon went into paying household bills, so she wouldn't have to rely on her brother to support her. She'd thought it'd make things better when Olivia said she only wanted to work a few days a week, but even one full-time employee and one part-time stretched Bethany's means for the handful of customers that came in in a day.

If she lost her salon, she didn't know what she'd do with herself. After having owned her own business, being an employee in another salon would be like a step backward.

Her mind kept telling her she should be thrilled someone wanted to invest in her little salon, but the knot in the pit of her stomach prevented that. She was backed into a corner. If he simply wanted to make an investment without getting involved in the day-to-day business, she could accept it as a last resort.

Something told her it wouldn't be that simple. She knew someone in Madison, a lady she'd met at a trade show, whose salon had barely been sc.r.a.ping by. She'd gotten an investor interested too, as her last chance to keep her livelihood.

The investor ended up turning the salon into a chain, and Bethany's acquaintance lost all power. She'd become an on-site supervisor who took orders from the chain's corporate office.

It was the last thing Bethany wanted, yet with her back to the wall, what choice did she have other than submission?

The investor's office was right across the street, and she walked over for her 2:30 appointment. The meeting was brief and obscure. After telling her they'd get more in-depth at dinner, he dismissed her.

Bethany walked back to her hotel room, wishing she could talk to someone.

Her brother wasn't the first person that came to her mind, and it bothered her that she had become dependent on Rod in only six short days.

Taking the card he had given her with his lawyer's phone number on it out of her purse, she sat on the bed and reached for the receiver.

Rod had said he was going to The Keys while she was away. Though Bethany had never been to The Keys personally, she imagined it had to be one of those tropical islands with beautiful, tanned native women who used their long hair in place of a bra.

No, he'd have no trouble replacing her with someone who had no inhibitions or expectations. Rod wasn't looking for forever the way she was.

She had no one to blame except herself. Her heart had played games with her from the start.

"I'm gonna call Travis again." Rod reached for the phone that was within two inches of him at all time.

Jon didn't even glance up from the brochures of The Keys he was leafing through when he said, "You just called him a half hour ago."

Blackie and Lori were on the opposite side of the living room in Jon and Blackie's apartment over the shop. Lori grinned at Rod like he was acting like a clown.

He didn't care. Nothing mattered except that it was after nine o'clock in the evening, and Travis still hadn't called with Bethany's hotel number. Which meant she hadn't called to give it to his lawyer. Which meant something had happened to her, or she just didn't want to talk to him. Which meant he had no idea where she was, so he couldn't change her mind. Which--finally--meant he was going out of his mind.

Picking up the receiver, he pressed the redial b.u.t.ton for Travis' home.

Bethany had both his office and home numbers, so Rod knew that had nothing to do with it. Even if she'd lost the card, Information could give her either number.

As he waited for Travis to pick up, he wondered if he'd read her completely wrong. Maybe she was shyer than he'd thought, and she hadn't had the nerve to tell him she didn't like him. That didn't explain why she'd cried, thinking he wasn't coming yesterday. Or why she'd let him kiss her. Her response couldn't be faked. He wasn't too proud to admit that he'd had women fake it with him before.

s.e.x wasn't all technique. Some men and women just didn't click s.e.xually. No matter how skilled, there had to be some chemistry, otherwise it was just mechanical.

Bethany enjoyed his kisses and caresses more than any other woman he'd ever been with. So why didn't she want to talk to him now?

"If it's you again, Rod. . ." Travis picked up the phone saying.

"She hasn't called?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, I'll call you when she calls me? If you're so anxious, why don't you call every hotel in Madison and ask if she's staying there?"

Travis was normally hard to ruffle; everything was taken in stride with him. At the moment, he was sounding slightly annoyed, with reason. Rod had called him at least thirty times today.

"There must be a dozen hotels in Madison. Are you crazy, man?"

"If you'd called them instead of me, you'd be half done by now."

"Very funny," Rod smirked, watching Lori lean back against Blackie. At least she wasn't grinning at him anymore. "Did you find anything out about what I asked you this morning?"

"Yes. The salon is in the red, though it had a promising first year. She applied for a building permit, but things must have caved in. It expires the first of next year." Pausing only a second, Travis added, "Now can we stick to the agreement? I'll call you if she calls?"

Rod agreed, knowing he'd never have the patience to keep that promise.

The day had started out pretty well, giving him no clue it would go bad.

He'd been looking forward to the trip with his friends, seeing his sister. He could talk to Bethany a few times a day and not have to wait around doing nothing when he couldn't talk to her.

Well, there was no way he was going now. If she didn't call, he'd haunt her doorstep, waiting for her to return and explain why he was in love with a woman who wouldn't talk to him.

Bethany arrived home Thursday night, exhausted and dejected. Everything she'd feared had come to pa.s.s, and now all she wanted was for someone to hold and comfort her by saying all hope was not lost.

Randy was still away, and any chance she might have had with Rod was lost.

Surely her heavy heart made her believe it wouldn't matter to her what he'd done in The Keys, as long as he came back to her.

She unlocked her door, almost expecting Rod's dog to greet her. Tears filled her eyes when she thought of never seeing Cameron again. Well, what else was new? She'd spent most of the three days she was away crying her eyes out.