MITCH GLANCED AT THE CLOCK and frowned. Kelsey was late. She usually arrived home at around two forty-five and it was already past three. He couldn't help worrying. It was bad enough that her job was so provocative. The fact that she had to drive home alone in the middle of the night made it that much worse. and frowned. Kelsey was late. She usually arrived home at around two forty-five and it was already past three. He couldn't help worrying. It was bad enough that her job was so provocative. The fact that she had to drive home alone in the middle of the night made it that much worse.

He saw headlights swing into the driveway and breathed a sigh of relief. He walked into the foyer just as Kelsey came in the front door.

"You're late," he said as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her tightly against him. "I was getting worried. Hey, your pants are wet!"

"I'm sorry," she said breathlessly. "I had car trouble and had to get a ride home from someone. I slipped in a puddle. Klutz, huh?"

Mitch saw a car back out of the driveway and pull away up the street. "Who was that? Brian?"

"No, it was Edgar. I don't think you've met him."

"Edgar, hmm? Should I be jealous?"

Kelsey giggled. "Baby, you'd have no reason to be jealous if Leonardo DiCaprio drove me home. I am all yours."

He kissed her neck, liking her words. She was all his.

"Prove it," he challenged as he drew her into his living room.

"That sounds like an order," she murmured as she let her jacket fall off her shoulders onto the floor.

"I'd never dream of ordering you to do anything you didn't want to do," he said as he began sliding the b.u.t.tons of her blouse open, one by one. Then he c.o.c.ked a sly grin. "I prefer to use gentle persuasion."

He whispered a suggestion in her ear and heard her moan deep in her throat. She rolled her head to the side and let her blouse fall off her shoulders. Mitch followed the fine curve of her neck and shoulder with his tongue as he unzipped her slacks and let them slide, along with her underclothes, down her legs. He kissed a path down her body, pausing for a delectable moment or two to taste her b.r.e.a.s.t.s before dropping to his knees on the floor in front of her. He was glad he reached his arms behind her legs and held her thighs steady because when he began intimately caressing her with his mouth, her knees nearly buckled.

"Gentle persuasion works," she muttered while she was still somewhat coherent.

Mitch barely heard her.

SOMETHING WOKE HIM EARLY the following morning. Mitch glanced at Kelsey, sleeping soundly beside him, then saw the clock. It was just past eight. Very early, considering they hadn't gone to sleep until after four that morning. A languorous smile crossed his lips when he remembered how she'd kept him awake to try some gentle persuasion of her own after they'd moved to the bedroom. Lady Love's mouth was absolutely amazing even when she didn't say a word, he thought. the following morning. Mitch glanced at Kelsey, sleeping soundly beside him, then saw the clock. It was just past eight. Very early, considering they hadn't gone to sleep until after four that morning. A languorous smile crossed his lips when he remembered how she'd kept him awake to try some gentle persuasion of her own after they'd moved to the bedroom. Lady Love's mouth was absolutely amazing even when she didn't say a word, he thought.

Mitch heard another noise coming from the front of the house.

Quickly getting out of bed, he pulled a pair of sweatpants over his naked body. He didn't know what the noise had been, maybe a car pa.s.sing close to the house, possibly a horn blown nearby. But the creak had seemed close, and familiar.

Walking through the living room into the foyer, he saw a box and a piece of paper lying on the floor by the front door. He immediately realized what he'd heard creaking: the mail slot.

Kelsey realized she was alone when she started to feel cold. She shifted over in her sleep, seeking Mitch's warm body, but found his side of the bed empty. She sat up with a start.

"Mitch?"

He didn't answer. Curious, she got out of bed, slipped on one of his shirts over her head and walked toward the front of the house.

The door between the living room and foyer was slightly ajar. Kelsey walked to it and gingerly pushed it open. "Mitch? What's wrong?"

She saw him squatting in the foyer, holding a long, thin box covered with gold foil that looked as if it contained expensive candy. Mitch rose to his feet, staring steadily at her. He slowly extended his arm, offering her the box.

"Mitch? What is it?"

He narrowed his eyes and held out his other hand. Kelsey recognized the pale-blue-colored stationery he held. She winced.

"Who the h.e.l.l is 'Your Knight'?"

Kelsey grimaced, then squared her shoulders. "Let's go sit down and I'll tell you all about it."

Mitch didn't appear to want to move, but finally he dropped the box and followed her into his living room.

After she'd told him the entire story, he stared at her in consternation for several seconds before speaking, "So, someone's been hara.s.sing you for weeks, and you never once even bothered to mention mention it to me?" it to me?"

Kelsey ran a weary hand over her eyes. What she really wanted was a strong cup of coffee or a few more hours' sleep. He seemed intent on arguing. "Mitch, please, don't get upset."

"Upset?" he said with a bitter laugh. "That doesn't quite describe what I'm feeling, Kelsey."

She cringed.

He paced back and forth across the wood floor. His bare feet struck the surface hard enough to make thudding noises. "I'm angry and I'm hurt by this," he explained. Kelsey heard the emotion in his voice as he continued. "Why didn't you tell me? What on earth made you feel you couldn't trust me enough to share what you were going through?"

"Mitch, of course I trust you. I just didn't want to bother you with this."

"Bother me?" he replied as he stopped pacing and stared into her face, his eyes widening in disbelief. "You think telling me someone's stalking you is going to bother bother me? Good grief, Kelsey, I might be me? Good grief, Kelsey, I might be bothered bothered if you said you didn't get a raise you wanted, or were concerned about your ratings. This goes way beyond if you said you didn't get a raise you wanted, or were concerned about your ratings. This goes way beyond bothered bothered!"

Kelsey shrank back in her seat at the outright anger in his voice. She hadn't seen him this furious in a long time. She hated that she was the one who'd caused it.

"I thought you and I had something kind of meaningful building here," he muttered bitterly.

"We do!"

"Obviously, we don't," he retorted. "People in a relationship don't lie and keep secrets because they fear they'll bother bother the other person." the other person."

"I didn't lie."

"A technicality," he snapped. "Maybe you never came out and said, 'No, Mitch, no one has been writing me dozens of love letters, staking out the station and leaving me mystery gifts in my car,' but there were plenty of times when we talked about your job that you could have come clean. And you didn't. You kept your mouth shut, figuring I wouldn't like it and you didn't want to have to deal with that. Well, you know what? I don't don't like it, and you like it, and you do do have to deal with it!" have to deal with it!"

Kelsey took a deep breath and considered her words, wondering how she could make him understand. "Mitch, look, bother bother is the wrong word. It's just...I know how you feel about my job. I know you worry about me anyway. I didn't want to make you feel worse. Things are going so well for us-I wanted to keep it perfect for as long as possible." is the wrong word. It's just...I know how you feel about my job. I know you worry about me anyway. I didn't want to make you feel worse. Things are going so well for us-I wanted to keep it perfect for as long as possible."

He didn't soften one bit. "Gee, it really paid off, didn't it? Now on top of worrying about some wacko stalking you, I have to wonder if there's anything else going on that you haven't told me about because you want to 'keep things perfect' between us."

Kelsey bit her lip and shook her head vehemently. "No, Mitch. You know everything. And don't make it sound worse than it is. I'm not being stalked. It's not that terrible. I mean, I certainly don't feel threatened, just a little uncomfortable."

"You should feel threatened! What if when you opened your car door the other night you'd found some nut with a knife instead of just some balloons? He's been watching you, knows which one's your car, what you look like. And he has obviously followed you home, because he now knows where you live! That doesn't sound like normal behavior to me, Kelsey. Whoever's doing this has got a screw loose somewhere."

Mitch threw himself down in an armchair. Kelsey wished he'd sat beside her on the couch. She wanted him close. He obviously wanted some distance. She blinked rapidly to hold back tears.

"Mitch, I was wrong. I'm sorry. I should have come to you and told you about it. But can you honestly say that you would have been able to deal with it logically? To just sit back and wait for something to happen, for this guy to get caught or to stop? Because that's really all we can do."

"h.e.l.l, no," he retorted. "That's not all we can do. We can remove the temptation, not let Lady Love make Kelsey Logan a target for one more day."

Kelsey stood up and placed her hands on her hips, feeling anger replace the guilt she'd been feeling moments before. "What are you saying?"

Mitch stood and moved close to her until they were practically nose to nose. "What I'm saying is, no more Night Whispers Night Whispers, no more threat. Maybe even no more lies between us."

She crossed her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes. "Did you just, basically, order me to quit my job? Because, for some reason, I seem to remember being in this room with you a few hours ago and hearing you say you'd never presume to order me to do anything."

Mitch's mouth tightened. "No, I'm not ordering you. I am relying on your common sense and your intelligence to make you come to the realization that quitting is the only answer."

Kelsey ground her teeth, hearing his college professor tone and not liking it one bit. "No, Mitch, quitting is not the only answer. Letting the police take care of this is one option, ignoring it is another, being extra vigilant is a third. These are other options...ones that I'm actually going to consider-unlike your suggestion, which I find totally ludicrous."

Kelsey saw Mitch stiffen, his face a cold, unfamiliar mask as he absorbed her words. She nearly regretted them, but forced herself to remember why she'd spit them out in the first place. He'd issued her an order, whether he saw it that way or not.

"So, you're not even going to discuss the possibility of quitting Night Whispers Night Whispers. Getting on the radio and sharing dirty little secrets with the l.u.s.ting public is so important to you you'd risk your personal safety. And you'd throw away what you and I have."

She heard what he was really saying. Kelsey felt things spinning out of control. Their words were leading to heartache, but she couldn't do anything to stop them.

"And now it's not an order, it's an ultimatum? I quit or I lose you?" she asked, wanting to be sure she understood him correctly.

He didn't respond. She stood still for a few seconds, silently praying he'd take her in his arms and tell her they'd work through it together. He didn't move.

"You know, Mitch, maybe the real reason I didn't come to you with this whole 'knight' nonsense, is this. It's this moment. It's because I knew you'd use it as an excuse to try to convince me to give up something I love because it doesn't fit in with your ordered life."

Her voice broke and she felt tears falling from her eyes and down her cheeks. She angrily dashed them away with the back of her hand. "You're not just asking me to quit a job. You're asking me to be someone else, someone who walks away when threatened, who always plays it safe. I'm not that someone. Mitch, you fell into this relationship with me with your eyes wide-open. You knew who I was from day one, and I never tried to deny it. And deep down, beneath that safe, conservative sh.e.l.l of yours, I know d.a.m.n well you don't want me to do what you're asking me to do."

Tears continued to fall down her cheeks and Kelsey didn't even bother wiping them away.

Mitch shook his head slowly. "You're wrong," he said with quiet dignity. "I'd be the happiest man alive if you never went back to that station. Don't you get it? I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

Kelsey watched as he raised a weary hand to his brow and rubbed his temple. His movements were so familiar to her, she knew he'd swipe his hand through his hair the second before he did it. Her heart ached, but she could not back down.

"The worst thing that could happen to me," she explained softly, "is that I could allow someone else to dictate how I'll live my life. I will not change who I am to suit anyone. And if you don't know that about me, then you don't know me at all."

Mitch watched in silence as she strode toward the door. She paused, wrapping her arms around her body, as if gaining strength, then walked out of the apartment without another word.

He nearly went after her. Lots of things had been said before he'd even thought about what he was saying. The whole conversation should have been handled differently, when he wasn't so angry about the way he'd discovered what she'd been going through...and about the way she'd hidden it from him.

But he couldn't bring himself to follow her. Because he knew if he did they'd end up in each other's arms and he'd apologize and tell her he didn't mean it. Then they'd move on, and she'd remain Lady Love.

And he'd hate himself for the rest of his life if this pervert ended up hurting her.

12.

"THEY CAUGHT THE KNIGHT."

Kelsey nearly dropped the phone when she heard Brian's voice. She'd s.n.a.t.c.hed it up on the first ring, hoping Mitch had decided to call her rather than walk up the stairs and risk another face-to-face argument.

"Kelsey, are you there? I said they caught your secret admirer."

"How do you know?"

"I happened to overhear a conversation going on right now in Jack McKenzie's office."

"Listening at keyholes? Never mind, I know better than to even ask. So, how'd they catch the guy?"

Brian paused and Kelsey knew he was building up the momentum. She could practically hear his excitement in the silent phone line. "Come on," she insisted. "Spill your guts. I know you're dying to."

"Well, one of the secretaries caught him trying to slip a gift into your mail slot. She recognized the blue stationery, confronted him, and he broke down and confessed everything."

Kelsey couldn't believe the man had had enough nerve to stroll right into the station.

"Then what?" she asked, anxious to hear the rest of the story.

"She called McKenzie, and they've been in his office for the past half hour. I'm sure Jack will be calling you any minute-I wanted to give you a heads-up."

"I appreciate it," she said.

"Don't you want to know who it is?" Brian said, and Kelsey heard the excitement in his voice. "I mean, it turns out this guy's no stranger."

Kelsey paused for a heartbeat, then a name rolled off her lips.

"Edgar."

"How'd you know?" Brian asked, sounding highly annoyed that she'd stolen his thunder. She sat back heavily in her chair.

"You mean I'm right?"

"Yep. It was Edgar. He's confessing everything."

Somehow, Kelsey wasn't surprised. She'd felt all along that the man writing to her was not a threat, but was simply some lonely person indulging in some fantasizing, just as she encouraged people to do on her show. And Edgar fit the bill.

Last night he'd so conveniently been there to drive her home because her car mysteriously wouldn't start, then he'd immediately tried to carry her because of the huge puddle. Looking back, it was so obvious it was all contrived. Edgar was starring in his own hero fantasy and had cast her as the helpless heroine in need of his protection and love. She wondered what he'd done to her car.

"Poor Edgar," she said softly.

Poor me, she thought. Kelsey couldn't believe it was over. Just hours after her relationship with Mitch had blown to smithereens, the reason had been eliminated. It was so unfair, she felt like crying.

"'Poor Edgar' is right. From what I've heard about his wife, dealing with the station, losing his job and possibly facing prosecution will be the least of his worries."

Kelsey sighed, knowing Brian was right. "I'll tell Jack to forget about the police. I am quite sure I won't be hearing from the 'Knight of my Life' anymore. Edgar was acting out a Night Whispers Night Whispers-type fantasy. Now that I know it was him, he probably won't ever want to see me again."

Kelsey finished her conversation, and waited no more than three minutes before the phone rang again. She acted surprised when Jack informed her of what had happened that morning. After he confirmed that Edgar had resigned, she asked him just to let the man go and not involve the police.