Karin shrugged. "Then that would certainly be very bad for her."

"And for me." I continued Karin's thought. "I don't know which one of us would go crazy first."

Karin smiled encouragingly. "I don't think it will come to that." She smiled again. "You two make a lovely couple."

I hung my head in order to hide my embarra.s.sment. "She is lovely," I tried to correct her.

"Oh?" remarked Karin, teasingly. She wouldn't fall for something like that. "And you're ugly?"

I fidgeted. "No," I admitted, "but compared with her..."

"She is stunningly beautiful," Karin stated. "That's true." She squeezed my hand energetically. "But your beauty together comes from something else entirely. You really love each other."

I tried to pull my hand free. She wouldn't let it go anymore than she would with the other woman.

"She's never said it to me," I replied uncertainly.

"She will." Karin was convinced of that. I wasn't. "Considering the circ.u.mstances, I can understand that it's difficult for her to say those words."

"You mean, considering her profession?"

"Yes," said Karin. "It has a different meaning for her than for us. And the danger is greater for her."

"What danger?" I asked obtusely. Actually, I knew the answer already.

"The danger of getting into a situation of dependency from which she cannot escape. The danger of extortion. Whatever you like. The consequences could be deadly to her." Karin could see much more than I from her distance.

"Her occupation could be deadly to her," I confirmed urgently.

Karin looked at me. "Are you afraid that something like this might happen again?" she asked.

"And how!" I was really desperate. "I can't just ignore that danger." I nodded in the direction in which she'd disappeared. "She can."

Karin shook her head. "I don't believe that. At most, she's convinced you of that."

I sighed in resignation. "As long as she doesn't practice her trade, I don't have to worry about it. But then...?"

"You're going to have to talk to her about that." Karin merely spoke out loud what I already knew, but I still hadn't thought of a useful solution to the problem.

"I've tried that already," I explained. "She minimizes the whole thing. She says it doesn't happen every day."

"She's no doubt right about that." Karin nodded.

"Now you're agreeing with her denial!" I raged.

"No, I'm not," Karin corrected me. "I'm just not as biased as you are." She took my hand and kissed my fingers. "Anyhow, we're not going to solve the problem by talking about it with each other. You two have to work that out between yourselves." She let go of my hand. "Did you have a good time in bed after I called earlier?" she asked suddenly, batting her eyes innocently.

I gulped with surprise. "That's none of your business," I mumbled. Then I had to smile in spite of myself. "But if you really must know: it was very nice."

She grinned impishly. "Her job has its advantages, doesn't it?"

"And disadvantages you couldn't imagine," I added. "Precisely in bed."

This was a topic I'd always had a hard time getting her to drop.

"I bet the advantages in bed outweigh them," she probed further.

I let her fidget. "If you think so," I said, grinning.

"Come on already," she insisted. "Tell me a little."

I tossed her a crumb. "She's simply fantastic," I needled her. "What can I say about that?"

"You've always had a s.a.d.i.s.tic streak." She was really being unfair there. "But I'll get it out of you eventually!" She slouched in pretend frustration.

I had to laugh out loud. This was one of the few instances in which I'd won against her.

The topic of our conversation returned to the table. "You seem to have an awful lot of fun when I'm not around," she remarked as she sat down next to me. I would have liked to greet her with a kiss.

"We weren't talking about you," I tried to deny.

"Yes we were." Karin didn't want to drop the thread. Provocative and greatly pleased, she winked at me.

"What were you talking about, then?" the woman at my side asked innocently.

"I'll tell you later." I really wanted to talk about something else. I was already embarra.s.sed enough.

"In bed." Karin couldn't keep herself from making every insinuating remark that came to her mind.

"If you don't stop that right now, you're going to regret it!" I hissed at her.

Karin made a face, as if she hadn't done anything at all. While we were glaring at each other, my companion leaned against my shoulder and laughed. "You two were talking about your telephone conversation!" It would've been a miracle if she hadn't caught on to at least part of the theme, given her expertise. Thank G.o.d it was the benign portion.

I gave Karin a threatening look. Finally, she went along with my strategy. "Yes, exactly. We were talking about that phone call." She grinned again. "I thought I was hearing things!"

"But you didn't hang up, either!" I grumbled, still a little annoyed.

"Oh, please!" Karin reacted as though I'd insulted her honor. "Was I supposed to let such an opportunity pa.s.s me by? Besides..." She scooted away from me a little. "Besides, it's been a long time since I heard that kind of sound coming from you." For safety's sake, she had already prepared herself for my reaction. Otherwise, my fist would've landed right in her stomach.

"Should I perhaps leave you two alone? I hate to interfere with courting rituals." The way the corners of her mouth crept upwards with amus.e.m.e.nt indicated that she was enjoying the situation much more than I was.

"Courting?" I retorted indignantly. "I think you're misinterpreting the situation!"

"No." She was certain about these things. No one could pull the wool over her eyes in this area. "You like each other very much."

Karin looked at her and me. "That's true," she confirmed, then added, "I like both of you very much." She observed us. "You belong together," she a.s.serted with an air of certainty. Giving my companion a final examination, she concluded, "I'm glad she finally found you." She was pointing to me. "She's been searching for you for a long time."

It was a situation I couldn't cope with much longer. "You're terribly dear, Karin," I said, close to tears. "Would you be mad if we left now anyway?"

"No." Karin was quite satisfied. "I understand completely." She smiled. "I wasn't sure you were going to come at all."

We left the restaurant. On the sidewalk, we walked along next to each other silently for some time. We reached the fork that divided her way home from mine. "My place or yours?" I asked.

She looked at me. I couldn't decipher what she was thinking. "I'll go to my place and you go to yours," she answered unreadably.

Had the evening with Karin brought up uncomfortable thoughts for her after all? Had we reminded her of her work with our insinuations?

She saw that I was standing around uncertainly and went on. "It doesn't have anything to do with you," she explained. "I would love to be with you tonight, but I have to think about some things." She hesitated. "I'm going home now." Her words sounded regretful.

"But not alone." My interjection came quite suddenly.

She wanted to protest. "I told you..."

"I'll just walk you to your door," I insisted unrelentingly. "As it should be."

She remembered. "Oh, yes, that's right," she said. "You're so well brought-up." She smiled. "I'd sooner say gallant, but you don't like that." She hesitated anyway. "Well, ok," she gave in; nevertheless, she added cautiously, "But really just to my door!"

I put my hand over my heart. "But of course!" I emphasized the chivalrous gesture with a slightly sarcastic bow. "I give you my word, my Lady!"

"Then I'm relieved." She agreed, amused.

I put my arm around her waist, and we set off in the direction of her apartment. Unfortunately, it wasn't very far. When we had arrived, I let her go regretfully. I didn't want to leave. I couldn't tear myself away from her image. "Well, then," I remarked hesitantly.

"Until tomorrow," she said. "I'll call you."

Well, that was new! "But not at my office again, please." Playfully, I rolled my eyes back into my head. "I'd never survive that."

"Neither would I." Her voice sounded hoa.r.s.e. She stepped toward me and took me in her arms. She kissed me. Her tongue sent me reeling. She shoved her thigh between my legs and pressed me against the doorframe. Her hand reached down and grabbed my behind. "I wish so much that you could stay," she whispered into my mouth. "But I really need to be alone." She kissed me pa.s.sionately once more, then let me go and stepped back.

I stayed there, leaning against the doorway, my eyes closed. I could still feel her tongue in my mouth and her thigh between my legs. The blood raced through my veins.

She touched me gently on the shoulder. "Wake up." She laughed softly.

I kept my eyes closed. "How can you ask that of me?" I asked dreamily. "I'm in the land of your kisses."

"Really?" she teased. "I've never been there."

"No wonder," I remarked, still dreamy. "You don't kiss yourself, you know."

"Come on," she decided. "Come up with me." She unlocked the door.

Now I opened my eyes. "I gave you my word." Apparently she'd forgotten that.

"I invited you," she answered. She seemed not to have antic.i.p.ated a refusal from me. She was surprised.

"That doesn't make any difference." I stepped forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Good night."

She stood in the doorway, lit beautifully from behind, and watched me in amazement. I waved at her and left.

Chapter 27.

The next day, she called me at work anyway. "Have you gone insane?" she asked in greeting.

I acted like I didn't know what she was talking about. "No," I said innocently. "Why?"

"Then what are fifty red roses doing in my apartment? They must've cost a fortune!" She was absolutely indignant.

"Oh?" I replied, still innocently. "Somebody sent you fifty red roses?"

"Not somebody. You!" she raged on. "Quit denying it!" It was lovely, how she got so excited. Her voice sounded like it was turning cartwheels.

I laughed. "I'm not denying it," I said cheerfully. I loved her! She was so dashingly temperamental.

"So you have gone insane!" It sounded genuinely triumphant.

"I love you," I said softly. "If that's insane, then I'll be happy to be crazy my whole life."

For a moment, the line was silent. "They're beautiful," she replied then, just as softly.

"I hope so. I picked out every one myself."

"Every single one?" She was dumbfounded.

"Of course. How could I have left that to someone else?" Her voice was already waking the desire in me. And it was still such a long time until evening.

"You are crazy," she a.s.serted tenderly.

"We'd better stop," I requested as sensibly as possible. "This is already heading in the direction of phone s.e.x."

"Will you come see me today?" she asked without transition.

"If you want." I still wasn't sure what that meant.

"I do," she confirmed quickly. She was determination itself. Extremely unusual. Was she going to make that her routine now? She'd carried it through since yesterday, anyway. "When are you finished?"

"Around seven." Shivering with desire for her, my feelings rebelled, but I had to acknowledge the reality of the head-high stack of paperwork on my desk.

"You can't be serious," she protested.

"I am." I had to hold my ground this time. I couldn't just keep dropping everything whenever she turned up, much as I wanted to. My work was piling up and deadlines were drawing near. I tried to explain that to her. "You should see my desk sometime."

Obviously, that didn't interest her in the slightest. "Then I'll come in," she announced enthusiastically.