Her face ashen, Andrea whispered, "Jason, I promise you I wasn't flirting, I was just talking about my books. By coincidence, Dex likes the kind of books I write."

"Dex was a little too interested in the writer of the books, and you did nothing to discourage him," Jason bit out. His eyes raking her, he went on, "What I said was not an idle threat, Andrea. It was a promise." At last he took a step back, and Andrea didn't feel quite so intimidated any longer. She opened her mouth to protest, tell Jason he'd got the wrong idea from simple dinner conversation, but he continued, still in that ice-cold voice, "We might as well go to bed and get some rest. David said he'd send Trevor with the car tomorrow around eleven. We'll have to be packed and ready for our week-end with David and Christa." Without another glance at her, he strode to the bedroom, impersonally holding the door open for Andrea to precede him.

"Do you want the bathroom first?" he asked coldly. "You'll need a shower to wash off Mr. Dexter Hayward III's fingerprints."

Suddenly furious with Jason, Andrea turned on him. "Dex never touched me, and you know it, except when we shook hands to say goodnight. I've had all the jealous accusations I'm going to take from you. All that means is that you don't trust me out of your sight. How fortunate for you that I have more faith in you. All the time you were away, it never occurred to me to wonder if you were going out with some gorgeous Afghani women. And last year, when that actress managed to get that doctored photo on the front page of the Daily News, showing her in a clinch with you, I knew it had to be faked, because I trusted you. It would be nice if you could return the trust, but..." She shrugged disdainfully. Glancing at him with something close to contempt in her eyes, she could see from his stricken face that her remarks had hit a nerve. She strode past him, into the bathroom, closing the door carefully behind her. That would upset Jason--she always left the bathroom door open in silent invitation for him to join her shower.

Not this time.

Quickly, she took off her dress, hanging it by a shoulder strap on the hook in the door, throwing her underwear and stockings into the laundry bag. She stuck her arm into the shower stall, turning the water to the temperature she enjoyed, and stepped quickly under the little cascade. Eyes closed, she moved her shoulders gently, relieving the tension she still felt from Jason's irrational accusations.

To her surprise, the shower's door opened, and Jason stepped in. It shouldn't have surprised her that he was naked, but, after his earlier unkind words, she was startled.

"You'll probably want to stand under the shower for some time, and it's already well past midnight. So I thought we'd share the shower."

Is this Jason's way of apologizing--his olive branch? He was bitterly cruel to me; is this enough of a mea culpa or should I demand more? Andrea shook her head at herself. She didn't want to continue fighting with Jason and--knowing him for the proud, arrogant man he was--this much of an apology was a major move for him. She smiled coolly at him. "Sure, if you want to--here's the soap."

"Thank you. Do you need your back washed?"

Andrea shook her head. "No, thanks. I think I've washed all the fingerprints off, just standing under the shower."

She felt vindicated, when Jason paled beneath his tan. "I said I was sorry, honey." No, you didn't, Jason. You said it was getting late so we should share the shower. But from you that's probably an apology. Ah, Jason, I don't want us to fight.

She smiled at him, "So you did. Need any help washing your back?"

He showed his blinding white teeth in a delighted smile. "I could do with some help washing my front, too, honey."

"Jason, are you flirting with me?"

He shook his head, suddenly serious. "No, I'm trying to get us back to our usual happy, loving state." He gazed at her uneasily. "How'm I doing?"

Reaching up, she kissed his throat. "You're doing fine, Jason."

"Come to bed, honey."

"Wet?"

"I'll put a bath-sheet on the bed."

"If you're in that much of a hurry, I accept your invitation, Jason, darling."

Reaching for one of the bath-sheets, he began to dry her. "At last. An endearment. Oh, honey, please forget what I said, I didn't mean it. You know my spectacular temper. All the time I was in Afghanistan, I wished myself back with you, wondering about men making a play for you... Whether you were lonely enough to..."

Andrea gazed at him, astonished. "Jason, I never, never would... Tell me you know that. Oh, sure I was lonely, but I was writing, then editing Erotic Tales, and Christa often invited me for week-ends..."

He sighed, tightening his arms around her. "Right now, I want to make love to you, until you've forgotten all about Dex."

"Who?"

Jason laughed. To Andrea, he sounded deeply relieved. Good