SEVEN

JOEL THREW OPEN the door to the hotel room and allowed her to precede him. He smiled when he saw the puzzled expression on Kendra’s face.

“To save you the trouble of asking, let me assure you that, no, this hotel wasn’t chosen by me. I made the mistake of having Billie make my reservations. Instead of the Marasef Hilton, I found myself here. She told me it would be a sinful waste to actually live in a country and not absorb a little of the native atmosphere.” His hand moved in a mocking gesture. “Behold, the real Marasef.”

“I like it,” Kendra said. It was obviously not a five-star hotel, but it was clean and neat and had a simple charm that was very soothing. “But you’re right. I wouldn’t think it would be quite your cup of tea.” She glanced at him curiously. “Why didn’t you move out and go to the Hilton after you saw it?”

“I planned on doing just that, but it didn’t seem worthwhile for the few days I’d be here before I moved on to the location site.” His lips twisted wryly. “There’s a simplicity, a basic earthiness here that’s very appealing to a man as surrounded by illusions as I am.”

“Perhaps you’re guilty of creating a good many of those illusions yourself,” Kendra said quietly. “Your House of Rainbows doesn’t appear to be the setting of a man who’s very interested in maintaining a sense of reality.” She opened the French doors and stepped out onto a small balcony. The view was delightful: The city, bathed in the glow of the sunset, was straight out of an Arabian nights movie.

“That’s why I brought you here tonight.” He was behind her, his arms encircling her waist and his lips nibbling at her ear. “There’s a time when illusion has to end and reality take over. We started at the wrong end, Kendra. Everything about that first night was based on misunderstandings…except the knowledge that something very special happened to both of us.” He turned her around in his arms; his expression was grave. “I don’t think either one of us recognized it for what it was, but we both knew it was strong enough to scare us silly.” His lips pressed a fairylike kiss on her temple. “But tonight there aren’t going to be any cases of mistaken identity, no rainbow illusions.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I’m not going to let you have even one glass of wine. Everything is going to be honest and real and as clear as the dawn.” His lips touched her own in a kiss of velvet tenderness. “And I think we’re going to have the answers to some very important questions before the evening is over.”

She laughed shakily. “I thought I was being brought to your lair to be seduced. Didn’t anyone ever tell you that seducers aren’t supposed to be so earnest in the middle of their campaigns?”

“I take my seductions very seriously, indeed,” he said with a grin. He kissed her again. “But this isn’t seduction; it’s something very different, isn’t it, Kendra?”

She felt as if those green eyes were hypnotizing her and she nodded slowly. “Yes, it’s something very different, Joel.”

She loved him. The knowledge was suddenly as clear as the words he’d just spoken. Why hadn’t she seen that quiet golden joy for what it was before? Now it seemed impossible she hadn’t recognized the signs from the beginning, since the first evening at Illusion de l’Arc en Ciel. The physical magic had been so potent that it overshadowed everything else, yet even then she had been aware of something else playing upon her mind and emotions. Perhaps she’d been too frightened then to admit to herself that she had been caught in the sorcerer’s enchanted web. But in Sedikhan she’d discovered the sorcerer was also a man: a man who could feel pain and guilt, who could laugh at himself on occasion, who could be gentle and affectionate with those he cared for. The sorcerer could invoke a frenzy of desire, but only the man could inspire love.

“Hey, snap out of it.” Joel’s eyes were twinkling with amusement as he gave her a little shake. “Don’t you know that a lady’s not supposed to go off into a gray fog when a man’s making a serious declaration? It appears I’ll need to concentrate all my energies on keeping your attention tonight.” His arm slipped around her waist as he propelled her through the French doors back into the room.

“I ordered dinner to be served in our room when I checked in downstairs and I want to get you fed.” His glance appraised her critically. “I thought if I took the pressure off and let you rest for a week you’d put on some weight, but I don’t think you’ve gained an ounce.”

“Just because I wasn’t working, doesn’t mean that I let myself get out of shape,” she said lightly. “I still exercised for three hours before I joined you on the set every day. In my business I can’t afford the indulgence of taking a full week off.”

“Oh, yes, your business.” His tone was sour. “That’s another thing we’ve got to straighten out tonight.” Then, as he saw the troubled frown cross her face, he smiled. “But not right now. Now I want to tell you how beautiful you are. I want to hear you talk to me in that scratchy little whisper.” He sank into the large, cushioned straight-backed chair facing the balcony and pulled her down on his lap, cradling her in his arms with infinite tenderness. “I want to hold you like this and watch the lights of Marasef go on.”

Her cheek rubbed against the linen of his sport coat, and she could smell the familiar scent of soap and spice. He laughed softly and gave her a swift, affectionate hug. “Sometimes you remind me of a sensuous little kitten when you move like that against me. In the back of my mind I know how much strength and stamina there is in that slender frame, but when you’re lying in my arms. I have trouble remembering it.” His lips nuzzled the throbbing pulse point beneath her chin. “God, you’re sweet.” He drew a deep, shuddering breath, “Talk to me, sweetheart. I need something to distract me or I’ll blow all my good intentions and tumble you into bed in a very unromantic fashion.”

She laughed as she nestled closer. “But a very ful-filling fashion,” she said teasingly, gazing up at him through her lashes. “Even if I wasn’t quite myself that night, I seem to remember that you made my first experience quite a satisfactory one.”

“Satisfactory?” He frowned in mock outrage. “It was a hell of a lot more than satisfactory. I’m not a satisfactory lover. I’m superb.” His green eyes were suddenly dancing as his hands slid to cup her breasts. “Perhaps you need something to remind you how talented I am. Just sit still and relax, love. I’m always glad to be called upon for demonstrations.”

She could feel the heat of his hands through the thin cotton of her dress, and she inhaled sharply. “I think I’m going to find it a little hard to relax,” she said breathlessly. Her eyes followed his strong, sensitive hands as they moved across her, stroking her as if she were truly the sensuous kitten he had described.

His breathing was as shallow as hers, Kendra noticed hazily, and she could see the jerky cadence of his heart in the hollow of his throat. “Well, at the moment there are portions of your anatomy that I’d be very disappointed to see relaxed,” he said thickly, his eyes fixed on the territory his hands were arousing so expertly. His thumbs and forefingers began to roll the sensitive tips of her nipples between them and she felt a sudden flash of heat that caused her to cry out.

His green eyes were glazed a smoky emerald as they flew to her face. “Did I hurt you?” Then, as he saw the flushed languor of her face, he gave a pleased laugh that was oddly boyish. He lowered his head to kiss her lips with honeyed sweetness, his fingers plucking at her with a pressure that made her arch against him with a little moan. “Do you know what it does to me to feel you swell to fit my hands like this? To know I can make you feel the same ache that’s ripping me apart?” His hands left her breasts to encircle her waist and pull her close against his arousal. “See how I’m aching for you, Kendra? Do you want me like that, too, love? I need you to want me as much as I want you,” he murmured as his lips pressed a hundred frantic kisses across her throat. “It never mattered to me before. I just took what I wanted from a woman and tried to give her what she wanted. But it’s different with you. I’m burning up and I want you to burn with me.” His hands were running over her in a wild symphony of heat, gliding over her hips, traveling with a sensual rubbing motion over her belly and between her thighs. Then he pressed her to him with bruising strength, his face buried in the side of her neck, his body tense and vibrating with raw need. “Burn, Kendra; I think I’ll go crazy if you don’t!”

“Oh, I am burning,” she gasped, her hands moving desperately over his chest and shoulders, wanting to get closer to him. Then her fingers worked with trembling urgency at his shirt. “Joel, I want to touch you.” Her voice was shaking with frustration as her fingers seemed to be all fumbling thumbs. “Help me to touch you, please!”

He pushed her hands away and the white shirt was suddenly undone. She pressed her face to the hard warm muscles of his chest. She’d forgotten how deliciously sensual the springy mat of hair on his chest felt against the softness of her cheek, and how the thunder of his heart reverberated beneath her ear. Her hands moved over him in erotic slow motion, her eyes closed to isolate the pleasure she drew from the touch and sound of him. He inhaled sharply as she stroked and explored every inch of the sleek muscles, his body tensing as if her gentle voyage of discovery was almost painful. His heart, leaping beneath her sensitive fingertips, seemed to be trying to burst through the wall of his chest.

“Open your eyes and see what you’re doing to me, you little devil.” There was a thread of amusement under the hoarse exasperation in Joel’s voice. When Kendra opened her eyes, there was a hint of that same tender humor in the curve of his lips, even though his face was flushed with passion and his eyes smoldered with the same sensual need.

“Now, if you’re quite through trying to turn me into a human bonfire, I suggest we repair to the bedroom before I take you here in this chair. I don’t think I can…” He broke off as a sharp rap sounded at the door.

Kendra lifted her head. “What’s that?” she asked, startled.

Joel closed his eyes in frustration. “I believe that’s the Marasef equivalent of Providence saving you from a fate worse than death.” He sighed and his lids flew open. “That’s got to be the dinner I ordered in a moment of sheer insanity.” The knock was repeated.

“But I don’t want to be saved,” she protested with an impish grin. “Maybe if we don’t answer, they’ll go away.”

Swiftly he lifted her off his lap. “No, it’s just as well,” he said gloomily as he stood up and buttoned his shirt. “I wanted this to be something more than a roll in the hay.” He smoothed his tousled dark hair, his eyes never leaving hers, then repeated as if in incantation: “Dinner, conversation, romance. I’ve got to remember that. Lord, I don’t know if I’m going to make it, sweetheart.”

Well, who was asking him to? she thought in exasperation as she watched him cross quickly to the door and open it for the waiter. She was in just as much a fever as he, but she had none of the maddening apprehension he evidently felt about satisfying that hunger. How could either of them concentrate on food after what had almost happened such a short time ago? The man was totally unreasonable. Yet there was something very endearing about his very irrationality, Kendra thought with a poignant little tug at her heart. Somehow she doubted that Joel had ever before in his life restrained himself from taking what he wanted at a moment like that. His gift of restraint might have been terribly frustrating, but it was a lovely and touching gift all the same. She would just have to exert all her energies to show him how unnecessary that restraint was.

An enigmatic smile touched her lips as she watched the waiter deck the little table on the balcony with a white damask cloth and a crystal candleholder garlanded with white camellias. All the delicious little touches of romance, she noticed with amusement. Had Joel made a special point of ordering those as well as dinner? She felt a sudden surge of love for him so strong that it overshadowed even the desire she was experiencing. It had hurt him to let her go, yet he would suppress that aching to give her this gallant and quixotic present. With tender ruefulness she noticed the lines of strain about Joel’s lips as he watched the boy transfer a large covered bowl from the serving cart to the table. Yes, she definitely had to do something to make Joel see the light.

There was still a slight smile on her face when she sat down opposite Joel and served herself some of the exotic stew from the large crockery bowl in the center of the table.

“You seem to be very well pleased with yourself,” Joel said with a scowl as he lifted his glass of wine. “You evidently have a talent for reversing gears that I don’t possess.”

“Nope. I’m in exactly the same shape you’re in,” Kendra said cheerfully, picking up her fork. “I’m just hoping to convince you how idiotic this is, so we can get on to more important things.” She took a bite of the stew. “You know, this is very good, but I can’t quite place the sauce. It tastes rather sweet.”

“They make it with dates,” he said absently, his eyes narrowed on her face. “I hope you’re not going to try a Tom Jones style seduction.” His voice was dry. “Contrary to popular myth, I understand it’s extremely bad for the digestion.”

“Heavens no,” she denied sweetly. “It’s been done far too many times before to make such tactics anything but ludicrous.” She gazed dreamily over the graceful minarets and flat-roofed houses now touched with the violet shadows of early evening. “No, I had something more in line with your ideas of keeping our relationship honest and basic.”

“Indeed?” Joel’s voice was cautious. “Would you mind elaborating?”

“Certainly.” Kendra’s gaze returned to his face and her voice was silky soft running over him, as fluidly sensual as her fingers had been such a short time before. “I just want to tell you very honestly how much I want you to do all those things to me that you did in your House of Rainbows. How I want your hands all over me as if you loved every inch of my body. How empty and aching I feel and how much I want you to fill that emptiness and soothe that ache.” Her velvet-brown eyes were glowing. “And I want to tell you very basically what I’d like to do to you. How I’d like to rub my hands over your chest, then run them across your back and down…”

“Stop.” His voice was strangled and there was a feverish flush on his cheekbones. “I think that’s more basic honesty than I’m capable of hearing at the moment.”

“Well, you did specify conversation.”

“I didn’t have such erotic subject matter in mind,” he said wryly. “I was thinking more along the lines of a question and answer session. We haven’t had much time this week to learn very much about each other.”

She didn’t agree. She felt she had learned a great deal about the complex man who was Joel Damon by watching him work. His humor was as much a part of him as the hard incisiveness, as was the vision and excitement that seemed to electrify him when a scene was coming together just the way he wanted.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Joel said thickly. “That’s even more erotic than your idea of basic conversation.” He took a quick sip of his wine. “If we’re to get through this dinner, I think I’d better take the initiative.”

“Oh, I’m all for initiative,” she said lightly. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Would you like me to go into detail about what I’d like you to initiate?”

“No!” he said quickly. “Your family. Tell me about your family. The personnel record said your parents were deceased but that you have a brother. What’s his name? Are you close?”

Suddenly she felt as if she had been doused with ice water, and her smile faded. She didn’t want to think about Casey right now. To think about Casey and her responsibilities would bring an end to the happiness that suffused her. She had known this was too ephemeral to last, but she wanted to seize as much happiness as she could tonight.

“His name is Casey. And yes, we’re very close.”

His eyes narrowed speculatively. “You’re not very outspoken on the subject, are you? Is he older or younger than you?”

“Casey’s twenty-six,” she answered flatly. “You’re not eating,” she went on, making an effort to smile. “So much for your three-part plan. We have romance and conversation, but you’ve taken only a few sips of that wine.”

“What does he do for a living?”

Heavens, but the man was stubborn. “It’s my turn to play twenty questions,” she said hurriedly. “Are your parents still living?” When she saw the sudden tightening of his face, she could have bitten her tongue. “Never mind. Maybe twenty questions isn’t such a great game after all.”

“You needn’t be so concerned,” Joel said, his mouth tight. “I gather Billie’s filled you in on my charming parents.” He looked down at the ruby liquid in his glass. “My dear mother is still alive and well and living in Nice. As for my father…” He shrugged. “At last report I believe I heard he was in Argentina. He always did find Latin señoras more generous than most.”

“You speak as if you know him very well,” Kendra said slowly. “I thought he had faded out of the picture before you were born.”

“Oh, he did,” Joel said. “He knew he couldn’t get anymore out of a tough old bird like my grandfather, so there wasn’t any use in his sticking around.” His eyes were still fixed unseeingly on his glass. “But I’ve always been a skeptical bastard and had to be shown. I looked him up one summer when I was a junior in college. He was living in Barcelona with the wealthy widow of a vintner. I spent almost a month with them.” He smiled bitterly. “My father is a very charming man and completely plausible. For that month he had me convinced that he was a victim who had been exploited by cold-hearted, manipulative capitalists.” His laugh was self-mocking. “I actually thought he cared about me. God, I was young.”

“Perhaps he did care,” she said gently. “Most men have some paternal feelings.”

“Do they?” His lips curved cynically. “I wouldn’t know about that. Most women I know use pregnancy as a weapon or some kind of blackmail, and most men look upon it as the final lock on the door of the cage. Only my father managed to avoid that particular bondage. A very clever man, my father, but a little impatient. When he found out my money was tied up in trusts until I was twenty-five, he gave me my walking papers. He wasn’t prepared to invest that many years of charm and charisma on the marginal chance he might squeeze something more out of the Damons.” Joel lifted his glass in a little toast. “But I learned a great deal in that month, even so. He gave me my final diploma in human relations.”

She couldn’t stand it. The emptiness in his eyes was worse than pain. No, it was pain and she felt it too, not in sympathy, but as an actual physical ache. The need to comfort him and soothe his pain had an almost primitive urgency.

Her voice was husky despite its deliberate lightness. “I think I’ve reached the end of my patience.” Kendra put down her fork very carefully. “I believe I’ve indulged you enough. Any more would just encourage that element of arrogance I’ve noticed in your makeup.” She pushed back her chair and stood up. “Conversation, dinner, and romance are definitely at an end.” As she walked briskly to the French doors, she winked at him over her shoulder. “I’m going to be in that bed in two minutes. I’ll expect you there in three.”

There was a hint of tenderness in his smile. “You’re a bold wanton, Kendra.”

“It goes with the territory. Stuntwomen are supposed to be bold and daring. It says so in the contract I signed with you.” The door closed behind her.

She wasn’t feeling at all daring a few minutes later, sitting, waiting, in the double bed with only a sheet covering her nakedness. Why was she suddenly so shy? She was trembling like a virgin on her wedding night. It was as if the night at the Rainbow Keep had never happened.

“Three minutes, just as you decreed,” Joel said, standing in the doorway. She noticed that he had used those minutes to remove his sport coat and unbutton his shirt. In the somber twilight of the room, his lean muscular form had a pantherlike beauty that took her breath away.

He came toward her, his green eyes as jewel-bright as a panther’s too. “I wouldn’t dare to be even a minute late, considering what an aggressive wench you are,” he drawled. “So I just covered the dinner you scorned so rudely, corked the wine, and…” He suddenly broke off when he was close enough to see that her velvet-brown eyes were wide with uncertainty. His lips pursed in a soundless whistle as he sat down beside her on the bed. His hand reached out gently to push a silky tress behind her ear. “Why do I suspect that the stuntwoman isn’t living up to her contract?” His brow lifted inquiringly. “No brashness, no daring, sweetheart?”

She shook her head. “Stupid, isn’t it?” She moistened her lips nervously. “It isn’t even my first time. I’m sorry, Joel.”

“Don’t be.” He leaned forward to kiss her so sweetly that her breath caught in her throat. “I think I like it.” His hand was tracing the line of her cheekbone with a touch that was featherlight, and his look was tender. “It pleases that streak of arrogance in my makeup to know I can intimidate a tiger lady like you.”

“Oh, Joel.” Suddenly she flung herself into his arms and clung to him with a strength that had a touch of desperation. Oh God, she loved him so much it was exploding inside her like a volcano in full eruption. “I don’t feel like a tiger lady, a rainbow lady, or any kind of lady at all. I feel like a woman who wants to be loved. Please make love to me, Joel.”

“I intend to.” He drew back, his breathing harsh, his face flushed with desire. “I’m holding on to my control by the skin of my teeth, but I want to tell you something first, love.” His head lowered, and each word was a soft kiss against the hollow of her throat. “You’ve always hated my calling you rainbow lady. I guess you had a right to, considering what it meant to both of us in the beginning.” He looked up and his eyes were grave. “I just wanted you to know that it doesn’t mean the same thing to me now. You’re still my rainbow lady, because I’ll always see in you all the beauty and radiance I want in my life, but it’s a radiance that’s not going to fade away. Not ever, Kendra.”

How could a silence say so much, mean so many shining things? Her heart was so full, it felt as if it must burst. Oh dear Lord, if only this moment could last forever, she thought.

Then Joel’s eyes were no longer serious, but twinkled. “Now, like the genius I’m reputed to be, I have no intention of letting you respond to that without consolidating my position.” His hands gently pushed the sheet down to her waist, baring her breasts. “Let’s see how long it takes to find the pot of gold, rainbow lady.”

His breath was warm, but not warm enough to ignite the streak of flame that shot through her as his lips tugged at one rosy peak. “Incredible,” he murmured, his eyes dark and glazed with need. “You’re so incredibly lovely you take my breath away.” He blew gently on her breast, then laughed huskily as she gave him the response he wanted. “You swell like fruit ripening in the sun.” He took her hand and brought it to the urgency of his arousal. “Touch me, hold me, love. I want you to know how you’re making me ripen, too.”

Then his lips closed tenderly on her nipple, sucking gently, then using his teeth to nibble in a caress that made her arch up to him with a little gasp. It was as if he were controlling a hot wire connected to the center of her being, and each gentle tug brought a flash of electricity that burned through her, robbing her of breath and increasing the aching emptiness between her thighs.

Joel lifted his head, his face flushed and his cheeks hollowed and taut. “God, you’re driving me crazy. I want to feel you around me. I want your hands loving me, and your long lovely legs pulling me closer—”

“Be still,” she gasped. She was trembling so badly that she could hardly get her breath. “Please, don’t talk anymore. Make love to me!”

“Very soon.” His breath was as labored as her own and she could see the pulse jumping wildly in his temple. “I want us to take it slowly if we can. That night at Rainbow Keep I wanted you so much I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t get enough of you fast enough to satisfy me.”

He stood up and slipped off his shirt. He reached up and suddenly the hammered copper hanging lamp beside the bed cast a golden pool of light. “That’s better. In the lamplight your hair shines as if it’s on fire.”

His hands worked swiftly at his belt. His supple shoulders were glowing like the copper of the lamp, and his hair was the color of midnight in the cozy circle of light that surrounded them.

“Now I’m ready to resume that little conversation we were having at dinner.” He was stripping swiftly, his eyes on her face, his voice a silken murmur. “Listen carefully, sweetheart, while I tell you all the things I’m going to do to you tonight. I learned a few other things from my father, things that I enjoyed far more than that final lesson I mentioned. He knew a great deal about how to give pleasure to a woman, and it amused him to have such an eager pupil in me. I’m going to use every bit of that knowledge on you tonight.” His gaze moved lingeringly down her body to the indentation of her navel, and she felt her flesh tauten and burn wherever his olive eyes touched her. “What a lovely secret place on your body. I’m going to explore that pretty hollow with my finger and then I’m going to lay my head on that soft firm belly and stroke it very slowly with my tongue. I’m going to spend a long time there tasting you, breathing in the scent of you.”

Kendra moved restlessly under his gaze. It was crazy, but she could actually feel the weight of his head, the slight scratchiness of his cheek, the moist warmth of his tongue. The muscles of her stomach contracted in a yearning so intense it was almost painful. “Joel, I’m definitely not shy anymore. Come to bed, dammit.”

“Not much longer.” He smiled ruefully at her. “I’m hurting, too, love, but the pleasure will be all the keener for anticipation.” He was totally nude when he sat down beside her, still not touching her with anything but his eyes and words that burned into her like a sword.

He folded back the sheet with a deliberation that caused her to tense with impatience. “You have gorgeous thighs, do you know that? Sleek and strong, yet the inner flesh is so soft and warm. I remember the feel of every muscle and tendon as they parted and then wrapped around me. But I was too impatient to just sit and look at how beautiful you are down here. I’m not impatient now, Kendra. I’m going to spread those silky thighs and just gaze at you for a long, long time. I’m going to memorize every curve and hollow.”

Her face grew flushed and languorous as his words inflamed her desire. Some were as beautiful and poetic as a Kahlil Gibran verse, others as graphic and bawdy as a medieval soldier’s song to his lady love. It made no difference, for it was all so arousing Kendra thought she would go insane if he didn’t touch her soon.

Just when she thought she could stand no more, the words suddenly ceased. Joel drew a deep, shuddering breath and smiled at her with loving sweetness. “I hope you’ve been paying attention, my love, because I think it’s time we translated words into action.” And he slowly lowered his lips to the softness of her belly.

In the hours that followed they did everything that he’d promised, and more. They were both so aroused that every touch, every kiss, every movement was both pain and bliss. When the warm velvet length of him reached into her welcoming depths, she thought she’d go berserk. She could feel herself tightening around him as if to hold him in that most intimate of all embraces. He gave a low guttural cry and then plunged into the heart of her with stunning force.

Their search for their pot of gold took them through valleys of intimacy shadowed wine-dark with passion, to mountains that rose with endless delight. They sailed seas whose tides and currents lifted and cradled them before spinning them in a whirlpool of fiery need. It was a journey like no other she had ever taken, and when they did reach the treasure Joel had spoken of, it was no more golden than the odyssey itself.

Joel’s arms were clutching her desperately, his chest laboring harshly with the force of his breathing. “Don’t move,” he said. “I don’t want to let you go yet.” His hands went to cup her buttocks and cradle her even closer to him. “I want it to go on. Why the hell can’t it go on forever?”

Kendra laughed breathlessly, her arms pulling him against her. “I think if it did, we’d both risk cardiac arrest.” She gasped as he suddenly flexed. “Come to think of it, it might be worth it.”

Then he was rolling over to face her, their bodies still linked in a magical intimacy. “You’re damn right it would.” He nuzzled her throat, his hands moving to enclose her breasts. “You know, maybe you did put on an ounce or so this week. These pretty things feel heavier than I remembered.”

“The bane of my life,” she said, making a face. “I always gain weight there first.”

“The delight of mine,” he said, lowering his head to salute each pink tip lightly. “A totally enchanting bane.” He cuddled her closer. “Rest, rainbow lady, we’ve got a long night ahead.”

She nestled nearer. “Not too long,” she said drowsily. “You have to be on the set at six.”

“Then we’ll just have to make every minute count, won’t we?”

Yes, every moment must be as precious as they could make it, she thought with regret. Reality would intrude only too soon.

“Come on, love. It’s time to get moving.”

Kendra grumbled sleepily and tried to snuggle closer to Joel’s warmth. But that warmth was no longer there, and when she realized that, her lids flicked open with a vague sense of alarm. Then she relaxed as she saw Joel across the room putting on his shoes.

He was fully dressed except for his sport jacket, though his white shirt was only partially buttoned. She sat up slowly, pulling the sheet up over her breasts and brushing the hair away from her face. “We have to leave now?”

He nodded as he stood up. “It’s almost four and I want to get you back to the location by five.” He crossed the room to sit down on the bed beside her. His green eyes were glowing softly as they gazed at her face. “You look like a soft silky baby just awakened from her nap.”

She smothered a yawn. “A baby who would like to go back to sleep. I can’t seem to keep my eyes open.”

“That’s not surprising. I didn’t let you get much rest.” He dropped a light kiss on the curve of her shoulder. “Lord, you’re sweet to love. I can’t get enough of you. I’ll be glad when this picture is over and we can get away for a little while.” His lips pulled gently at her earlobe. “I have a friend who lends me his yacht, the Sea Breeze, occasionally. Have you ever been to the Greek Isles, Kendra? The Greeks have a special fondness for rainbow ladies, you know. They even have a goddess of the rainbow.”

“It sounds wonderful,” she said dreamily. “The closest I’ve ever been to the Greek Isles was once when I changed planes in Athens.”

“Good. Then it’s settled.” He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead and stood up briskly. “I should be able to wrap up Venture in another four days. There’s only the love scene and then the rest of the stunts. We’ll do the horse chase Wednesday and then I’ll put you on a plane for Athens that night. I’ll tie up all the loose ends and meet you there Sunday.”

“Wait a minute.” He was moving too fast for her. She was being swept away from wishful daydreams to cold reality with a vengeance. “I said I’d like to go, not that I could.” Then something else occurred to her. “And I couldn’t leave on Wednesday anyway. I still have a chance at the jeep jump.” Her eyes narrowed on his face. “Or was that the intention of whisking me off to Greece, Joel?”

“I won’t deny I thought it might be an excellent way of killing two birds with one stone,” Joel admitted coolly. “You know it’s not really worth hanging around on the odd chance that Skip will give you the jump, especially when it’s not necessary.”

“But it is necessary,” Kendra said quietly. “And I’d love to go sailing around the Greek Isles with you, Joel, but it’s just not possible right now. I only have a one-week break before I start my next job.” She tried to smile. “How about a long weekend in Athens instead?”

“Are you sure you could fit it into your schedule?” Joel asked caustically. “Perhaps you can work me in between a skydive and driving a car off a bridge into a raging river. Or was that the last picture?”

“The one before,” she said dully. It had all been so beautiful, and now Joel’s words were sharp barbs tearing at that beauty. “I’m sorry I don’t have the kind of freedom your usual playmates enjoy, Joel, but I have certain commitments.”

“The hell you do.” Joel’s voice was so harsh she flinched. Then he drew a deep, weary breath. “Oh God, I wasn’t going to lose my temper. I swore I was going to be very calm and reasonable about it all. But I seem to have a problem when I think about you driving off a bridge. Strange, isn’t it?”

“This isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Kendra swung her legs to the floor, wrapping the sheet around her sarong-fashion. “If you’ll give me a few minutes, I’ll dress and be ready to leave as soon as I can.”

“Not until we get this straightened out,” he said grimly. “Why don’t you admit that you’re just being stubborn? There’s no earthly reason for you to take another job, where you could break your neck, when I can give you anything you want.”

“We’ve been through all that before,” Kendra said. “I don’t trade in that particular marketplace, Joel.”

“I’m not trying to set you up as my mistress, dammit.” He ran his hands distractedly through his hair. “Haven’t you been listening to anything I’ve been saying tonight?” He spoke with an odd awkwardness. “I care about you. I wasn’t going to bring this up right away. I was going to give you time to get used to the idea.” He hesitated. “I thought we might get married before we left Greece.”

“Married!” Her eyes widened in shock. She felt an explosion of joy so wild and free that it took her breath away and made her dizzy.

“I know you’re not ready for it yet.” There was a touch of little boy belligerence in his stance. “You’ve made sure I know how much you value your blasted independence. But dammit, you know that what we’ve got is special. It’s not only sex; it’s a hell of a lot more and I’m not going to let you walk away from it.”

Walk away from it? She wanted to bolt toward him as if he were the only safe harbor left in a stormy world. Sweet heaven, how she wanted that. But how could she run to his arms when she still had her responsibility to Casey? She had been running from that realization since the moment she had met Joel, but now it was staring her in the face. She had no right to ask anyone else to shoulder the kind of responsibility that still loomed ahead of her. Marriage would automatically shift part of her burden to Joel, and she felt she had no right to do that, even supposing he was willing to share it with her. The wrenching agony of that knowledge was so great that for a moment she didn’t think she could bear it. Kendra closed her eyes and tried to gather her strength to do what had to be done. It shouldn’t be all that difficult, she thought bitterly; she was a world-class expert these days at doing what had to be done.

“Kendra?” She opened her eyes to see Joel standing before her, his eyes dark with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Say the words. It would be better once the words were out and standing between them. She lifted her chin and forced herself to smile. “Nothing. Nothing at all is wrong. It’s just that I’m afraid we don’t agree on the need for that kind of commitment. I have no intention of marrying you, Joel. I thought you knew that.” There was a flash of something in his face that made her glance away hastily. Oh no, please, let her be the only one to be hurt. She couldn’t stand it if she had to bear Joel’s pain, too. He hadn’t said he loved her, only that they had something special. Surely he couldn’t be feeling the same torment that she was. She rushed on in desperation. “It’s not that I don’t want to continue our relationship. Naturally, I agree that physically we couldn’t be more compatible. I truly like and admire you, Joel. I’ll be very happy to spend as much time with you as we can possibly manage with our separate career commitments.” She steeled herself to meet his eyes with steadiness. “But anything more permanent between us is impossible.” She repeated with quiet emphasis, “Completely impossible.”

There was no pain in his face now, only a cynical hardness that somehow hurt her even more. “Oh yes, how could I forget your precious career commitments? You’ll have to forgive me for injecting a note of sentiment into what you consider a purely physical attraction.” His smile was bitter. “However, I can’t say I’m flattered that you’d prefer a career of risking your neck to a lifetime with me. It’s pretty hard on a man’s ego.”

“Joel,” she started impulsively. “It’s not that I…”

“Shut up!” The violence in his voice startled her as did the sudden flare of anger in his eyes. He drew a deep, steadying breath and enunciated very carefully. “I think it would be wise if you’d just get dressed so we can get the hell out of here. I don’t seem to be accepting your rejection in a very civilized manner. Funny, you’d think I’d be a pro at it by now.”

She stared at him helplessly for a long moment before she gathered the sheet around her and started toward the bathroom door. She was only halfway there when he spoke again. “As for your offer to continue our affair on your terms, I’ll have to give it considerably more thought.” She looked over her shoulder to see him smile in bitter self-mockery. “I’d like to tell you to go to hell, but I’d probably be safer to leave my options open. Even though I could cheerfully break your neck at the moment, I still want you so much that I’m tied in knots. Does that give your ego a lift, Kendra?”

“No!” It hurt more than she could let him know. Her lips were trembling as she tried to smile brightly. “Don’t worry, they say infatuation doesn’t last forever. Perhaps you’ll find you were right the first time about rainbow ladies.”

“It’s possible.” There was a sudden ripple of pain on his face, and he said wearily, “No, I’m lying. I meant every damn word I said tonight and, God help me, I still mean it.” He turned away. “But you can bet I’m going to do everything I can to get over this ‘infatuation.’ I’ve learned that this particular rainbow lady can be very dangerous to me.” He stood at the door. “I’ll wait for you in the lobby.” Then the door closed softly behind him.