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education. I have an interesting job with plenty of opportunity for advancement. Most important, I’ve always had a family who loved me.”
    â€œThose are all the basics, but that’s not always enough to take away the hunger.”
    Karyn tried again to lighten the tone. “Hey, it wasn’t that bad. We had food on the table, just not much else in the way of extras.”
    â€œPeople can hunger for more than food, my literal one,” Brad said, sounding like a man who knew such hunger firsthand. “Hawaii, for example.”
    â€œAnd Grand Prix victory?” she guessed.
    â€œI had my share.” The statement suggested Brad took pride in his accomplishments, but his tone was flat, drained of all emotion.
    â€œThat doesn’t mean it was enough. People with a craving for pickles, for instance, never seem to get enough.”
    â€œPickles?” he repeated, grinning at the comparison.
    She laughed. “It was one of the extras. Like picnics andvacations. To this day I can’t pass up a juicy, fat dill pickle. Thank heavens I didn’t develop a craving for diamonds.”
    Despite her laughter, his grin died. “I’ll add pickles to the agenda this week,” he promised. “As long as you don’t want them for breakfast. I’m not sure I could bear that.”
    â€œNo, for breakfast, champagne in the middle of the Golden Gate will do very nicely.” She watched him closely. “What else do you hunger for, Brad? Besides another race?”
    The burning glint in his eyes intensified and Karyn’s heart thundered in anticipation. “Until right this minute, I haven’t known for sure, but this, I think,” he said softly and bent his head, capturing her lips with a hunger that took her breath away.
    Karyn had never known such need, never experienced such powerful masculine possession. She gave herself over to it with a passion that very nearly overwhelmed her. Joy burst inside her. It was as though she were discovering springtime after a hard winter. It was the heat of fire after the chill of snow. It was…awesome.
    Shaken and vulnerable in the aftermath of that kiss, Karyn couldn’t bring herself to meet Brad’s eyes. He tilted her chin up until she had no choice. “Don’t hide from me, Karyn. Please,” he said softly.
    Dazed, she shook her head. “I won’t.”
    â€œI was right, you know.”
    â€œAbout what?”
    â€œYou are what I’ve been hungering for. There is a freshness about you, an innocence, that I haven’t known for a very long time.”
    It wasn’t his words or the tone of his voice thatdazzled Karyn. It was the blaze of fire in his eyes. She reached out to touch the icy, bright red metal of the bridge, to ground herself in reality. Even that couldn’t rob her of the sensation that the bridge was falling away beneath her, that Brad Willis, a man she’d known for such a short time, held her fate in the palm of his hand.
    â€œYou’re trembling,” he observed, his expression troubled. “Am I going too fast for you?”
    â€œA little,” she admitted shakily. Boldly, though, she looked into the depths of eyes the same deep green shade as the churning water below and said, “But don’t stop.”
    With a heavy sigh, he drew her close. “I don’t think I could if I wanted to.”
    Brad tangled his fingers in her hair and rested his chin atop her head. She could hear the steady, thumping rhythm of his heart. The tangy scent of his soap filled her senses. His warmth surrounded her. When he spoke again at last, the words rumbled up from deep in his chest.
    â€œWhere would you like to go next on your vacation?” he asked. “Italy? China? France? Take your pick.”
    Smiling, Karyn lifted her gaze to his and gave herself over to the fantasy. “Italy, I think. Will it take long to get there?”
    â€œNot long at all. In