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blissful fantasy he offered. She’d live happily ever after if she said yes. Or more likely the dream would bleed away and the world would turn cold when he left again. Because he surely would.
    He leaned forward, his butane-blue eyes suddenly dead serious. “Could we go somewhere else? Anywhere else.”
    She tried to rearrange the chaos in her brain but herovertaxed mind had slowed to a crawl. She said, “Where?” When she didn’t mean it. Her subconscious had rashly spoken. He reached for her hand; she jerked it back.
    “Sor—” He stopped himself; she’d accused him of meaningless apologies the night of the party in Hong Kong. “We could go”—a flick of his finger—“you name it. I don’t care where it is. We’ll just talk. No strings, no agenda, you can tell me to go to hell and I’ll listen.”
    “How about we stay here.”
    She hadn’t told him to go to hell. Things were looking up.
“Fine. Dinner here then.”
    “I’ve missed a few of my birth control pills lately so I’m really not available for anything but dinner,” she said, giving him an expressionless green stare, needing to ink in the boundaries for her own peace of mind.
    His bland gaze hid the bombshell exploding in his head. “Not a problem. Dinner’s fine. I had no expectations.”
    “Of course you did.”
    Of course he did. And he’d heard of condoms even if she hadn’t.
“Let’s not argue. Would you like to have dinner in the bar or in the dining room?”
    She suddenly smiled. “I like when you’re being nice.”
    “Then I’ll see that I’m on my best behavior for you.”
    A sudden, treacherous rush of affection warmed her senses. She almost said,
I don’t want dinner, I want you.
“Super,” she said. “And the dining room will be fine.”
    There was no question Dominic was on his best behavior at dinner. She was tempted to take notes. His manners were so polished, his conversation so agreeable, she marveled at such brilliant composure. It wasn’t until they were havingafter-dinner drinks that she began feeling guilty. Regardless of his motivation, Dominic was truly sweet and attentive, careful not to make any moves on her, never mentioning their meltdown in Hong Kong. She felt as though she were taking advantage of him and his kindness when she’d decided in the past few weeks that if she just kept on keeping on eventually her life would return to normal. And as much as she wished it weren’t true, she knew that no matter how sweet Dominic was tonight, he would only bring heartache in the end.
    Setting down her port glass, she mentally braced herself, then said, “I don’t want to lead you on. I’m not good at pretense. I appreciate your”—she gestured at the largely untouched food on the table, a combination of nerves and desire having stolen their appetites—“hospitality, but you and I are looking for different things. You want me wrapped up neatly, tied with a bow, packaged up, and shipped to you whenever you feel like screwing me. I can’t do that. Sometimes I wish I could. You’re far superior to my vibrator. But I can’t. Understand?”
    No, because if he was honest, that’s what he wanted.
Drinking his port, he set down the glass and pushed it out of the way before looking up. “Would you be interested in an exclusivity contract? Your terms.”
    Her jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious.”
    “That sounds like a no,” he said calmly, already moving his next chess piece, too smart to take offense.
    “I cried too much and too long after Hong Kong,” she said, the misery still raw. “Why would I want to relive that?”
    “I drank too much and slept too little after Hong Kong. I’m trying to reach some compromise with you so neither of us has to relive the last month.”
    “So you propose a compromise about sex?” She tried to keep the rebuke from her tone; after all, she’d been a willing participant in Dominic’s sexual games.
    “Partly,” he said, careful not to respond to the