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called off. And there were Marine officers who went to the island to make sure it was clear!”
    Katrina stiffened, bringing her back against the booth. “Maybe this is irrelevant at the moment. What were you doing there?” she demanded fiercely.
    He shrugged. “You know what I was doing. Testing a—a gas.”
    â€œGo on.”
    â€œThat’s it. In a nutshell.”
    â€œI don’t want it in a damned nutshell!” Katrina exploded. “I want to know what this drug is; I want to know why my son is still sleeping, I want to know what—what—”
    She was red with fury, and Mike sighed, well aware that she wanted to know what had made her experience the very strange sensations of her “dreams.”
    â€œMrs. Denver, that’s all I can tell you. Except that I can assure that there are absolutely no aftereffects of this substance. Jason will awake perfectly fine and normal—excited, probably, because he will have dreamed about a great space adventure or something like that.”
    â€œA space adventure?”
    He smiled uneasily. “That’s one of the side effects of the drug, Mrs. Denver. Under its influence one dreams pleasant, pleasant dreams. Dreams that live out fantasies, and delve straight to the secret desires in our hearts.”
    â€œWhy—oh, why?—couldn’t she control the color that flooded into her face. He was watching her with such humor and curiosity. Did he know, then … know the nature of her night? Know that she had been adrift in pink clouds of sensuality, that she had envisioned James coming back to hold her …
    And much, much more?
    Her eyes flashed to her left, to the television screens. On the one, Jason still slept. And on the other, she could still see the tousled bunk where she had slept. Yes, damn it! He knew things, he had watched her all night, he had invaded her privacy with no thought of consent; he had seen her as she had slept, naked and bare and tossing and—
    â€œHow dare you!” she screamed suddenly, and her hand lashed out across the table in a split second of fury so explosive it could not be contained.
    His reaction was strange; very strange. He could have stopped her from striking him; but he didn’t. He allowed her stinging blow to fall against his cheek, and then he merely rose, absently rubbing his face.
    â€œI’m sorry, Mrs. Denver,” he said softly. “Truly, I am. I can’t tell you any more about the drug; it’s still considered top secret—its properties are classified information.”
    Whether it was ego, pride, or the sense that she had been violated somehow, Katrina could not let it drop. She believed him—his story was too fantastic to have been made up!—but she couldn’t accept what had happened.
    â€œCorrection—captain, doctor, whatever you like to be called. What you did was irresponsible and dangerous! You had no right to intrude on private lives! I intend to sue you, the Navy, and the entire damn government! This—”
    â€œThis!” He thundered suddenly in returning, spinning back to slam his cup against the table as he eyed her with a silver fury to match her own, his knuckles white where they gripped the mug, “This is bigger than any of your petty little hang-ups, Mrs. Denver! You have a responsibility! Your signature is on an important form, and only an idiot would think one phone call could cancel the whole deal! But you just go ahead, you sue whoever you damn please! You can talk to every newspaper in the country. But I’d be careful, if I were you. Maybe the state will think that a woman who didn’t bother to take her son from an experimental site—after giving her consent for its use!—isn’t a fit mother.”
    Katrina was confused, furious, and guilt ridden. Tears were stinging at her eyes; she was lost and flailing and she wanted nothing more than to see him disappear into the