CHAPTER II

When she wakes up the next morning, she feels a solid body curled up behind her, and for an instant, she freezes. Since she left Athos, she has made it a point to never spend the night with a man. It's too personal—she pauses and thinks—too sacred. An instant later, she realizes how laughable that word is coming from her brain—the elegant circuitboard of feminine neurons that has plotted out assassinations step-by-step—killings that were executed flawlessly. Just as easily, in fact, as some women—normal women-plan their five-year-old's birthday party.

But this man has his arm around her, and she cannot imagine why she would have made an exception to her no-bedmate policy. Turning her head slightly to the side, she sees the face of the man she loves, and it all comes rushing back. The reason she left. The hurt she caused him. The reason she has come back now.

His face is relaxed in slumber. In fact, he looks impossibly boyish when a hint of a smile ripples across his handsome features. She tentatively places her palm on his chest, suddenly afraid that this is all a dream. It takes several cycles of his quiet, even breathing before she is convinced that he is real.

A few moments later, his eyes open. They are still hazy with sleep, and he blinks at the light streaming through the gap in the white lace curtain.

"Good morning," she whispers, taken aback by of the rush of happiness that surges into her heart. This is too much, too soon, the insistent little voice inside her brain tells her. You need to protect yourself. Take it slow.

The voice is annoying. It reminds her of her Great-Aunt Fernia, who would never let her cross the street by herself until she was fourteen. It's a little late for caution now, she thinks wryly.

There is a large, plump featherbed completely covering them.

They are completely naked underneath it.

His hand covers the slim fingers resting on his chest. "You can't keep your hands off me, can you?" he murmurs, the corner of his mouth quirking up in that little half-smile that she loves so much.

"Guilty as charged." She snuggles against his shoulder, and gives a little sigh. "I can't believe how wonderful this feels—it's like—" she stops.

She was about to say like nothing ever happened, but is smart enough to realize that would be ridiculous. This is not a Lifetime movie, with music surging as they vow to never let the forces of evil part them again.

In fact, it is far from it.

She feels his body tense underneath her, and curses herself for having opened up Pandora's box.

"We did promise we'd wait until we had a full 24 hours at the cabin before tackling the past, didn't we?" he asks. The smooth muscles of his abdomen are rigid under the hand she slides down his chest.

"So we did," she whispers. Her eyes slide to meet his. "I give you my word it won't happen again."

"And you think your words atone for your actions?" The warm, charismatic tone he uses drains all of the anxiety out of her body in an instant. The long dormant rhythms of their verbal repartee are slowly coming to life.

"Do they not?" she asked innocently.

Athos gives her a long, smoldering look, then rolls on top of her. "I think not," he murmurs. "In my view, it is necessary for you to have a suitable punishment meted out."

"What sort of punishment?" She is staring into the fathomless depths of his eyes, and realizes that his magnetism is breaking down all the defences she has so carefully constructed.

A moment later, his lips begin to burn a slow path down the soft skin of her neck, and she gasps.

"It will be very intense, and will likely involve forced confinement."

"Solitary?"

A low laugh, somewhat akin to a growl, comes out of the back of his throat. "Definitely not. You will be under the care of a very formidable jailer. A man who is not easily moved by tears, or liable to be swayed by feminine charms."

"Perhaps it is best I be told what to expect. I shall need some time to steel myself for what lies ahead."

He draws back, and gazes down at her. "You will be kept under lock and key in a small cabin located in the northeast corner of New Hampshire. Your jailer will by your side every moment. He will expect you to play Scrabble—no cheating or arguing will be tolerated-and to watch classic Western films with him. No disparaging comments will be allowed. In short, you will be expected to share everything with him."

Her eyes widen in mock horror. "Everything? Surely not my bed?"

"Especially your bed," he mutters. "And your body."

xxx

They linger over the sumptuous three course breakfast, then get back on the road. After another two hours, they stop at a grocery store. Athos grabs a cart and immediately heads for the fresh fish counter. "I'm cooking tonight," he announces.

"Fine with me," Anne replies with a smile. "You always were better in the kitchen than me."

A slow grin spreads across his face, and he stops in the center of the aisle. "I seem to recall several times that you were very, very good in the kitchen."

Her hands settle at his waist, and she tilts her face up to his. "Ah, but my expertise was not in meal preparation."

"But you made the chef very happy." He touches his lips to hers, meaning to give her just a quick kiss. However, when Anne nestles against him, he finds it impossible to stop. All that his brain can focus on is how very soft and warm her sweet mouth is.

The spell is broken when a small boy yells out, "Ewww! Mom, that man and woman won't stop kissing! That is gross!"

Faces flushed, they separate, and Anne scurries off to pick up some baked goods. When they check out, Athos begins to unload the cart. Anne rushes up and slips in an armful of items.

He glances at her disapprovingly. "Really?"

"What?!"

"Gummi bears. Cheetos. Diet Coke!? It's like the tripod of death."

"Athos, please! It's just a little bit of—self-soothing. That's all!"

"You should treat your body like a temple. That's all I'm saying." He tosses a bag of organic almonds and some blood oranges on to the conveyor belt.

She shoots him a seductive look. "You seem to have no problem recognizing my body as an object worthy of worship."

He locks eyes with her for just an instant, then shakes his head slightly, and chuckles. "Just wait until we get to the cabin."

Happy 2016 to my readers!