And that sentence would get his vote for the understatement of the year.

"That you didn't. " He positioned himself farther up on the bed until he was leaning against the headboard. "But then, I don't make hamburgers. I work with sirloin."

Some of the sadness melted as she laughed. "Is everything a food metaphor with you? "

He considered her question seriously. "Basically. For instance" His green eyes darkened slightly as he trailed his fingers along the plane just above her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "Your skin's like fresh whipped cream."

His voice was low, seductive. She felt herself slipping into it as if it was a tub of scented bathwater.

"Whipped cream topping off a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. To be savored while curled up in front of a roaring fire at a ski lodge."

She managed to rouse herself, and then smiled at him. "Sounds good."

His eyes made love to her. "

" Tastes even better: '

Nik pressed a kiss to her arm and languidly worked his y up her shoulder. Sara's head fell back as she drank in the exciting rush he created within her. But the sensation was dueling with her reborn fears. The match between them was almost even.

Almost.

The scale began tipping in Nik's favor.

Sara struggled to keep her mind clear. She couldn't be found in his room like this. "Nik, it's almost time to get up."

Nik raised his head until their eyes met. "Exactly what I was thinking. "

The man was impossible. What was worse, he was destroying her resolve.

She wanted to stay here with him like this. Forever. Sara tried to push him back but there seemed to be no strength in her hands.

"Everyone else'll be up, too."

Nik concentrated on her ear. It was small and delicate and tempted him to nibble on it, like a perfectly designed hors d'oeuvre.

"They're an inventive group. They'll find something to do."

With a sudden burst of willpower Sara sat up, though she would have far preferred sliding down onto the bed with him. She grasped the sheet and pulled it around her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"I have to get back to my room," she insisted. ---qhe was right. He couldn't rush this just because he knew , in his heart, that it was right for both of them. q= Nik leaned back on his elbows.

"Spoilsport."

He was teasing her now, but she couldn't lead him on. qqPiik, I'm not any good at relationships. " q Dqstress tinged her features. Nik pretended not to see in q pcs that it would disappear again. " Could have fooled "

q He wasn't taking this seriously. "No, I mean really. I alysmess things up somehow." 'q He didn't want to hear about a string of former lovers. If didn't know about them, they didn't exist. What mat most was now. And the future. And them.

" " Past history. " He waved it away as if it were a mere fly buzzing about his head. " Clean slate. Fresh start. With me. " He took her hand and held it firmly though she tried to pull it away. " With me, Sara," he repeated. " We've already got a head start. Let's just see where this'll go. "

Nowhere, she thought, but refrained from saying anything He'd find that out for himself soon enough.

When he released her hand Sara rose, still wrapped in his sheet. Sara dragged her hand through her hair and wished he wouldn't look at her.

She could probably haunt houses right about now. "I need a shower."

He glanced over toward the bathroom. The idea of soaping her body sounded pretty good from where he sat. "We could save time by doing it together."

She was busy gathering her clothes together. "We wouldn't save anything if we did it together."

She gasped in surprise as he grabbed her waist and pulled her to him.

Nik kissed her hard, reminding her of what the night had been all about. "Except maybe, my sanity."

Why did he keep insisting on turning her knees to rubber like that? She drew her body away. She couldn't think when he held her so close. "We already saved that last night, remember ? "

He shrugged, unfazed by the reminder. "My sanity's very fragile."

She gathered the pile of clothing into her arms again, this time maintaining her distance from him.

"It'll have to fend for itself." She crossed to the door, the ends of the Roman toga she had fashioned out of the sheet trailing after her on the floor. "See you in an hour, Sinclair"

Nik sighed dramatically as he fell back on the bed. "If they haven't locked me up by then."

It was all too tempting to lie down next to him and recreate last night. But she held her ground. "I'll chance it."

Opening the door, Sara looked furtively around the hall. She felt like a teenager trying to sneak back into her house after curfew.

Satisfied that the hallway was empty, she slipped out of Nik's room and into her own.

It felt as if the weekend had just raced by. More than that, Sara thought as the plane taxied down the runway, it felt as if this weekend had happened to someone else, not to her. The events had been too idyllic, too wonderful. The aura that had been created by it all, the baseball game, the picnic , the night of pa.s.sion followed by the brunch party Brom had surprised them with, just couldn't last. She could already feel it beginning to fade.

Only pain lasted. Happiness dissolved like soap bubbles blown into the air. Bright and shiny rainbows one minute, gone the next.

When the plane finally came to a halt in the Newport Beach airport, Sara knew the adventure was over. She had to regain control of herself. It was time to take a tight rein over her emotions again before things got way out of hand.

If they hadn't already.

Her father was going to recuperate soon. When he did, she would leave, Nik or no Nik. It was a pattern she had followed all of her adult life. She always knew when to leave. When things looked as if they were getting too serious Too much for her to handle.

They deplaned and entered the terminal. Sara was barely aware of what Jennifer was saying to her. Something about work. Katie was being cranky and whimpering, interfering with the conversation Sara wasn't really paying attention to.

Kane picked his daughter up and she curled against him. It was hours past her bedtime.

"See you in the morning," Jennifer said over her shoulder as she hurried out with Kane to the parking lot. Home for them was only a couple of miles away.

Sara picked up her suitcase.

Nik reached for it, his hand covering hers. Sara wouldn't relinquish her hold. Nik let go. He knew that they had taken another step backward. "I'll take you home, Sara."

They walked through the electronic doors that had eased open as they approached. "No, that's okay." She looked toward the line of taxis that stood waiting for fares, even at this hour. "I'll just grab a cab."

Stubborn to the end, he thought. "When I was a kid, my mother always taught me to return anything I took and put it in the exact same place where I found it. If I didn't, she read me the riot act."

Sara gave him an irritated look. Why couldn't he just let her retreat?