It had occurred to him that controlling their conversation was a lot harder than controlling the s.e.x. That was easy because Mercy seemed quite happy to let him take the lead and he was hardly going to object when it so greatly appealed to the alpha male in him.

However, she had a quick, perceptive mind and didnt miss a trick. With very little effort on her part, she could have him spilling out things hed really rather not. So he had to take care. Greater care. Although that ought to present little problem since hed had half a lifetime of taking extremely great care.

"For someone who hasnt has s.e.x for five years," he murmured, figuring shed now be expecting the conversation hed told her was a good idea and deciding it wouldnt hurt to emphasize exactly what they were doing here, "youre very good at it."

Mercy looked at him, startled, as well she might because perhaps that was a bit personal. And perhaps just a little bit insulting.

"Thanks," she muttered, levering herself up, leaning back against the headboard of her bed and drawing her knees up. Something flickered in her eyes and her chin came up in a way that never failed to thrill no, amuse him. "Before you came along and messed things up, Id had plenty of practice."

The amus.e.m.e.nt faded. Oh. Right. Well. He had asked. "Not all that busy with the vineyard, then."

"I made time."

But not now. Not for him. Which was fine. Just the way he wanted it. "How many boyfriends have you had?"

"Three."

"Any serious?"

"Only one."

"What happened?" Not that he wanted to know particularly. No. He was merely following the conversational convention of expanding a subject. It was the polite thing to do.

"He had commitment issues," said Mercy with a sigh. "I thought I could change him but realized after a year that I couldnt."

Idiot. The boyfriend. Not her. She was very much not an idiot. "Youre keen on fixing people, arent you?"

She frowned at him. "You make it sound like its a bad thing."

It was, if she was ever thinking of applying it to him. "Where does it come from?"

"My childhood, I suspect. When I was eight I was given a pony. Her name was Dulcinea and I adored her. One day we were out riding, just the two of us. We jumped a ditch. We fell. I was fine, but she broke her two front legs. There was nothing I could do. She was shot." Mercy shrugged, although her eyes clouded over for a second. "It affected me badly. I think Ive been making up for my failure to help her ever since."

Something deep inside Seb ached. He ignored it. "Lucky I dont need fixing, then, isnt it?"

She gave him a look that suggested she wasnt too impressed by his insensitivity. "Indeed." A pause. "How many lovers have you had, Seb?"

"A handful more than you," he said, although, since the accident none of them had been anything more than a warm body. And none of them, either before or after, had been anything like Mercy...

"Ever been in love?"

"No." And never going to be. The idea of it, of being responsible for someone elses happiness, scared him witless.

"So hows it going between you and Zel?" she said after a beat of silence, and whether or not the change in subject was deliberate he was glad of it.

"Dont you know?"

"Some," she said. "Although when we get together we tend to avoid you as a topic of conversation."

Why? "Are you ashamed?"

She stared at him as if hed just sprouted a second head. "What? No. Not at all. Just discreet. And you were the one who told me not to shout it from the rooftops, were you not?"

Of course he had been. How could he have forgotten? What was wrong with him today anyway?

"Its going fine," he said, switching his attention to the least baffling woman in his life right now and thinking that 'fine was actually quite an understatement. Things were going better than he could have hoped for. He and Zel were talking really talking and he was learning just what a great, strong, brave, fascinating sister he had. Shed been through h.e.l.l not only because of him, shed said, although he wasnt entirely sure he believed that but now she was out the other side, and not just surviving, but thriving. Shed ditched the modelling she was famous for and was thinking about putting her innate talent for languages to use in the field of translation, which was why shed just gone to St. Petersburg for a couple of weeks to brush up on her Russian. She really was incredible and he tried not to think too much about how close hed come to losing her.

"I was thinking of inviting Ty and Zel over for dinner when she gets back from Russia," he said, steering his train of thought away from that before it could take hold. "Its probably time I met him. For Zels sake."

Mercys eyes widened for a second, then she smiled. "Thatd be nice."

Hmm. 'Nice might be stretching it. He hadnt had anyone other than Mercy over for dinner in years, although actually since they rarely got out of bed to eat possibly even that didnt count, and he didnt know how to do the 'friend thing. The entire evening would probably be a disaster.

But maybe he could invite Mercy too, it occurred to him suddenly. Shed ease the way and smooth over all the awkward silences that were bound to arise with her beguiling charm and talent for conversation. And then he could show his appreciation in the best way he knew.

Or not, he thought, pulling up short at the direction his thoughts were going in. No. Definitely not. What on earth was he thinking? She hadnt invited him to the Thanksgiving dinner he knew was happening this week at that pub she and her friends went to, had she? Nor to the wine awards presentation dinner shed mentioned was taking place in ten days or so. And that was fine. Invitations out werent part of their arrangement. Thanksgiving fell on a Thursday anyway.

What Mercy got up to when she wasnt with him was none of his business in any case. The times hed picked up his cell, not to arrange a time to meet but just to see how she was doing, had been very few and far between and entirely down to fatigue, because every single one of those calls he hadnt made had occurred around midnight, minutes after hed arrived back in his dark, empty apartment.

"Hows your Russian?" said Mercy, dragging him out of his violently swinging, vaguely disturbing thoughts.

"Poor," he said, looking at her and thinking that while what she got up to when she wasnt with him wasnt any of his business, what she got up to when she was with him very much was, speaking of which... "My Spanish, though, is excellent. Want me to try some of it out on you?"

"Be my guest."

He leaned forwards, pulled her down and covered her with his body. "Quiero follarte hasta el fin del mundo," he murmured into her ear.

"Really?" she said softly. "Until the end of time?"

He tensed for a moment, his blood thundering in his ears. Yes. No. s.h.i.t. Definitely no. "Just an expression I picked up," he murmured, forcing himself to relax. "How do you say 'all night long?"

"Toda la noche."

Better. Much better. Because 'forever this certainly was not. "Quiero follarte toda la noche."

"Well, then," said Mercy with a smile as she wound her arms around his neck and pulled him down, "what are you waiting for?"

When Seb had said he wanted to have s.e.x with her until the end of time, Mercy had known he hadnt really meant it. But that hadnt stopped her wondering over the last couple of days how long she wanted what they had to last, and it hadnt stopped her from suspecting, worryingly, that the answer might indeed be until the end of time.

That couldnt be so. Although they hadnt put a time limit on their arrangement she knew perfectly well that it wasnt permanent. And that was OK because she didnt want permanent. Nevertheless, what with the whole conversation aspect which meant she and Seb now talked lightly about all manner of general interest things and which had led to a sort of well, camaraderie, she supposed she could feel herself possibly becoming a bit...entangled.

Take today for example. Thanksgiving. Here she was, setting the long wide table in Sullys which was closed for the day in preparation for an early dinner. The weather was abysmal but the fire was blazing and music was playing, and it promised to be an evening of warmth and love and laughter as well as excellent food and, seeing as it was being provided by her, even more excellent wine. Everyone except Zel, who was in Russia, would be in attendance: JP, Faith, Ty, Dawn and Finn and finally, Casey and Ronan, also the Sullivan brothers, these two twins.

But not Seb.

And it shouldnt have mattered. In fact, she should have been pleased that Zel wasnt around to invite him because that would have been beyond awkward. But somehow it did matter, and his absence bothered her.

What was he doing today? she couldnt help wondering. The idea of him hosting a dinner for eight was unimaginable, and he didnt exactly have a whole slew of friends, so was he going to be on his own? It seemed the most likely scenario, and that made her heart wrench because no one should be alone on Thanksgiving. But she could hardly invite him over, and anyway even if she had, she had no doubt hed have said no because from what shed gathered he rarely went out.

Nevertheless, she had the horribly disturbing feeling that she wanted him to be here and that was just absurd. She and Seb didnt have a relationship like Dawn and Finn or Zel and Ty. She didnt know what they had. All she knew was that she couldnt stop thinking about him and she wished he was here, which meant she was very possibly en route to heartbreak.

So it was probably a good thing she wasnt seeing him this weekend, she thought, frowning at the winegla.s.s she was holding up to the light, then wiping it with a cloth and setting it on the table. On Sat.u.r.day night she was going out with her course colleagues. They were celebrating Christmas early with drinks that started at six, and the plan was to finish late. It had been with regret that shed told Seb she wouldnt be able to hook up with him this weekend, and many times shed thought about cancelling, but now she was thinking that perhaps it was a blessing. Her and Sebs arrangement, by its very nature, had become pretty intense so some s.p.a.ce, some perspective, would be good. Shed use the ten days she had before she saw him again to remind herself what they were about and to prove to herself that she could survive perfectly well without seeing him. And then, she was sure, everything would go back to normal.

By eight pm on Thanksgiving evening Seb was ready to climb the walls of his apartment. As the staff had had the day off, hed had the whole house to himself. All day. With no plans. So hed prowled a bit, then worked a bit. Prowled a bit more and worked a bit more. In between hed thrown together a ham and cheese omelette. Now he was sitting restlessly in front of the TV, mindlessly channel hopping and driving himself even more demented.

What the b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l was wrong with him? Hed never been bothered by his own company before on the contrary, he was usually perfectly fine with it so what was it about today that had him wanting to crawl out of his skin? So it was Thanksgiving, a day of celebration and friendship. Who cared? He certainly didnt. He never had before.

But why couldnt he stop thinking about what Mercy was doing? Why did he keep wondering whether she was having fun with her friends and without him? Of course she was having fun, he thought darkly, stabbing at the remote control and wishing for the hundredth time the weather wasnt quite so awful because then at least he could have spent the day hammering the h.e.l.l out of something. She was fun. That was why she had friends while he didnt. One of the reasons, at least. She didnt close herself off from the world. She had a social life that she embraced.

And shed have more friends after her b.l.o.o.d.y Christmas party on Sat.u.r.day night. Her cla.s.smates couldnt fail to warm to her, and he didnt have any problem with that at all, although, Christmas? Really? What was up with that? It wouldnt even be December.

Tossing aside the re mote control with a sigh of frustration Seb jumped to his feet, stalked into his study and flung himself into the chair at his desk. Just because this would be the first weekend for months that he and Mercy hadnt spent together, it was no big deal. Hed survive. It wasnt as if he needed to see her. He didnt need anything. The thought of gatecrashing the party hadnt crossed his mind once. He had way more control than that. And as for popping in to the wine awards dinner to say congratulations, well, as that would smack of weakness it was obviously totally out of the question too.

Really, there was no problem, he told himself as he fired up his computer in the bordering-on-desperate hope hed be able to focus. He could wait ten days before he saw her again. Of course he could.

Wednesday night, the night of the wine awards presentation dinner, was going to be a good night for Hernandez wines and Mercy, whod left her coat in the cloakroom and was heading towards the Palm Court where champagne and canapes were being served, was fully intending to enjoy herself.

In an hour or so the five hundred guests would be sitting down in the Grand Ballroom of this stunning Art Deco hotel to a sumptuous four-course dinner. During coffee, shed be going up on stage to accept the framed certificate that announced their win in the best white for under twenty-five dollars category, and after that, hopefully, shed be fielding requests for information, samples and tastings, which would lead to a dramatic upsurge in sales.

In the meantime, though, she had a team to celebrate with, news to catch up on and wine to pour.

Scanning the crowd, Mercy spotted the stand that bore the Hernandez Estate livery in front of which stood Maria, their Sales and Marketing Director, and Antonio, their Production Manager, and made her way over.

"h.e.l.lo," she said in Spanish, smiling widely as she kissed them each in turn on both cheeks. "Its so good to see you. How was the trip?"

"Surprisingly fine," said Maria with a grin of relief which was entirely justified since back home thered been talk of a national airline strike for weeks now and everyone knew it was only a matter of time before it went ahead.

"And how are things going?"

"Very well," said Maria. "How about you?"

"All good."

"Your course?"

"Loving it."

"And New York?"

"Ditto."

"Have some of our fine award-winning wine," said Antonio, deadpan, filling a gla.s.s and holding it out to her.

"It would be my pleasure," said Mercy, taking it with mock solemnity and raising it. "Congratulations, everyone. To a great team effort."

They clinked gla.s.ses, and Mercy took a sip, closing her eyes as the wine slipped down.

"Oh, that is good," she said, relishing the cool, fruity crispness and marveling at the fact that when shed planted the Torrontes vines shed never dreamed the resulting wine would win an award. Her parents had been against it. Theyd expressed their concerns that the variety wouldnt do as well on their soil as it did where it was more traditionally grown, but shed had a feeling, so shed gone ahead anyway and happily proved them wrong.

"Your parents said to tell you they send their love."

At Marias words Mercy came to, lowered her gla.s.s and opened her eyes. "Yes, they rang earlier," she said, thinking of the call in which theyd told her how proud of her they were, which had been as unexpected as it was lovely. "It sounds as though things are busy."

Maria nodded. "Everyones flat out."

"With the launch of the new rose?" Mercy asked, putting down her gla.s.s.

"Yes. Mainly. Itll be ready for release around June," said Antonio.

"Screw top or cork?"

"Cork," said Antonio.

"Label?"

Maria nodded. "A brief went out last week."

"Price?"

"Being worked on." Maria grinned. "We are surviving without you, Mercy. Youre not completely indispensable."

Mercy gave her a rueful smile and let out a tiny sigh. "I know that. And Im sure youre all doing great. Its just that sometimes I really miss it."

"And we miss you," said Maria, squeezing her arm. "Sure you dont want to come back?"

"Quite sure. At least not yet."

"Not even for Christmas?"

Ah, Christmas. She hadnt really thought that far ahead. Perhaps deliberately. It wasnt a subject she wanted to bring up with Seb. She wasnt sure why. "I dont know," she said vaguely. "Well see. I-"

But whatever she was going to say next vanished from her head because she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye, and then her breath was sticking in her lungs and her heart was galloping because weaving his way through the crowds, head and shoulders above everyone else, totally unexpected and wholly out of context, was Seb.

What he was doing here, among all these people, all this noise, while making his way over to Mercy, Seb had no idea. The last time hed acted on impulse had been when hed gone to see Zel in that clinic, and look how well that had turned out. All he knew now was that hed left work half an hour ago and had been on his way back to the house when suddenly hed given his driver instructions to divert to here instead.

The only explanation he had for it was...well, he didnt have an explanation and that was as bewildering as h.e.l.l. Nothing about any of this made any sense and his only consolation was that Mercy looked as stunned at his presence as he was, which was sort of pleasing in its symmetry, he supposed.

Coming to a stop a couple of feet in front of her, Seb shoved his hands in the pockets of his trousers to stop himself from reaching for her because presumably that would not go down well given the context of the evening, and forced a smile to his face.

"h.e.l.lo, Mercy," he said, clearing his throat because for some reason his voice sounded odd.