"I don't know what you mean," Bryn muttered uneasily, glad that her face was shielded from him by the

tangle of her hair. "Yes, you do. You were afraid of me.Before I did more than shake your hand." Bryn shrugged.' 'You must know you make women nervous. You have an aura of leashed energy and...

sexuality." "Sexuality shouldn't be frightening." Bryn bit her lip,then shrugged against him. He would probe at her until she answered him. "I was engaged once." "Ah...and so all men become the enemy." "No, not all men, and not the enemy.I just decided that I had to be careful for a while and avoid a certain type." She could sense his frown. "What type is that? Don't tell me you were engaged to another musician?" Bryn hesitated. What difference did it make if she told him or not? She rolled away from him, her arms encircling her pillow as she leaned her cheek against it.' 'No . I was engaged to a man named JoeLansky. He was--is--a football player." "Joe Lansky?" Lee whistled softly."Big stuff with the NFL."

A surge of unease settled over her as he said the name. "Yes. He enjoys his share of fame. You know him?"

"We met briefly once.InL.A., at a benefit dinner.He seemed a decent sort."

"Oh, Joe is decent. He just...doesn't care much for children. Otherpeople's, that is."

"Adam threw rice at him too, huh?"

"No, peas."

Lee laughed and swept her back into his arms despite her indignant protest. He kissed her on the nose. "I'm awfully glad you and Joe broke it off, Bryn," he told her huskily. "But I'm sorry that you compared me with him. Why did you?"

Bryn remained stiff against him. "You're both accustomed to fame and easy adoration."

"He cheated?"

"My fault, according to him.I couldn't be with him, and his groupies could."

"I see," Lee told her, and she felt a tightening of anger in his hold. "You assumed I jump into bed at any invitation?"

"Not exactly," she murmured.

"Then what, exactly'!"

"Oh, I don't know!" Bryn exclaimed, trying to break the hold that kept her crushed against him, face-to-face. "I'm grounded in reality, and superstars live in a fantasy world."

"That's absurd. You're categorizing people. Just because Lansky broke it off with you--''

"Joe didn't break it off, I did," Bryn said wearily, rather than defensively. "He wanted me to drop everything and be at his beck and call. I couldn't do that. I didn't want to do that. And I think a regular man would have difficulty dealing with the package of commitments that come with me--much less a quote unquote 'idol.'"

She couldn't fathom his dark expression. "Quote unquote 'idols' are made of flesh and blood.The usual stuff. They bleed and hurt and fall in love. But if you and Lansky couldn't deal with your commitments, be glad you discovered it before you married him."

"I am," Bryn murmured uneasily. She still couldn't fathom the dark tension in his features.

As if he sensed her curiosity, he started idly trailing his fingers along her spine and abruptly changed the subject. "You have the sexiest build I've ever seen. I have to admit pure lust welled within me the moment I saw you."

There was something so honest in his statement that, despite its content, she started to smile. Lee returned the grin, but then he frowned as he saw her smile fade and her face go pale.

"What's wrong?"

"I just...I just started thinking about Adam. Oh, God, Lee! I've been here...like this...with you...when poor Adam--"

"Bryn!"Lee exclaimed, cradling her. "Hush. Don't worry about Adam. We'll get him back tomorrow, I promise!"

"How can you besure! You told me we had to keep the pictures because it could be dangerous if we didn't discover what was in them! If these people could be dangerous later--"

' 'Bryn, why do you think that they took Adam and not Keith or Brian? Adam is a very little boy. He's not going to be able to point out where he's been, or cause any problems. You're a nice, sharp adult. There's a big difference. Bryn, I know that Adam is all right. He's their bargaining chip."

"But he's so little, and he's alone," Bryn murmured.

"Tomorrow, Bryn.If you just go to sleep, it will be time to start getting him back when you wake up."

"God!I want to sleep so badly. I just haven't been able to."

Lee kissed her forehead. "Didn't wear you out enough, did I?"

Bryn blushed. "You wore me out completely."

"Did I? We'll see in a minute or two. But since you're so wide awake and already worried, I want you to think about the country club. Do you remember anything about the background?"

Bryn thought for only a second. "Yes. I remember the Sweet Dreams motel."

"The what?Oh, that place with the glaring neon lights?"

"That's it."

"Well, that will be well worth looking into. What else?"

"Nothing, really.Oh...except the golfers. A whole horde of them came over a hill when I was shooting one roll."

"We'll have to look into that, too. We'll just keep blowing up the shots until we come up with something."

"I just can't see how there could be anything!" Bryn exclaimed, her tone frustrated and tired. "Believe it or not, I looked the proofs over very carefully before I gave them to Barbara. There just wasn't anything to be seen. Maybe it is just some mad fan determined to have a bunch of private shots of Lee Condor and his group."

"Bryn, you know that's ludicrous."

"But I looked--"

"At proofs.Little tiny pictures.Bryn, someone is obviously certain that there is something in those pictures. I would say that means that obviously there is. And we'll have to find out what."

She sighed softly and he smiled. "You need to get some sleep."

"I just can't seem to turn my mind off."

"Well, I believe that I can oblige in that direction..." His voice grew muffled and then trailed away as his lips fell to her shoulders. A tiny bite sent a shudder rippling through her; the rough velvet lick of his tongue turned the shudder into a liquid quiver. Bryn closed her eyes as he rolled her to her back.

He was right. The warm touch of his hands and the practiced strokes of his tongue could all too easily strip her mind of reason and thought....

She became aware of the distant melody before she fully awoke. And as she struggled from a deep web of sleep, she began to realize that she was hearing the soft strains of the downstairs piano.

And Lee.

She frowned for a minute, blinking against the glow of dawn that bathed the room in pink and yellow light. The tune he sang was an old one, "Follow That Dream." And as she lay there, loathe to leave the comfort of bed, she felt a curious smile tugging at her lips, and a tenderness she didn't want to feel rising within her.

She had never heard him sing in person before. On the radio, on TV Most of his music was rock, although he did a number of softer ballads. Still, she had never heard him like this.

His voice was as gentle and full of crystal clarity as the piano. It was a tenor, husky and deep. And just as he was an expert with the instrument he played, so he was with that that was a part of him. Bryn mused that certain people were definitely naturals, and for a moment she begrudged him the talent that had been a birthright; then she smiled again and allowed the timbre of his voice to sweep through her and touch her. She couldn't deny that she admired him, was attracted to him...and was also at least halfway in love with him. That thought brought her wide awake. Don't be a fool, she warned herself. Be with him now, since you cannot deny him. But never forget that this is only a strange interlude in your life.... An interlude that dealt with Adam!

Bryn scrambled out of bed and searched the floor for the shirt he had lent her. By the time she found it, she realized that the music had stopped. The house seemed silent.

It took her another several seconds of scrambling around at the foot of the bed to find her underwear. She didn't bother to run into the other room for her jeans; she was certain they were still alone in the house. She just rushed out of the bedroom and scampered hurriedly down the stairs.

Lee was nowhere in sight in the living room, but she heard a clatter of sound from the kitchen and moved quickly to the swinging doors. She stopped short when she stared at the butcher-block table.

She had been right on one count: Lee was in the kitchen, leaning against the counter as he spoke on the phone.

But she had been wrong to assume that they were alone in the house. Mick was sitting at the table, feet propped on the opposite chair as he sipped a cup of coffee. He didn't seemed surprised to see her, but his dark eyes glistened with amusement as he saw the red flush of embarrassment that rushed to her cheeks.

"Morning, Bryn.Ready for coffee?"

She knew she would look rather absurd if she went rushing back through the swinging doors, so she convinced herself that Lee's shirt did cover her decently and walked on over to take a seat at the table.

"Coffee would be lovely, Mick. Thanks."

He smiled and poured her a cup from the pot that sat in the center of the table. There was a packet there, too, and he pushed it toward her.' 'This is the set of negatives and proofs that gets turned over."

Bryn glanced at him and then at Lee. He was murmuring monosyllables into the phone, but he grimaced dryly at her, and then smiled. It was a nice, natural look of reassurance. She glanced back to Mick, not questioning his understanding of the situation.

"You got them quickly! I never thought Kelly was awake this early, much less open for business."

"That Kelly seems to be a nice kid, and he likes you. We paid him well, but he was willing to do a super rush job even before I offered him a bonus."

"All right," Bryn heard Lee say. "See you tonight. Hopefully everything will go as planned."

He hung up the phone and walked to the table, poured himself a cup of coffee and sat opposite Bryn. He didn't offer her any explanation about his conversation, but slipped a bare foot along her calf instead. "You look rested," he said softly. "Do I?" she murmured, her lashes falling to her cheeks."Ummm. In fact, you look great. A little tousled, maybe, but I always did like a bit of a wild look." "Thanks," she murmured dryly.

"Hey, you two.I'm here, remember?" Mick queried. "And I'm not really sure I can handle this! My own sex life has been going all to hell for the past week!"

Both Bryn and Lee stared at Mick, startled. Then they laughed, and when their eyes met again, it was with a mute pleasure and amusement that scared Bryn.

It was too, too easy to like way too much about Lee Condor. She sobered quickly and said, "What now, Lee?"

"You get dressed and we go on over to your place. Mick goes on into work and explains that neither of us will be in, and he and Andrew and Perry get to crack the whip for the day. If I'm playing my hunches right, your phone will ring byten o'clock."

"Do you really think so?" Bryn asked huskily.

"Yes, I really think so."

Mick stood up and stretched, then kissed Bryn quickly on the cheek. "Good luck, gorgeous. I'll be banking on you." "Thanks," Bryn murmured. Lee was rising to walk Mick out to the battered front door. Bryn followed them both with her cup of coffee in hand. They were discussing the rehearsal, and Lee was advising Mick to get everyone working in costume. Mick said something about the door and offered to pick up a new one with a double dead-bolt.

"Great, that will save me a trip," Lee said; then his eyes fell on Bryn. "Run on up and get dressed," he told her. She had a feeling that he was going to say something to Mick that he didn't want her to hear, but she was too anxious to get back to her town house to disobey his soft command. She hurried back upstairs.

In the guest room she found her bra, jeans and shoes, and quickly donned them. A shower would have to wait, but she longed to wash up, so she walked into the room's ample bath, only to discover that there was no soap or towels.Or toothpaste. And if she couldn't brush her teeth, she could at least smother them with some toothpaste and feel a little better.

She walked back to Lee's room. His bathroom, as she had discovered late last night, was huge. The tiled tub was equipped with a Jacuzzi and was almost the size of her bedroom at the town house. There was a separate, glass-encased shower, double sinks, a linen closet and a wall of glass medicine chests. She opened the linen closet and was thrilled to discover a stack of new toothbrushes, piles of soap and neat stacks of washcloths and towels.

She washed her face and scrubbed her teeth, then realized that she had left the linen closet open. She absently walked back over to close it,then paused.

Along with the customary items--the towels and soap and such--she was surprised to see a stack of music sheets. Curiously she picked one up. The ink that comprised the notes was slightly faded; the paper was faintly yellowed. The sheets were not brittle, not like old, old paper, but she was certain that the music had been written at least a year or two ago.

She couldn't read music, so her eyes automatically fell to the lyrics scripted below.

Time has drifted by, my love, Leaves have blown, and white flakes fall,Still I wonder why, my love, How love could cause it all. "Oh,Victoria... Death departs,The savage heart.

What did I see in violet eyes,That made me blind, immune to lies? Had I but seen, I might have been,The man to let you touch the skies; Oh,Victoria... Dust and ashes,Tattered heart.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bryn started violently. She stared from the paper in her hand to the bathroom doorway to find Lee standing there, hands on his hips, bronzed features tense and dark and twisted into a menacing scowl. She was so stunned to see him there when she had become so engrossed in his lyrics that at first she didn't register the depth of his anger.

"Lee, I've never heard this song. It's so pretty, and sad--" She broke off with a startled gasp as he took a furious stride toward her and brutally wrenched the paper from her hand, crumpling it into his fist. "Stay the hell out of things that aren't yours and don't concern you!" he ground out, his jaw rigid and his eyes branding her with his wrath. He didn't give her a chance to reply; he spun around and left her. For once she heard his footsteps clearly. She heard the hard slap of his feet against the carpeted bedroom floor--and the sharp slam of the door.

Sudden tears stung her eyes; he had made her feel like a child, a thief and a nosy intruder all in one. What had she done? Nothing butopen a closet door for a towel...

The hurt brought anger, and humiliation. She had spent the night very intimately in bed with him, but let her take a glance at his life, and she might have been a total stranger, or any one of a number of women who had provided entertainment, but never entered into his soul....

"Bastard!" she hissed, clenching her fists and wishing fervently that she had obeyed her instincts for self-preservation and used him, instead of allowing him to use her.

She heard his shout from downstairs despite the fact that she was in the bathroom and he had slammed the bedroom door.

"Bryn!Let's get going!"

At that moment she would rather have jumped out the window than obey any of his commands. But thoughts of Adam rose within her mind and welled within her heart. She clenched her teeth, strode as furiously as he had across the bedroom, slammed the bedroom door in her wake,then managed to sprint down the stairs with a modicum of control.

She didn't look at him as she swept by him and out the front door he had opened for her. When he asked her for her van keys, she didn't argue with him, but dug into her front pocket and produced them. Once inside the car, she stared out the window.

She felt his tension, and she knew that he glanced her way several times as he left his secluded road behind and entered the stream of traffic. She continued to stare at the distantSierra Nevada.

They were nearing her town house when at last he spoke. "I'm sorry, Bryn."

"Fine," she said curtly.

"I mean it, Bryn. I'm very sorry. I never should have snapped at you like that."

She glanced at him, unable to ease the anguish he had evoked in her heart. "I said fine."

He had pulled the van into her driveway behind Barbara's car. Bryn started to hop out before he had put it into Park. She heard him swearing that she was a little idiot as he pulled the key from the ignition, but she was already halfway to the door, which had opened, as Barbara, expecting them,peeked her head out.

And then Bryn forgot about the petty quarrel that had cast her into an emotional turmoil.Because even as she reached the porch, the phone began to ring.

She met Barbara's panicked eyes, froze for a split second,then rushed into the kitchen. On the fifth ring she breathlessly grabbed the receiver.