“I recognized his voice. At least I think I recognized his voice.” He returned the phone to the table. “That was his answering machine. Now all we have to do is wait for him to wake up.”

“This is very creepy. Why would Howard Berk be making videos of my house?”

“My guess is your house was incidental. It happened to be in the flight path. You know anything about the people living in the other house on the tape?”

Kate thought about it. “Not much. That’s a rental property. They moved in about the same time you did. Don’t you know them?”

“No. Lots of different people go in and out. No one ever says hello.”

“Maybe they’re spies.”

“More likely they’re musicians who’ve forgotten to pay their parking citations.” He ran a fingertip along the line of her chin. “Are you tired?”

“Out on my feet.” She’d had a full day, and the cocoa was warm in her stomach. She felt her eyelids droop and blinked them open.

Dave sighed and scooped her into his arms. He carried her into his room and tumbled her into bed. “Are you too tired?”

Kate laughed. “If I say yes, do I get kicked out of this bed?”

“If you say yes, you get to sleep here alone tonight.”

He’d smiled when he’d said it, but she knew he was serious. All she had to do was hold out her hand and he’d be next to her. It was enormously tempting. She couldn’t think of anything nicer than to spend the night wrapped in his arms. She’d known Anatole for a hundred years, slept with him for two, been married to him for one year, and she’d never felt this close, this comfortable, this loving toward him.

David Dodd inspired trust. He was fun. He was intelligent. He was sensitive and sexy. Make that very sexy. She was about to invite him to share the bed when she inadvertently yawned.

Dave grimaced. “Guess that answers my question.” He tucked the quilt around her and bent to kiss her good night. His lips brushed over hers, settling gently, their mouths parted, and the kiss deepened.

Kate wound her arms around him and pulled him closer. “You shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

His response was swift and silent, his hands taking possession a heartbeat ahead of his mouth. He planned to marry this woman, and if he did, he’d remain married to her for the rest of his life. Put in that perspective, this night should seem insignificant. He should be able to lay this night aside and wait for another evening. A more romantic evening with all the traditional trappings. But he knew that was nonsense. He’d lost all perspective. Kate brought out a response in him that ripped through logic and challenged his self-control. His hands roamed under the nightgown with deliberate exploration.