He kissed her again and again, nibbling, tasting, exploring her body, and his life opened up to her with a force that left them both out of breath. All this controlled power, she thought, as she arched and bucked and lost herself, was his gift to her.

Afterward, they lay on their strewn clothes.

“I’ve been waiting for this since the evening in the Beijing apartment.” Daniel kissed her face. “When Harry Wu kept you company for the night, I wanted it to be me.”

Nola laughed into his collarbone. “A woman coming into herself, you said.”

“You were a brave, beautiful human being.”

“I want you to know that I’ve also found religion, in the sense that I plan to go back to Jewish traditions,” she added.

“I understand where you’re coming from.” He smiled. “I’ve been studying kabala.”

She giggled. “You and Madonna.” Her fingers sifted the soft, cool powder. She would stay here, in this moment, forever. She had time. They had time. She thought about her quest for the spiritual nature of the universe. “Ming-Ji said that ‘love is to want the same things.’ ”

“What do you want?” he whispered.

“Us.”

“I want us to love each other. To be a family.” He spoke into her lips, the rush of air tingling as he added, “To work together toward the same goals. Is that wanting the same things?”

Coming up from the beach, Nola was surprised to see Keith’s lanky figure perched on the railing at the top landing. He was dressed in worn jeans, a plaid shirt and sneakers.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Leslie said you’d be here.” His smile instantly wrapped her in its warmth. He looked from her to Daniel and back.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect you to come all the way out—I mean, I meant to call you later—Never mind; I’m blabbering. Thank you for coming. You shouldn’t have troubled yourself—”

She introduced the two men. “I’ll be with Lulu,” Daniel said. He shook Keith’s hand and departed.

“Don’t be upset with Leslie, but last night he was worried about your ‘tiff’ with Wade and called me,” Keith said as soon as they were alone. “I’ve scheduled a couple of lawyers to come here later.” He unfolded a document bound in a baby-blue cover. “In the meantime, this is a request for a temporary exclusive right to your apartment. Sign here, and we’ll get Wade to pack a few shirts and find a place where he can terrorize someone else.”

For a moment, Nola was at a loss for words. “I want to tone things down—and get out of the marriage.”

“But he wants you crushed.”

She sighed.