“Oh my God,” he said breathlessly, as he looked at her. He wasn’t sure if he was in heaven or hell, but wherever it was, he never wanted to leave or to leave her again. “Theo, we’re crazy. This shouldn’t have happened.” She lay in bed next to him, smiling like the mystery she was to him. And she looked incredibly beautiful with her dark hair falling around her.

“Yes, it should,” she said, catching her breath. “It’s the only thing right that has happened in my life in years.” She ran a finger from his Adam’s apple down the center of his body until it reached where she intended it to, and then bent down and kissed him and he groaned. She looked so gentle and demure but she was a wild woman in bed, which he hadn’t expected.

“Okay, I give up, you own me,” he said, moaning as she guided him into her again, and they forgot everything but each other for another round of ecstasy and passion. She lay totally sated in his arms afterwards, as he looked at her in amazement.

“You’re better than a thousand banana splits,” he whispered to her, and she laughed. “Make it a million.”

“Tell me about the gun. Why do you wear it?” She turned to look into his eyes.

“I borrowed it this morning,” he said truthfully. “In case I needed to protect you.”

“Do you always wear a gun?” she asked, curious as she studied him carefully. She loved everything she saw and knew about him.

“Yes,” he answered her question. “Usually, but not when I travel.” She was looking at him carefully, as though she could see inside his mind. It didn’t frighten him. He liked it. He liked everything about her. They were on even ground, which was a first for her.

“You’re not a lawyer, are you?”

He shook his head slowly. “No, I’m not.” She was too smart for her own good, but he loved that about her.

“What are you really? I mean, what do you do?”

“I work for the CIA. And that’s all I can tell you. Like in the army, name, rank, and serial number. I’m a senior supervising agent, and run a branch in New York.”

She was intrigued, then sat up on the bed and looked down at him. “Why did you come to the party at the store?” She was beginning to think that it wasn’t an accident that she’d met him.

“For two reasons. We had someone under surveillance who went to the party, and I wanted to meet you. That’s the whole truth. I didn’t happen into the back room by accident. I was looking for you.”

“Why?” She was puzzled by his answer.