She rolled over toward him, scooted up a bit, found his head, and lifted hers to kiss him on the mouth. Then she lay against him, her body touching his full length. Of course he was clothed, but she wasn't; all she had was the flimsy night -- gown. With her wickedly bare torso within it, her breasts nudging him with each breath she took.

He put his right arm around her and drew her close. His hand did not wander. She put her left arm around him. They were embraced.

She had intended only to remain for half an hour or so, but this was such dangerous delight that she couldn't bring herself to break it off. Slowly her heart eased its horrendous pace, and she relaxed.

She woke, and realized that she had been asleep for some time, nestled against Darius. He was warm and she was warm. As far as she knew, he had not touched her even in the "maybe" region.

She was almost disappointed. She fell

back into sleep.

She became aware of the creeping light. "Ohmigod!" she squeaked. "Morning!"

She scrambled out from under the blanket, startling Darius awake. "My parents!" she said.

"I have to get back to my room, so they don't know where I was!"

He nodded, seeming to understand. She found her slip -- pers, slipped out the door, and almost flew, wraithlike, across

the yard to the door.

The door was locked. "The key!" she breathed in anguish. She turned about and flew back to the shed.

A hand reached out. It held her key.

"Thanks!" She snatched it and ran back. The door seemed to make a thunderous noise as it unlocked and opened. She went in, then turned to lock it again. She put the key away.

Then she forced herself to walk slowly through the house to her room. No one was up. She was unobserved.

She entered her room, went to the bed, and threw herself into it. She had made it!

Now she remembered how Darius had given her the key. He knew what it was for and where it was. He could have kept it from her. He could have raped her. He could had taken the contact of his hand on her breast last night as a pretext to go wild. It wasn't the kind of breast found in macho male magazines, but it didn't exactly require padding for a formal gown either. She had given him every opportunity.

He was either a decent man or he just wasn't interested. She cursed herself for her total, absolute, unmitigated folly -- and knew she would try to find out exactly which it was. Decency or disinterest. If it killed her. And it just might. Which was perhaps the point.

CHAPTER 2 -- DARIUS

DARIUS woke as the maiden jumped out of bed in -- the wan light of dawn. For a moment he was dis -- oriented, but it quickly came back: she was Colene, and she had come back to spend a chaste night with him, warming him with her company. He appreciated that very much.