Her heart jumped into her throat. Oh, Lord, he was playing with her. The game wasn't over. A surge of love and desire rushed through her as she realized that he understood how she felt after all. Her tension dissolved. She lifted her chin and pursed her lips in disapproval. "I was not bought."

"Money exchanged hands," he said flatly, stripping off his shirt. "You were bought. Now get out of those clothes so I can get you warmed up."

The man had no shame. She walked over to the bed and slid down on it. Then she drew her legs beneath her and gave him her most smoldering look. "No need to warm up something that's already hot."

For a moment she thought she had him.

He recovered quickly.

"Coming from you, that kind of comment doesn't surprise me at all." His undershirt joined his shirt in a pile on the floor. She swallowed hard at the sight of his chest, already anticipating how it would feel beneath her hands. He kicked off his wing tips and removed his socks. "You may fool other people, Susannah, but don't forget that I have three college degrees and I'm not so easily misled. Beneath that prim exterior of yours, you like it wild. And that's exactly how you're going to get it." In one strong motion, he whipped his belt from the loops of his trousers and snapped it in the air. "You're going to get it wild."

Oh, Lord… And she had been afraid that he wouldn't be able to keep up with her.

"Get up on your knees and take that dress off right now," he ordered.

Yes, sir. Oh, yes, my very dear sir. She scrambled to her knees and began working feverishly at her buttons. While she worked, he actually had the nerve to slide the length of the belt back and forth in his hand. The sparkle in his eyes almost ruined the effect, but it was still wonderfully menacing, and she was going to kill him if he laughed. Imagine being tied to this incredible man for the next forty years. Her lover, her friend, the other half of herself.

Still, she knew it wasn't good for him to get too full of himself-especially after everything she'd let him get away with these past few weeks. She had a little surprise in store for Mr. Macho. No stuffed shirt in a pinstriped suit was going to call her prim and get away with it.

Opening the last of the buttons, she stripped the dress over her head, revealing the deliciously naughty undergarments she had put on that morning in a fit of nervous anticipation-the soft peach demi-bra and panties, the matching garter belt and stockings.

Mitch's black leather belt fell to the carpet. "That's more like it," he said huskily. He didn't take his eyes off her as he pulled down his trousers.

Susannah swept her gaze along his muscular thighs and then burst out laughing. Mitch was wearing the tiniest pair of black zebra-striped briefs she had ever seen on a man.

She fell back into the pillows and hooted. "How long have you been wearing underwear like that?"

"For a while."

"Do you mean to tell me that during all those endless presentations we've sat through together, all those boring budget sessions, you've been wearing underwear like that?"

"I could ask the same question." He lowered himself to the bed beside her and lightly snapped a peach-colored garter.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her fingers into his hair, pulling him down beside her. "Sometimes I don't wear anything at all," she whispered.

He groaned and gathered her into his arms. His mouth opened over hers as he gave her a ferocious, demanding kiss. Before long, their naughty underwear dropped to the floor.

As they explored the secrets of each other's bodies, their skin grew sleek with sweat. But they had waited so long for this moment that neither wanted it to end too soon, and they prolonged it with gentle warfare.

"You'd better be good," he growled.

"They don't come any better."

"We'll see about that."

Each fought for supremacy-first one rolled on top, and then the other. She bit his shoulder; he retaliated with a nip at the curve of her bottom. She entangled him in the covers and ran from the bedroom. He caught her on the stairs and tossed her over his shoulder to carry her back. Their behavior was disgraceful, woefully inappropriate for people in their positions, but no one was around to point that fact out to them.

He dumped her on the bed and sprawled on top of her, catching handfuls of her hair in his fists. She arched her back and penetrated his mouth with her tongue. His hands roamed her body and found its secrets.

When they could stand their fierce love play no longer, she opened her legs and he cradled himself between them. As he poised to enter her, she looked up at him with her soft eyes.

"This is forever, isn't it, Mitch?"

All the laughter, all the mischief faded. He gazed down at her kiss-bruised mouth, and his face was young and tender with the depth of his emotion. "Oh, my love. My sweet, sweet love. This is till the end of the world."

They weren't children. They had lived through other loves and other lives, and so they knew the gift of their joining was precious. He entered her aggressively, possessing her with the boldness of a man who could only find happiness with a woman of daring spirit. She accepted him fearlessly, filled with the wild joy of a soul that had found its mate. Their bodies fit together as if they had been designed on the day of their creation to make a perfect match. And when they cried out at the very end, they were still gazing into each other's eyes.

EPILOGUE

The Northern California weather was chill and crisp the January morning Susannah took her place as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Business Technologies. She wore her most conservative gray suit, her lowest black pumps, her simplest earrings. The only other piece of jewelry she permitted herself was the heavy gold wedding ring on her left hand. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, but the number of large diamonds that sparkled in the band made it a bit flashy for FBT tastes.

A small group of men greeted her at the entrance of the Castle. "Welcome to FBT, Mrs. Blaine."

"Good to have you on board."

"Wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Blaine."

"Ms. Faulconer," she said. "But please call me Susannah."

They beamed their pleasure at her-a dozen dark-suited executives who knew that her sister's proxy had given her control of the corporation's largest single block of stock. She searched their ranks for the sight of a female face, but then remembered that women at FBT rarely rose above the ranks of middle management.

The men were gracious tour guides, leading her through the building as if she had never been there. They chatted as they escorted her along the hushed hallways and into richly carpeted offices. They opened doors and cupped her elbow to guide her.

"We've planned a long orientation period for you, Susannah."

"No need to hit you with too much at the beginning."

"We have a complete staff set up to advise you. They'll answer any of your questions…"

"… explain our policies."

"… direct you so you don't misinterpret any of our procedures."

"They'll keep things running smoothly so you won't be bothered with too many details."

"We thought it best if you concentrated on public relations for the foreseeable future."

"Holding press conferences."

"Giving interviews."

"Being a woman, I'm certain you'll want to do some redecorating."

"Your assistants have a list of the charitable functions we'd like you and Mr. Blaine to attend in the next few weeks. Quite important."

She smiled her cool, inscrutable smile and envisioned the executive dining room as it would look when it was transformed into an employees' child care center. The precious speck of life already growing inside her would be one of its very first customers.

She desperately wished Mitch were with her today, but it would be at least six more months before they could turn SysVal over to that brilliant band they'd chosen to lead their young company into a mature, profitable adulthood. She was going to miss working with him. By the time he came on board at FBT, her pregnancy would be advanced. She smiled as she envisioned the macho strut that was going to put in his walk-the first man in history to impregnate the CEO of Falcon Business Technologies.

Her head lifted ever so slightly as the building's loudspeaker system emitted three gentle chimes. "Mr. Ames to security," a soft voice announced. She tried to imagine that voice warning of a Japanese invasion in the parking lot.

She endured another hour of polite admonitions and veiled commands before she excused herself and headed to the offices of the chairman. As she walked into the reception area, an army of identically clad assistants snapped to attention. They began picking up leather folders and legal pads. And as they walked forward, their mouths moved.

"Mrs. Blaine, if I could brief you on your agenda for the week…"

"Mrs. Blaine, we've scheduled your first press conference for-"

She held up her hand. "My name is Faulconer. You may call me Susannah. And the next person who says a word to me will-I swear to God-be given permanent responsibility for cleaning out every coffeepot in this building."

Turning her back on all of them, she walked into the private office of the chairman of FBT and shut the door.

With the exception of the many sprays of flowers from well-wishers, the office looked much as it had when her father had occupied it. She toured the room slowly, touching familiar objects-the bookcases, side chairs, a brass lamp. The gold and blue draperies drawn back from the great wall of windows were exact reproductions of the ones she remembered. Her father's huge desk with its polished malachite top still dominated the room. The bronze FBT falcon hung on the wall behind it, its wings spread wide to encompass the globe on which it perched.