Part 3 (1/2)

She shook her head. ”I need to be alone.” Still no hint of regret or willingness to compromise.

With another woman, he'd put his hand on her arm and pull her around to face him. But that might hurt Nik, so instead he got out of bed and sat on the floor in front of her. He was nicely positioned between her and the bathroom, and she wasn't going anywhere until he decided to let her. ”In other words, you got what you wanted out of this, and I should buzz off before I annoy you?”

She sat up straighter. ”That's not it. I told you I can't do anything to jeopardize my health.”

”And how would having me around jeopardize your health?” He'd like her reason to be that his presence would tempt her to ignore her ch.o.r.es, but he doubted that would turn out to be it.

”I do a lot of meditating on weekends, and I can't do that with anyone around.” Her answer wasn't as grudging as he'd expected, so maybe he'd been wrong about her att.i.tude.

He shrugged. ”Okay. Well, I usually spend time at the athletic club working out on Sundays. I can do that while you meditate.”

Her eyes darted around the room, and he knew he was about to hear more excuses. ”Look, last night was great, but I don't really think I could take another night like that right away. Maybe next weekend -”

He cut her off. ”Next weekend's a h.e.l.l of a long time from now. If last night was too much for you, just tell me and we'll figure out how to make it easier.”

She sighed. ”It wasn't too much. It's just -”

He gritted his teeth. ”I told you, Nik. Don't set arbitrary limits. Trust me to be willing to work things out with you. If your body can't handle making love so many times, we'll deal with it.” How, he couldn't imagine, but he'd figure something out.

She looked doubtful. ”I don't see why you're wasting your time on me. Other women don't have these problems.”

”They're also not you, Nikolia.” Because he'd been with a lot of women and knew how they thought, he added, ”I'm not saying I'll necessarily want to be with you forever, but I'm with you now because of you, not because it's convenient.” He smiled at her and caressed her leg. ”Come on. I'll let you get your ch.o.r.es done, and we'll have a good time in between.”

She softened a little. ”Give me until seven o'clock.” He suspected that was about as far as she'd go. ”Make it six, and I'll take you anywhere you want for dinner.”

She laughed. ”You don't want to eat at the kind of places I dare to go.”

”Try me,” he said, willing her with his eyes to trust him that far.

With a smile, she warned him, ”You'll be sorry.”

Not a chance.

CHAPTER FIVE.

Nik blew her breath out and grimaced. Bill didn't belong in the middle of her visualization of the deep blue waters of Crater Lake! Not when the point of the whole exercise was to relax and let the mental vacation loosen her always-tight muscles!

Why was he interested in her? It couldn't simply be the need for conquest - not after last night. And she didn't like womanizers, so it made no sense for her to find him so attractive. Yet - Yet nothing. This was her mental and physical exercise time, and if she couldn't succeed at mental exercise today, she'd darn well do a good job of the physical.

First, a few minutes more of stretching. She'd started the session with some simple flexibility work, and now she repeated the same exercises before increasing the pace and working up a light sweat.

Then, onto the bike for twenty minutes, starting with no resistance and increasing it a notch every five minutes. That would get her full attention. She couldn't keep wondering about Bill's motives while she struggled and sweated.

She could, however, wonder what he was doing right now. Was he at the athletic club? What kind of exercise did he do? He didn't have big bulky muscles, but the muscles were there, and they were strong.

His body was more sculpted now than it had been, too.

He'd changed in other ways since college, too. He'd always been brash and charming, but he was smoother and more sure of himself now. And his technique in bed had definitely improved - That was enough of that! She had at least a little self- control, and wallowing in endless mental replays of last night wasn't something she would allow. She needed to stay as objective as possible about this affair.

She had to. It wouldn't last, and she couldn't let its end throw her into a major flare or down cycle.

Bill certainly wouldn't have chosen this humongous salad bar as a place to take a date, but he enjoyed his dinner. Nik stuck almost entirely to the most healthy ingredients, while he was an equal-opportunity diner - plenty of fresh salad, but also a loaded baked potato, chili, and a big make-your-own sundae of frozen yogurt and several toppings.

He had second thoughts about the sundae when he saw Nik eyeing it as though she wanted to rip it out of his hands. ”Should I not eat this in front of you?”

She managed a small smile. ”No, it's okay. I'll make a small one for myself, and that'll take care of mysweet tooth.” She went off then, returning in a minute with a much smaller and less gooey dish.

He still felt awkward about it, so a minute later he said, ”I guess I ought to know some specifics about the diet you're on. It looks like you eat a lot of vegetables and very little fat - is that right?”

She nodded. ”Not much meat, either, and in general, foods that aren't highly-processed. It's a trial-and-error thing with me, mostly, and I can eat small amounts of things that aren't good for me, as long as my fibro's reasonably under control. I also take all sorts of nutritional supplements and vitamins - probably fifty pills a day - because my system gets out of whack easily.”

”What do you eat normally?”

”Nutrition drinks or yogurt a couple of times a day, and typically homemade soup and salad for dinner.”

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. ”I get pretty bored with the same stuff all the time, but finding new recipes takes more effort than I'm willing to spend on it.”

He opened his mouth to say he'd cook her dinner, but decided he should find something he could safely make for her first. ”Can you drink alcohol?”

She shrugged. ”It's the same as everything else. I can handle a little, once in a while.” She looked down at her nearly-untouched sundae. ”I'm sorry. I know this isn't very much fun for you.”

What was she talking about? ”I'm having a good time. Aren't you?”

”Sure.” She waved a hand at the utilitarian dining room surrounding them. ”This can't be the kind of place you normally frequent, though.”

”Well, no,” he admitted. ”Although it kind of reminds me of the main cafeteria back at school.”

She chuckled. ”Exactly. Maybe now you'll believe me when I say you don't want to go the kind of places I dare eat at.”

She still didn't get it. He shook his head. ”Not a chance, Nikolia. I want to be with you, and as long as you're with me, I'm happy.”

She didn't believe him, but he didn't really care. He knew it was true.

For now.

Funny. That was the first time he'd had to remind himself that his interest in a woman would only be temporary.

When her lunchtime meditation/rest break on Monday left her neck and shoulders still feeling like they were caught in a vise grip, Nik had to admit what her body was telling her. Two nights in a row with Bill was pus.h.i.+ng her limits, and another one would probably throw her completely out of balance.

She dreaded having to explain that to Bill. He claimed he wouldn't have a problem accepting restrictions based on her health, but she didn't believe him. He liked having his own way too much.