Free A negotiated surrender by Jayne Castle Page A

control over him that could be extremely valuable.
    She had absolutely no intention of ultimately marrying the man, naturally, but if he thought she was willing to consider the idea, he might be far more manageable. Calla swallowed in the face of her own audacity.

    "No more fancy judo throws?" she murmured tentatively.
    He grimaced. "I should never have let things get to the point where you felt obliged to grab a weapon," he stated flatly. "It won't happen again."
    She considered that. "Where did you learn judo, anyhow?"
    He blinked at the unexpected question. "Is it important?"
    "No. I was merely curious."
    "Maybe that's a good sign. You've never shown much curiosity about me before! The answer to your question is that I was introduced to it in college."
    "I see."
    "Calla?"
    "I'm thinking about it, Slade." She took another sip of tea, but her mind was made up. She would accept his offer to reduce the intensity of his pursuit. It would give her the breathing room she needed for the next three months.
    Finally she set the cup and saucer down onto the heavy wooden table in front of the couch and said witheringly, "You will behave yourself? There won't be any repeat performances on a par with last night's?"
    "I won't push you," he agreed. "As long as you uphold your end of the deal."
    "What, exactly, does that imply?"
    "That you'll accept my invitations and allow me the chance to woo you properly," he explained unhesitatingly.
    "And you won't drag our personal affairs into work?"
    "No."
    She gave a crisp, affirmative nod. "All right. I'm willing to give it a try."
    She saw the tension seep out of him and the satisfied demeanor that replaced it. Calla watched him suspiciously, but he only said politely, "Thank you. And now I'd like to issue my first invitation."
    She bit her lip unconsciously, not at all sure she had done the right thing. But what choice did she have? If she was going to work for him for the next three months surely it would be better to exert some control rather than none at all over his actions.
    "I've got a lot of things to do this afternoon, Slade," she began repressively.
    "I know. The wash. But I've got something much more interesting to suggest," he offered with a grin.
    "Have you ever been soaring?"
    "Soaring! Well, no, I haven't. I only fly when it's absolutely necessary!"
    "Powered flight isn't the same thing at all. That's a means of transportation," he said, waving a dismissing hand. "Soaring is the closest thing to having your own set of wings. Come with me, Calla, and I'll show you what it's like to really fly."
    "Is it safe?"
    "Today we won't even be out of sight of the airport, and the weather is terrific. Did you see all those nice puffy cumulus clouds starting to form above the desert floor this morning? Lots of nice thermals. Please, Calla?" He held out both hands innocently. "I won't be able to assault you while I'm handling the controls, you know!"
    Well, why not, Calla thought. It would give him the impression she was serious about letting him have a chance to carry out his "courtship." It would establish the notion that she had negotiated in good faith.
    Would she be able to keep him thinking that for the full three months? Or would this little scheme collapse when he realized she was stringing him along? There were a lot of adjectives Calla could have used to describe Slade York, but stupid wasn't one of them.
    "Let me dump this cup in the sink," she finally said, capitulating reluctantly.
    "Don't rush. There's a little matter I want to take care of while you're rinsing out the cup."
    She nodded as she walked back into the kitchen. She was aware of the sliding glass door opening as she ran water into the sink. Slade must have taken a shortcut out to his car. Calla set the cup and saucer on the drainboard to dry and looked around automatically to make certain the stove was turned off.
    When she walked back into the living room, he still hadn't returned. She glanced around absently, aware of