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would be lost unless she did.
    'Don't move,' Matt held her tightly. 'I've never wanted a woman as much as I want you. Each time I see you, I want you more.'
    She did not trust herself to speak, but instead brushed back her hair which had tumbled over her face.
    He stopped her with his hand. 'You look even more desirable when you're untidy. It's how I picture you when we're apart—wanton and abandoned.'
    'But not in your car,' she joked shakily.
    'No,' he said. 'In my bed!' and with a quick flick of a switch, the front seats tilted back.
    Caroline struggled to sit up, so furious she was speechless. But Matt held her down, and only as he bent lower over her did she realise his body was shaking with laughter.
    'If you could have seen the expression on your face as you fell back,' he chuckled, his mouth against her hair. 'For a sophisticated girl, you're very naive about men.'
    'And for a sophisticated man you have a childish sense of humour!' she snapped.
    'I'm sorry you didn't find my joke funny.' He pressed the switch again, and the seats rose back to their former position. 'When I do make love to you, it won't be in a car like some adolescent youth.' He switched on the ignition. 'I'll take you back to the safety of your hotel, my darling Caroline. But don't forget to lock your door in case I come prowling in the middle of the night!'
    He resumed driving and she was silent for several moments as she regained her composure, and with it her sense of humour.
    'It was silly of me to get so upset,' she apologised.
    'And it was silly of me to play such a stupid trick on you.' Matt lifted his foot off the accelerator as they approached the drive to the hotel. 'I can't remember the last time I apologised to a woman—other than you. It's because you're so quick to admit when you've been wrong.' He pressed the tips of her fingers against his mouth. 'Forgive me, sweetheart.'
    Gently she pressed her lips upon his, drawing back before he could respond.
    'Darling Matt,' she whispered, 'sleep well and dream of me.'
    'I do, every night, but one day it won't be a dream.' He paused, then climbed out of the car.
    Going with him up the hotel steps, Caroline knew that tonight was not the night she had been hoping for. But she was not despondent. After all, she reminded herself again, Mark was not the sort to throw away ten thousand pounds.
     

CHAPTER SIX
    Caroline breakfasted on the terrace of her room, and was halfway through her second cup of coffee when Tom strolled in.
    'Good morning,' he said cheerfully, planting a light kiss on her head. 'I thought I'd join you for breakfast.'
    'You look like hell,' she observed. 'When did you get to bed?'
    He grinned. 'I didn't—at least, not my own. Entente cordiale is much more cordiale in France,' he helped himself to one of her croissants and spread it thickly with butter and apricot jam. 'I did more for Anglo-French relations last night than the Common Market could ever hope to achieve! And what's more, I also had a bit of luck at roulette.'
    'More's the pity,' Caroline muttered. 'Are you seeing Chantal again?'
    'Naturally.'
    'And what about her husband, or don't you mind pistols at dawn? It beats me why you can't find yourself a single girl.'
    'I daresay I could, but I doubt if she'd be as accommodating as a twenty-five-year-old with a sixty-year-old husband!' Tom helped himself to another croissant. 'But enough about my love life. How did yours go last night?'
    Caroline filled him in on the evening, leaving out the details of the drive home.
    'So you're still just "good friends"?' Tom sounded disappointed.
    'I can hardly propose to him,' she replied. 'And don't expect me to give you a day-by-day account of progress. If anything happens, you'll be the first to know.'
    'I should hope so! There's a lot at stake.'
    'Ten thousand pounds,' she said shakily. 'If Matt knew ...'
    'He'll forgive you, Carrie. You didn't take the money for yourself.'
    She nodded, but was in no way reassured, and was glad