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army to his name.”
    Richard chuckled, but quickly sobered. When Thea looked up, she saw the grimness in his eyes. “We have to get it right,” he said quietly. “This is our twelfth time. I don’t think we’ll have another chance.”
    Thea drew back from him a little. “It would help if I understood why you did . . . what you did. I’ve never known. Tell me, Richard. That way I can guard against—”
    He shook his head. “I can’t. It all comes down to trust. That’s the key to it all. I have to trust you. You have to trust me . . .  even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary .”
    â€œThat’s asking a lot,” she pointed out in a dry tone. “Do you have to trust me to the same extent?”
    â€œI already have.” One corner of his mouth twitched in a wry smile. “The last time. That’s probably why our circumstances have changed.”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œI can’t tell you that, either. That would be changing the order of things. You either remember or you don’t. We either get it right this time, or we lose forever.”
    She didn’t like the choices. She wanted to scream at him, vent her fury at the mercilessness of fate, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. She could only fight her own battle, knowing that it would mean her life if she failed. Maybe that was the point of it all, that each person was ultimately responsible for his or her own life. If so, she didn’t much care for the lesson.
    He began kissing her again, tilting her head up and drinking deeply from her mouth. Thea could have reveled in his kisses for hours, but all too soon he was drawing back, his breath ragged and desire darkening his eyes. “Lie down with me,” he whispered. “It’s been so long. I need you, Thea.”
    He did. His erection was iron-hard against her bottom. Still, for all the intimacy of their past lives, in this life she had only just met him, and she was reluctant to let things go so far, so fast. He saw her refusal in her expression before she could speak, and muttered a curse under his breath.
    â€œYou do this every time,” he said in raw frustration. “You drive me crazy. Either you make me wait when I’m dying to have you, or you tease me into making love to you when I know damn well I shouldn’t.”
    â€œIs that so?” Thea slipped off his lap and gave him a sultry glance over her shoulder. She had never given anyone a sultry glance before, and was mildly surprised at herself for even knowing how, but the gesture had come naturally. Perhaps, in the past, she had been a bit of a temptress. She liked the idea. It felt right. Richard’s personality was so strong that she needed something to help keep him in line.
    He glowered at her, and his hands clenched into fists. If they had been further along in their relationship, she thought, he wouldn’t have taken no for an answer, at least not yet. First he would have made a damn good effort at seducing her—an effort that had usually succeeded. Whatever his name, and whatever the time, Richard had always been a devastatingly sensual lover. But he too felt the constraints of newness, knew that she was still too skittish for what he wanted.
    Stiffly he got to his feet, wincing in discomfort. “In that case, we should get out of here, maybe drive into town for lunch. Or breakfast,” he amended, glancing at his wristwatch.
    Thea smiled, both amused and touched by his thoughtfulness. Being in public with him did seem a lot safer than staying here. “Just like a date,” she said, and laughed. “We’ve never done that before.”

    It was a delightful day, full of the joy of rediscovery. After eating breakfast at the lone café in the small nearby town, they drove the back roads, stopping occasionally to get out and explore on foot. Richard carefully avoided