t injuries fresh in his mind.
Cade's vital signs were normal, as usual. Did he realize at all that he'd
been selected for more than dinner? Mandi snorted and wryly wondered if the
likely prospect of getting laid later would cause him any more excitement than
shooting people.
Probably not, she decided. He seemed to deal with things as they happened.
One of them would steer the conversation and a suggestion would surface. Would
it be Beth or Cade? Or would it be Beth, specifically because Cade had built up
her confidence enough to ask him up to her room?
Mandi stopped with a sense of startlement and examined that last bit of
speculation for a moment. Where the hell had that come from? Was she just
projecting her own thoughts about how he should proceed or did she really think
that's what Cade would do?
Shaking her head at herself, Mandi turned from the door and went to the
fridge for a canned drink, then sat on the edge of the bed and lay back to stare
at the ceiling.
Yes, that was very likely what he'd do if Beth didn't seem able to drop her
guard and let him in on her own. He'd find reasons to compliment her and make
her realize the truth of them until she decided absolutely about bedding him.
And then, Mandi realized, he'd likely suggest a coed shower and do to Beth
what he'd done to her. He'd likely do it to her again in bed, then slide himself
upward into position and...
The can of soda in Mandi's hand abruptly crumpled and her drink seemed to
splatter everywhere. Uttering a nasty word, Mandi went to the bathroom for a
towel to clean up the mess.
She wasn't angry at Cade. His conversion wasn't far enough along; he wasn't
capable of making love to her like that yet. Mandi was just angry with herself
for allowing her imagination to cause a wet accident on the bed.
Taking off her damp dress and washing it in the bathroom sink, Mandi gently
wrung it out and hung it in the tiny closet space, then she dried it with her
heat vision.
When the drying was finished, she lay back on the bed again and sighed at
the evening as a whole. A few minutes later she reached for the TV remote and
scanned the channels for something interesting, but it was only nine-thirty and
she wasn't really in the mood to watch TV.
Clicking off the TV, Mandi set the remote on the night table and headed for
the shower, realizing as she caught herself marching that she was angry with
Ca