Golden Goddess by Unknown

commitment she needed to give and to receive. Long ago Hannah had made up her mind to wait until she found the right man before she again risked her heart. Until tonight it had been surprisingly easy to resist the overtures of the men she knew.
    For four years she had been content with casual dating relationships.
    How could she have let everything go to pieces tonight? And with a man like Jarrett Blade, of all people.
    "If you were going to have a vacation fling, why didn't you at least pick someone handsome and charming and polite?" she demanded of herself in the mirror. "Why did you have to pick a dangerous, uncharming bastard like Jarrett Blade?"
    How had he slipped so easily past all her defenses? she wondered with a sad sigh. One thing was for certain. She had to leave as soon as possible in the morning. Hannah knew she couldn't risk another day of Jarrett's persistent company.
    Willing herself not to give in to tears, Hannah turned out the light and climbed into bed, her hair still slightly damp. With any luck she would be safely back in her own bed tomorrow night.
    The last image she had as she drifted off to sleep was of the rounded, golden body of the ancient fertility

    goddess crouching beside the bed during their dangerous voyage of sensual discovery.
    A troubling realization hit Hannah just as she was about to surrender to sleep: She had been far too enthralled with the wonder of having Jarrett make love to her to worry about getting pregnant.
    Surely she wouldn't…she couldn't .. .not by a man she had only known two days! A man who had thought her a smuggler and who had seduced her to satisfy his ego and his questions about her role in a theft!
    Hannah lay awake a while longer trying to convince herself that over the centuries that damn goddess had lost her power.

Chapter Five
    Hannah awoke with the suddenness that indicates underlying tension. It was barely dawn. As she sat up in bed and gazed out at the pearl-colored ocean, it occurred to her that it was indeed time to go home.
    "One island morning is beginning to look a lot like another," she mumbled to herself as she pushed back the covers.
    A quick glance at the connecting door assured her that the entrance to Jarrett's room was still closed.
    She winced as the memory of what had happened on the other side of that door the previous evening returned. Feeling depressed and uneasy, she began to dress quietly.
    There was no point in trying to go back to sleep and it was far too early to have breakfast or call the airline company about changing her reservations. What she needed was an invigorating walk on the beach. At this hour she would have the long stretch of sand to herself.
    There was no sound from Jarrett's room as Hannah pulled on one of her new flower-splashed muu-muus and slipped into a pair of sandals. Out of long habit she took the time to braid her hair and twist it into the familiar coronet. Maybe she'd cut it when she got back to the mainland. If it were very short she might forget the way Jarrett had wound his hands through it so possessively.
    The crisp dawn air felt good and the beach was pleasantly deserted as Hannah made her way out through the hotel lobby to the waterfront. The sweep of Waikiki beach was ringed with elegant hotels, but they all looked curiously silent at this early hour.
    She was tired, Hannah realized. The tour had been a grueling one, and she had been determined to take advantage of everything offered. Until last night the growing exhaustion had been rather pleasant, a sign of having enjoyed herself.
    But this morning the tiredness had a depressing, restless aspect to it.
    "Hannah!"
    She turned at the familiar voice and found John and Alice Clydernore on the beach behind her. Surprised that they should be up so early, she paused and managed a smile. Their pace was brisk as they approached and the usual geniality seemed to be missing from their expressions. For the first time that morning Hannah suddenly found herself