He shoved one hand through his hair, swiped his card for his private elevator and when it arrived, got in. He had at least come to one conclusion tonight, despite trying to drown his thoughts in too much Scotch.

He was damned relieved Grace had called off their “arrangement.” How the hell could he marry one woman while dreaming about another? He wasn’t saying he was in love with Debbie, but damn if the woman wasn’t still in his blood.

When the elevator doors opened, he stepped into his suite, glanced around the dimly lit room and finally spotted Deb, curled up sleeping in a dark-red chair near the now cold fireplace. Her head was tucked into the wing of the chair, her eyes were closed and her long blond hair fell softly about her face.

Something inside him twisted and though he didn’t want to admit it, Gabe knew he had to let her go. For both their sakes. She needed to get back to her life and he needed her away from him. Better for both of them if they just forgot all about the last week or so.

He walked closer, his steps nearly soundless on the rug-strewn floor. He stared down at her and when his heart gave a twinge, he told himself it was nothing more than the echoes of memory. It was the past coming back to give him one more ache. One more kick. To remind him that he never should have started this little game.

Outside, the wind keened and the sheer white drapes hanging across the open French doors danced and writhed like ghosts somehow chained to the earth. The scent of rain came in on the wind and he moved to close the doors before the storm arrived.

When they were latched, he heard Debbie ask from behind him, “What’s going on?”

“Storm blowing in.” He turned, looked at her as she pushed herself to her feet and fought the instant, almost primal reaction he felt inside. She looked soft, and vaguely disheveled, like she’d just rolled out of bed and he wanted her in his bed. Now. Didn’t matter how often they came together. How much he touched her. He knew in that one blinding moment that he would always want her.

That’s why she had to go.

“Pack your stuff,” he said suddenly, shoving both hands into his pants’ pockets. “You’re leaving.”

“What?” Her eyes popped open wide as she stared at him.

“You. Leaving.”

“When?”

“Tonight. Tomorrow. Whenever.”

“Just like that?” She came around the edge of the chair and walked toward him, stopping just a few feet away.

A small distance, but it might as well have been miles.

“Now you’re complaining because you can go?” He forced a laugh that felt like it was strangling him. “A few hours ago, you were demanding to leave.”

“And you said I couldn’t because the jewel thief hadn’t been caught.”

“I lied.”

“What?”

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket and silently handed it to her. Gabe watched while she unfolded it and quickly scanned it. When she lifted her head to glare at him, he met that cold stare with one of his own.

“You knew,” she said. “You knew earlier today that the authorities caught that jewel thief in Bermuda.” She stopped, took a breath and accused, “Were you going to tell me?”

Gabe shrugged. “No. I wasn’t. Not yet, anyway.”

“What is wrong with you?” she shouted, and balled up the paper in one fist before throwing it at him. The crushed paper bounced off his chest and onto the floor.

There was more than anger in her eyes. There was hurt and the sting of betrayal. “Because I didn’t want you gone yet.”

“Why?” She whispered the word. “You at least owe me that much. Why?”

“You already know the answer to that.”

“Right,” she said, nodding slowly. “To punish me. So why are you telling me this now? Letting me go now?”

Why did she have to look so damned good? Why was her voice so soft, her eyes so wide and beautiful? Why did he keep remembering how good they used to be together?

And why didn’t he just stick to the subject at hand?

He shrugged, pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed his arms over his chest. “What difference does it make? You want to leave. I want you gone. We finally agree.”

“Why the big change of heart all of a sudden?”

“God, you’re like a pit bull with a bone.”

“And that’s not an answer.”

“You want an answer? Here it is. Game over, that’s all. I’m done with you and I want you gone.”

She actually winced and he felt an answering ache inside him. Just another reason for her to go. He didn’t want to feel for her. Didn’t want to care what she was feeling, thinking.

“So the king has spoken.”

“Basically.”

“Great.” She scraped her hands up and down her arms as if she were suddenly cold. “So you’ve gotten your jollies, kept me prisoner here long enough that my business will probably go belly-up and-”

He jumped on that statement. “You haven’t changed a bit, you know that?” He stopped, looked at her for a long second as a small, niggling doubt took hold in his mind. “Is that why you really came here?”

“What’re you talking about?” Her voice was tight, strained, as if she were desperately trying not to shout.

“You. Your precious business. Your thing with security above all else.” He smiled, but it felt like more of a grimace. “You knew I owned this place when you came here, didn’t you?”

“Oh, sure.” Nodding, she looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “I deliberately set myself up to be held prisoner.”

“Why not?” He was thinking now, one thought after another screaming through his brain, and the more he thought of it, the more it all made a twisted sort of sense. “Your business was in the toilet before you came here, wasn’t it? Hell, that’s why you came here. You were going to use me to save you.”

“I what?”

“Why else?” He asked the question, but didn’t expect an answer. Now that this had occurred to him, it all made a sort of bizarre sense. And, hey, no more twinges of guilt for him. She’d come here with a purpose. He’d just been able to use her before she could use him.

He shoved his hands through his hair, scraping it back from his face before letting them fall to his sides again. “You figured to somehow cash in on our past to save your future.”

“Are you crazy? I didn’t know you were here. I didn’t know my business was going to get into trouble. I didn’t-”

“And I’m supposed to believe you?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Debbie argued. “Have I once asked you for anything except the right to leave?”

He didn’t want to hear it. Didn’t want to believe that she was telling the truth. It was easier to tell himself that Debbie had tried to run her own scam.

“You’ve been playing me since the beginning.” It made sense. It was logical. And besides, if it were true, then he really did have nothing to feel guilty about.

“You’re not serious about this.”

“Oh, yeah,” he assured her, “I am.”

“Then I’m a bigger idiot than I thought I was.”

The expression on her face was a blend of disappointment, regret and anger. Her eyes shone with unshed tears and he was coward enough to be grateful she was holding them back. He didn’t want to see her cry. He didn’t want to know he’d hurt her. Didn’t want to have to regret another thing about Debbie Harris.

He just wanted his life back.

The way it had been before she’d returned and made him think about what-might-have-beens.

“We’re done, Deb. Let it go.”

“Right. You know what, Gabe?” she said finally, her voice so soft it was almost lost in the howl of the wind slapping at the windows. “I feel sorry for you.”

“Oh, please.”

“I do. You’ve got everything you ever wanted,” she said, waving both hands to encompass the suite, the resort, all of it. “But you can’t see beyond it. You think I’m the one who’s focused on success? It’s you now, Gabe. All you can think about is this place.”

“And that makes me different from you how?”

“Because I wouldn’t use you-and you did use me.” Her bottom lip quivered, but she made a steely effort to firm it. “You lied to me. Made me think I was about to be arrested. Held me against my will. Took me to bed and made me think-” She stopped suddenly and then added again, “You used me.”

He walked toward her and stopped within arm’s reach from her. He closed his hands into fists at his sides to keep from grabbing her, because damn if he didn’t want to be holding her. “We used each other.”

“You keep thinking that,” she said with a slow shake of her head. “But the truth is, all of this was your doing, Gabe. I would never have asked you for anything for my business. See, I discovered something while I was here. I wasn’t going to tell you-God knows it surprised the heck out of me. But now, I want you to know. Want you to know that this time, it’s you walking away.”

Looking into her eyes tore at him, but he told himself that it was all an act. She’d come here to use him, and she was pissed she hadn’t been able to pull it off. “Say what you have to say, then.”

“I love you.”

He choked out a short laugh and felt those three words slam into what used to be his heart with a force that rocked him on his heels. He kept his expression blank, his eyes shuttered, despite the fact that he felt as though he were reeling. “You expect me to believe that.”

“Nope, I don’t. Like I said, it surprised me, too, when I realized it. You haven’t exactly been Prince Charming over the last week, in case you hadn’t noticed. You’re irritating, infuriating and downright cranky most of the time. And for some strange reason, I love you anyway, so color me stupid. If you think I’m thrilled by this, you’re way wrong. Especially at this moment,” Debbie said, shaking her head again as she stared up at him. “I don’t expect anything from you, Gabe. I just wanted you to know. Ten years ago, I walked away-and it’s something I’ve always regretted. But today, you’re the one turning your back and I want you to remember that.”