He smiled again to himself as he piloted his Mustang into traffic, Toni's antics coming to mind. God, she was a hot little piece, all right… screw from morning until night, and back around the clock without a break… but she meant nothing to him beyond being a playmate and solid friend, and she knew it. He'd made that clear from the beginning… that their teaming up could be only a game, for convenience and pleasure's sake. All the same, he knew she was in love with him, but as far as he was concerned there never could be anyone but Karen; he would always love her… as long as he lived.

He sensed a tightness in his throat as memories of her flooded his mind. there were never many hours of a day when at least a fleeting thought of her didn't pass through his brain. My God, how he had loved her… how he still loved her. He wondered if she ever thought of him, where she was… if she was happy?

He had never seen her again after the divorce; hadn't wanted any association or mementos to tear him apart any more than he already was. Three days following the signing of the final papers he had enlisted in the Marines and gone to Vietnam hoping he'd get it quickly and put an end to all of his misery. As it was, he hadn't suffered a scratch and decided that he was damned glad about that, too. That inherent desire for survival was much stronger than he had ever realized.

Well, he'd learned to live without her, hadn't he?… even though he'd been certain he never could… but he would never forgive himself for what he had done to her. His horrible raping of her beautiful, soft, virginal body had been the destructive force that had nearly destroyed her completely.