A Stranger's Kiss

told herself she didn’t care. With a practised twist she fastened her hair into its familiar chignon and kept her make-up to the minimum. Anything else would undoubtedly bring down an accusation of flirting from Adam. Plain or fancy, she knew she couldn’t win.
    She slipped off her cotton wrap and briefly examined her reflection. Never able to resist beautiful underwear, the satin and lace of her flimsy teddy drew a smile of genuine amusement to her lips, as did the black stockings. Then she covered it all with the plain black crepe evening dress, that had done duty at more dull functions for more companies than she could remember. The joys of being a temporary secretary.
    She glanced at her watch. It was a little after nine. She had no wish to join Adam downstairs to be tormented by his barbed comments, but neither did she relish sitting in her room. She had noticed a stairway down into the garden and decided to explore a little.
    The evening was cool, but not unpleasantly so after a British winter and there was a delicate scent in the air that drew her down the path and when she reached the little fountain she sat beside it, listening to the pleasing sound of water.
    ‘You like the garden?’ His voice out of the shadows made her jump.
    ‘It’s lovely.’
    ‘And very private,’ he said, moving to her side, starkly compelling in the severest dinner jacket, the simplest of dress shirts. No ruffles, no wing collars to bolster this man’s ego. ‘A concealed garden to protect his women from the gaze of lustful men. Hanna Rashid is all charm, Tara, but despite his French manners he is an Arab. They have different ways. Their women are protected from casual encounters, but the men are quite happy to take advantage of the freer attitudes of European women. You would do well to remember that.’
    Her eyes flew wide open. Surely he wasn’t suggesting that this was a... Of course not. He was teasing her. ‘I have no idea what you mean.’
    ‘Oh, I think you do,’ he said, sitting beside her, ‘but if you want me to spell it out for you, then I will. Just so there are no misunderstandings.’ He lifted his hand to her cheek and touched it very gently. She kept very still, knowing instinctively that this was not a threatening gesture, that just for a moment she was quite safe. He turned her face towards his. ‘While Hanna Rashid believes you are here for my pleasure, Tara, you will be safe from his attentions.’
    His hand was suddenly burning a brand on her cheek and driven by some devil inside her, she asked, ‘Is that what you told Jane?’
    His mouth straightened in a thin line. ‘In her case it wasn’t necessary. She understood the danger and he knew that she was out of bounds.’ He stood up abruptly. ‘It’s time we went.’
    She fetched her bag and a stole and by the time she had found her way to the front entrance the car was waiting. He opened the door for her and then climbed in and on the way into the city reminded her of the people who would be at dinner with them. An American banker and his wife, a couple of local businessmen, Hanna Rashid. She barely listened. She had memorised all the names before they left. Instead she dwelt on what he had said in the garden.
    So long as he believed she was there for Adam’s pleasure.
    Maybe some businessmen took their secretaries away for ‘pleasure’. He had made it crystal clear that Jane had been happy enough in her position. But she wasn’t a pleasure girl and she wasn’t about to let anyone think she was.
    Hanna met them at the restaurant door and welcomed them. As he bent over Tara’s hand, she caught Adam’s cynical eye watching them and when the man straightened, she rewarded him with a brilliant smile, allowing him to take her arm and introduce her to the other guests.
    Somehow she found herself seated at one end of a long table, with Adam on the opposite side at the other. But Hanna kept her entertained, asked her about her life and managed to extract a great deal more personal information over the period of several hours than she would normally part with. But when the floor show ended and the dancing started Adam was at her side before Hanna could move.
    ‘Tara?’
    She very nearly refused, but one look at his face was enough to immediately disabuse her of any such notion.
    He took her firmly in his arms and began to dance. ‘What the hell did you two find to talk about all evening?’ he demanded under his breath.
    ‘Nothing of any