Sweet Revenge

he smiled. “I’d say we’d do better to concentrate on The Sun and the Moon than on a few sets of sheets and towels.” He watched her brows lift at his dismissal of a small fortune in gifts. “One step at a time, Addy.”
    “All right. The secret drawer in the puzzle box will hold the necklace safely enough.”
    “Particularly since it’s lined with lead.”
    “Not as satisfying as strolling out with it around my neck, but more practical.” She managed a smile. “It’s highly unlikely customs will dig too deeply into Princess Adrianne’s wedding gifts. Since I put the alarm back in operating order, it might be weeks before Abdu notes the loss.”
    “Does that bother you?”
    “What?” She fought to shake off the past. “No. No, I might have preferred having a showdown with him then and there, but it would be remarkably stupid to incite an altercation on his ground.” The focus now was on the future. “He’ll come to me.”
    “Then we’ll worry about that when it happens.”
    The intercom clicked. “We’ve been cleared for takeoff, sir. Please be seated and fasten your safety belts.”
    The little plane sped down the runway. Adrianne felt the moment the wheels left ground. Left Jaquir. The tilt of the plane pushed her back in the seat where she closed her eyes. She thought of her mother and another time.
    “The last time I left Jaquir it was for Paris too. I was so excited, so nervous. It was the first time I’d been out of the country. I kept thinking of the new dresses my mother promised I’d have and being allowed to eat in a restaurant.” Because that made her think of Yasmin, she shook her head. “Mama had already decided to escape and must have been terrified. But she laughed as we flew over the sea and showed me a book with pictures of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. We never got to the top of the Eiffel Tower.”
    “We’ll go if you like.”
    “Yes, I would.” Weary, she rubbed her hands over her eyes. With them closed she could see the necklace as it had looked when she had secreted it away at dawn. Sunlight had struck it. Ice had warred with fire in a combat that had never, would never be resolved. “She left it behind. She left everything behind but me. It wasn’t until we were safe in New York that I realized she’d risked her life to get me away.”
    “Then I’m in her debt as much as you are.” He took both her hands and brought them to his lips. He felt the pulse and the power that stirred inside her. “She was an extraordinary woman,” he said. “As extraordinary as her daughter and the necklace you’ve taken back for her. I won’t forget the way you looked when you held it in your hands. You were wrong, you know. It is for you.”
    She remembered the weight. She remembered the glory. And she felt the grief. “Make love with me, Philip.”
    He unhooked his belt, then hers. Taking her hand, he drew her to her feet. As they stood in the narrow aisle he slipped her jacket from her shoulders and let it fall. When he lowered his mouth to hers he felt the nerves she’d been steadily battling back. Her lips were soft, and parted, and vulnerable. Her fingers, always so sure, fumbled with the buttons of his shirt.
    “Silly,” she said, and let her hands fall away. “It feels like the first time.”
    “In a way it is. There are all kinds of turning points in life, Addy.” He slipped the blouse from her, then let her skirt slide from her hips. She wore only a filmy chemise and the rings he’d given her.
    Slowly, needing to prolong the moment, he unpinned her hair so that it flowed over her breasts. She stepped closer, fitting her body against his.
    He took his time, as much for himself as for her. Slow kisses, soft caresses. A murmur. A sigh. As the plane cruised over the sea they lowered to the narrow sofa, wrapped around each other.
    There was such strength in him, a strength she had discovered layer by layer. He was much more than a man who offered a woman roses and sparkling wine in the moonlight. More than a thief who climbed through windows in thedark. He was a man who would keep his word, who would stand by her if only she allowed it. A man who would offer both surprises and, oddly, stability.
    She couldn’t have said when she’d gone beyond her own borders and fallen in love with him. She couldn’t have said why it had happened despite her determination to prevent it. Perhaps it had been that very first night when they’d been strangers passing in