Sweet Revenge

strolling along near here, as a matter of fact. It must have been about one, one-fifteen.”
    She felt a need for the vermouth again. “Did you? Too much champagne perhaps. Personally, it makes me sleep like the dead.”
    His eyes met hers, and held. “I’d wondered. This isn’t your usual style, is it?”
    She took the leather skirt from him and laid it in her suitcase. “A whim. It was nice of you to bring me the news.”
    “Just part of the service.”
    “I hate to rush you along, Philip, but I really must organize myself. My plane leaves at six.”
    “I’ll see you again.”
    She lifted a brow in a gesture she’d learned from Celeste. “It’s hard to tell about these things.”
    “I’ll see you again,” he repeated as he rose. He knew how to move quickly and without warning. She had time to toss her chin up when his hand slid around her neck. But she didn’t have time to brace before his mouth came down to hers.
    It might have made a difference. She needed to believeit would have made a difference. If she had had even an instant to prepare, she wouldn’t have responded. Still, she wouldn’t have known his mouth would be so warm or so clever.
    His fingers tightened at the back of her neck. It should have been enough to have her pulling away. Instead, she leaned toward him. It was only a hint of acceptance, but more than she’d ever given anyone else.
    It had been impulse, unplanned, with the consequences uncalculated. He’d simply wanted to taste her, to leave her with something of him. Other women would have responded easily or pulled back in refusal. Adrianne merely stood, as if stunned by the most basic contact of man to woman. The hesitation, the confusion he sensed in her, contrasted sharply with the heat of her mouth. Her lips were soft, smooth, and open, and a low, reluctant moan of passion slipped through them and into him. He was rocked more by that than by any sexual experience he’d ever encountered.
    She’d paled, and he saw that glimmer of fear in her eyes again when she stepped back. The urge to take her then, to roll madly with her over the clothes neatly folded on the bed, was banked. Her secrets were still secrets, and his desire to unravel them was stronger than ever.
    “I want you to go.”
    “All right.” To satisfy himself, he took her hand. It trembled lightly in his. No act this, he thought. No game or pretense. “But we haven’t finished.” Though her fingers were stiff, he brought them to his lips. “No, we haven’t finished. I think we both know it. Have a pleasant flight, Adrianne.”
    She waited until she was alone before she sat again. She didn’t want to feel this way, to need this way. Not now, not ever.
    “You’re not telling me everything, Adrianne. I can feel it.”
    “Everything about what?” Adrianne scanned the ballroom at the Plaza. The orchestra was tuning up, the flowers were fresh and abundant. Along one wall the staff was lined up, uniforms sharply pressed, shoulders back as if they were marines receiving a final inspection by the manager.
    In a few moments the doors would be opened to thecream of society. They would come to dance, to drink, and to be photographed. That was fine with Adrianne. The cool thousand a head they paid for the privilege would go a long way toward paying for a new pediatric wing she was sponsoring in an upstate hospital.
    “Perhaps I should have gone with poinsettias,” she mused. “They’re so festive, and Christmas is only a few weeks off.”
    “Adrianne.”
    The impatience in Celeste’s voice had her smiling as she turned. “Yes, darling?”
    “What exactly went on in London?”
    “I told you.” She glided around the tables. No, she’d been right to go with the asters. The lavender shade was striking against the pastel green cloths. And festive or not, poinsettias were everywhere this time of year.
    “What did you leave out, Addy?”
    “Celeste, really, you’re distracting me and I don’t have much time.”
    “Everything’s perfect, as usual.” Taking matters into her own hands, Celeste gripped Adrianne’s arm and drew her farther away from the tuxedoed band members. “Did something go wrong?”
    “No, nothing.”
    “You’ve been edgy since you’ve been back.”
    “I’ve been busy since I’ve been back,” Adrianne retorted, brushing Celeste’s cheek with her lips. “You know how important this function is to me.”
    “I know.” Relenting, Celeste took her hand. “No one does it