I hope this works out, she thought, dry-swallowing as she walked down the corridor, hunting for room 2412. Hell, we hardly know each other—

She reached the door. All her other options had run out. She put the card in the slot and turned the handle.

Three hours later they came up for air. The bedding was a tangled mess, half the fluffy white towels were on the bathroom floor and the carpet was a wasteland of discarded clothing—but it had worked out.

“I have missed you so much,” she murmured in his ear, then leaned close to nibble at his lobe.

“That makes two of us.” He heaved up a little, bracing against the bed head, turning to look at her. “You’re beautiful.”

“I bet you say that to every naked woman you wake up in bed with,” she replied, laughing.

“No,” he said, in all seriousness, before he realized what he’d done. Then he turned bright red. “I mean—”

He was too late. Miriam pounced. “Got you,” she giggled, holding him down. Then she subsided on top of him. “Like that?” she asked. “Or this?”

“Oh.” He rolled his eyes. “Please. A few minutes?”

“Frail male reed!”

“Guilty, I’m afraid.” He wrapped an arm around her. “What’s with the early appearance? I thought there was supposed to be a reception this evening?”

“There was, past tense.” Miriam explained about the cancelation.

“So you came over early, just in case I was here?”

“No.” She felt very sober, all of a sudden, even though they hadn’t been drinking—and felt the need to remedy the condition, too.

“Why, then? I thought you were sticking with the program?”

“Not when people try to kill me twice in one day.”

“What?” His arms tensed and he began to sit up.

“No, no—lie down. Relax. They can’t come through here and I took steps to throw off the trail.” She kissed him, again, tasted the sweat of their lovemaking. “Wow. What did I do to deserve someone like you?”

“You were really, really wicked in a previous life?”

“Nonsense!”

“The killers.” She’d broken the magic, she realized with a sense of desolation.

“They won’t follow us here, but there’s a lot to tell,” she said. “How about we dig a bottle out of the minibar and have a bath or something while I tell you?”

“I think we can do better than that,” he said with a glint in his eye. He reached for the bedside phone. “Room service, please. Yes? It’s room 2412. Can you send up the item I ordered earlier? Leave it outside.”

“Huh?” She raised her eyebrows.

“My surprise.” He looked smug.