Blair's eyes brimmed with tears and before she could stop them, they spilled over. Cam gave a small cry and quickly took Blair into her arms.

"No," Cam murmured, her lips pressed to Blair's forehead, her fingers gently catching the falling tears. "I wanted tonight to be special. To make you happy, not to make you sad."

"I never thought it would be possible," Blair confessed, her face to Cam's neck, "but I'm actually crying because I'm happy."

Softly, Cam laughed. "Don't scare me, then."

Blair smiled and brushed her palm over Cam's chest. "Did you know that Bonita was going to ask us to stay here tonight?"

"No. But I wouldn't be surprised if she and my mother discussed it."

"I'm not certain if I should be embarrassed or not that your mother is arranging trysts for us." Blair laughed shakily, unused to having so many people care for her.

"I think the tryst is just a side benefit." Cam teased Blair's blouse from her slacks and slipped her hand beneath, massaging her fingertips in the hollow at the base of Blair's spine. "Bonita obviously had a great time talking to you this evening."

"Mmm." The gentle kneading was lulling her mind even as it awakened her flesh. "I hope so. It was amazing for me."

"Are you okay with staying here tonight?" Cam brought her free hand between them and began to work open the buttons on Blair's blouse.

Blair unbuttoned Cam's chinos and slid her fingertips beneath the polo shirt to circle Cam's navel. "I'll stay anywhere with you if we can be alone. Staying here is a dream come true."

"That's good," Cam's voice was husky as she made her way up to unclasp Blair's bra, "because I have a terrible need to spend the night with you."

"Then let's get started." With her eyes locked on Cam's, Blair drew her lover to the bed.

Paula Stark craned her neck and scanned the enormous structure. Spotlighted against the night sky, the Eiffel Tower looked majestic—and really, really tall. "I read somewhere that there are 1665 steps to the top level."

"That's true," Renee agreed reasonably. "But you can't walk to the top level any longer. Only to the second level and then you take an elevator to the final floor. So there aren't really that many steps."

"Oh, I see. 1625 steps, That's much better." There was an edge of sheer terror in Stark's voice. "If we walk all the way up, I'm going to need an ambulance to take me back to the hotel."

Renee laughed. "Oh, come on. You're a Secret Service agent. Besides, I've seen your body. I know you're in great shape."

Even in the dark, Stark had a feeling Renee could see her blush. "When?"

"When, what?"

"Have you ever seen my body?"

"I've seen you in the gym." Renee edged closer in the line to the admissions booth, letting her thigh rub against Stark's. "And besides that, I've had my hands on you. I know just how well built you are."

Stark's step faltered as her legs turned to jelly. She gulped, audibly, she was certain. "You can't say things like that if you want me to climb up hundreds of stairs."

"We can see all of Paris from up there," Renee whispered. She slipped her hand into Stark's, and their fingers entwined as naturally as if they'd touched a thousand times. "I want to remember two things about tonight—seeing Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower, and making love with you."

"Oh, jeez," Stark whispered in an agony of arousal and wonder. "I'll climb it twice, if you want."

"I believe you would." Renee swallowed around the lump in her throat. "And that's exactly why I'm crazy about you."

"If you want my legs to work long enough for me to get up to the top of that thing," Stark complained breathlessly, "then you have to stop saying things like that."

Renee laughed and rubbed her cheek against Stark's shoulder. "I can't make you any promises."

Smiling at Renee in the glow of the lights from the monument, Stark swung their joined arms in a slow, easy arc. "That's okay. None are required."

"We can go back to the hotel now," Renee said quietly. "I'm finding it pretty hard to keep my hands off you, and I've made you wait when I'm not even sure why."

"No." Stark realized that there was no hurry, not when every second they spent together—talking, walking, gently touching— was magic. "Let's go to the top and see Paris first. Let's have it all."

"Oh, yes." Renee let caution slip away on the promise in Paula's eyes. "Let's have it all."

2345 16Aug01

The brown-haired, blue-eyed American joined three men and one woman in a third-floor apartment on the outskirts of Paris. The other men, like himself, were dressed casually in open-collared shirts and rumpled trousers. His service weapon was secured at the small of his back beneath his lightweight linen jacket. The thin, sharp-faced blond woman, in dark jeans and a blue work shirt, carried her Vector Mini Uzi automatic pistol in a hip holster on the right side of her wide leather belt. Two Olympic Arms PCR-5 assault rifles lay on the coffee table in front of a frayed, stained sofa.

The room smelled of stale takeout and too many cigarettes. Through an open door on the right that led into what was meant to be a bedroom, he could see the pale glow of computer monitors and assorted communication devices. Before speaking, he removed a small black box the size of a deck of cards from his jacket pocket. When he pushed the power button, a blinking red light appeared.

"We're secure," the woman said impatiently. "Do you think we are amateurs?"

Silently, the American quickly and efficiently swept the room with the surveillance scanner. As he dropped it back into his pocket, he addressed the tail, dark, bearded man who sat on the sofa regarding him impassively. "There was no choice but to abort the mission this afternoon. The premature press release created an unexpected obstacle due to the number of press vehicles and reporters on-site."

"We could have lost our people," the man said flatly. "Why was the order given so late?"

The question was posed with little inflection but the implied criticism was apparent.

The American flushed, but kept his voice even. "The alteration in the motorcade's route was made by the security chief only minutes before arrival."

"That woman is a problem and should be eliminated," the woman pronounced acerbically. "This is the second time she has interfered with our plans."

"No," one of the other men objected. "Any move against her would only alert others of our primary target."

"I agree," the American said, "I recommend-—"

The man on the sofa stood abruptly, and the room fell silent. "I have just received orders from Hydra command. The strike is on schedule, and we have been directed to take her at the same time. By executing both plans simultaneously, we will demonstrate our power to the world just as we expose the soft underbelly of the decaying'American pretenders."

"When—"

"You'll receive your orders from our allies in your country when the time is near. You must be prepared to act at any moment, because the wait will not be long. Our people are already in place. It has begun."

The American felt a thrill of excitement. For years he'd been nothing more than a silent player, providing information while others planned and executed missions. At last, he would have the opportunity to act—-to take back his country and deliver it into the hands of those who understood its true power and destiny. "I am ready."

God Bless America.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

" O oh." Blair sighed with a sensual moan. She stretched, naked, rejoicing in the warmth of Cam's body beside her and the cool cotton covering them both. "How can crisp, clean sheets feel so incredibly wonderful?"

"Happy?" Cam leaned up on an elbow, resting her head on her hand as she drew her fingertips along the edge of Blair's jaw. She marveled at the beauty of Blair's face in the moonlight. Being with her like this, alone in the middle of the night, was a rare occurrence, but one that she knew would never cease to thrill her, no matter how many times she experienced it. Blair was so many things she loved—intelligent, strong, vital, and passionate. She was also very beautiful. And Cam loved to look at her.

"Mmm." Blair started to shift onto her side to see Cam better, but Cam's hand on her shoulder restrained her.

"No," Cam murmured, drawing her fingertips back and forth in the valley between Blair's breasts. "Stay like that. I want to look at you."

The low heavy beat in Cam's voice settled in the pit of Blair's stomach, and her heartbeat quickened. "Just look?"

The corner of her mouth lifted in a grin, and Cam nodded. "For now."

"You've been playing with me quite a lot this evening, Commander," Blair chided just a bit breathlessly. Cam's fingers had shifted onto her breast, although they lay motionless just below her nipple. Even the promise of a touch from those strong, sensitive fingers made her breasts ache and the nipples tighten into hard knots of desire.

"Not nearly as much as I intend to." Cam brushed the sheet down Blair's abdomen with the edge of her hand until it angled across Blair's hips, white and sharp in the moonlight. Cam traced a finger beneath the edge of the cotton, lingering for an instant over the swell of flesh between Blair's thighs.

Involuntarily, Blair raised her hips, but the tantalizing touch was already gone. "What if I told you I'm too tired?"

Cam dipped her head and brushed her lips over the hollow at the base of Blair's throat. With her mouth against the racing pulse, she murmured, "Are you?"

The heat in the pit of Blair's stomach flared, searing her blood. Fighting to keep her voice even, she replied, "I asked you first."

Chuckling as she kissed a spot between Blair's breasts, Cam reached down and pushed the sheet away completely. She trailed her fingers back up the length of Blair's thigh and smoothed her hand along the curve of Blair's hipbone. Then she rested her cheek against the firm rise of Blair's breast and watched the muscles flicker in her lover's abdomen as she walked her fingers along the inside of the arched prominence, over her belly, and up to her navel. She flicked at the gold ring piercing the skin there. Then she caught it between thumb and forefinger and tugged.

Blair gasped, her legs twisting restlessly on the bed as she gripped Cam's shoulder hard.

"If you're tired..." Cam tugged again. "Then I'll just have to put you to sleep."

"How?" Blair's throat was tight with urgency. Patience in bed was not her usual fare. She liked Cam to take her hard and fast, especially the first time—or she liked to have Cam the same way. Perhaps it was because they rarely had the luxury of time on their side; more likely it was due to her relentless hunger for Cam, like an ache in her bones. Whenever she touched Cam, the need to be close to her, to be inside her, to take her inside, obliterated all restraint. But tonight, after all that Cam had given her, she wanted Cam to have exactly what she desired. She would let Cam take her, and she would rejoice in the giving. "Tell me how you'll put me to sleep."

Still toying with the gold ring, Cam flicked her tongue over Blair's nipple. "With my mouth."

"God, I love your mouth on me." Blair couldn't help herself. She was burning from the inside out. Moaning softly, she drove her fingers into Cam's thick hair and pressed her lover's face more firmly to her breast. Still, she went no further, even though she ached for Cam to fill her.

"I know." Cam shifted lower, capturing Blair's leg between her own. She pressed against Blair's firm thigh, knowing that her lover would feel the evidence of her arousal, slick and hot and hard. "And I'm going to kiss you, everywhere, until you come."

"Oh, yes," Blair whispered, pushing up on her elbows to watch Cam suck her nipples, one then the other. Seeing Cam's lips caressing her throbbing flesh and feeling the electric shocks of pleasure at the same time made her shudder and twitch. Watching Cam's hips thrust indolently against her thigh, feeling her lover's passion coat her skin, made her stomach convulse. "I need you to touch me so much. Don't make me wait too long."

"I'm going to make us both wait." Cam eased her hips away a fraction, relieving the exquisite pressure against her screaming nerve endings. She was in danger of climaxing just from the thrill of exciting Blair. "I'm going to touch you everywhere." She danced her fingers down Blair's abdomen, brushed tantalizingly over the heat between Blair's legs, then skimmed lower, stroking the soft skin of her inner thighs. "I need to touch you everywhere."