"Well, just about any of them—Stevenson, Elliot, Cutlass, Dyre..."
"Margo Elliot is here tonight, and Thane. You can forget Rune, though. She never makes public appearances."
Auden's curiosity was immediately piqued. "Never?"
"Not as long as I've known her." Liz looked past Gayle into the crowd and smiled—a slow, fond smile. "Well, here's one of the infamous crew now."
"Ms. Frost?"
Auden turned at the sound of the deep alto voice and found herself looking into eyes the color of rich, fertile earth. Charmingly tousled dark brown wavy hair, a rakishly arched brow, and a smile to light the darkest night completed the attractive visage. "Yes?"
The full, sensuous lips curved seductively. "Thane Cutlass."
"Hello," Auden said, pleased. She balanced the small plate along with the champagne flute in her left hand and extended her right. "I'm delighted to meet you."
"Believe me, the pleasure's mine." Thane smoothly enfolded Auden's fingers in her palm.
Thane's handshake made Auden's skin tingle. Embarrassed, she pulled her hand back as soon as she could without appearing too obvious. "I'm so happy you could be here."
"I wouldn't miss it," Thane tipped her head in Liz's direction. "Hello, Liz." ..'.;
Liz moved closer, lifted her face, and kissed Thane fully on the lips. Drawing back, she murmured, "Hello, Thane."
Witnessing that greeting, Auden recognized that the women were more than friends. Or at least, they had been once. When Liz and Thane moved apart, Auden continued the introductions. "Thane, this is my friend, Gayle."
"Gayle," Thane said softly, extending her hand with another penetrating smile.
"A pleasure to meet you," Gayle replied in a tone of voice that Auden had rarely heard. She sounded the way Auden imagined a great jungle cat would sound if it could purr a greeting.
"I promised Gayle an autograph," Liz explained.
"Of course." Thane hadn't taken her eyes from Gayle's.
"Unfortunately," Gayle replied, "I don't have pockets big enough to carry a copy of Hungry Kisses, but—"
"Ah, have no fear," Thane said lightly. "I never leave home without a few copies."
"Oh God," Liz interjected with a snort, "don't tell me they're upstairs with your etchings."
"No, actually there's a signing table across the room with some of our titles." Thane managed to look affronted, but she was grinning. "I'd be happy to inscribe one for you, Gayle."
"Wonderful."
For the next few minutes, the four women spoke companionablyof the event, new releases, and Destiny's imminent launch. After a polite interval, Auden turned to Gayle and inquired quietly, "Will you be all right for a few minutes here?"
"Go ahead." Gayle gave her a little push, watching Thane intently. "Don't worry about me, Aud. I'm sure I'll find something, or someone, to occupy my time."
Auden worked her way through the crowd, skirting groups of people who were drinking and chatting, heading for the point where she had last seen Hays. Several times along the way, she stopped to greet individuals she recognized from Palmer. When she finally reached her destination, Hays was nowhere to be found. Another familiar face, however, was nearby.
"Good evening, Mr. Pritchard," Auden said with a smile.
The militarily erect man inclined his head infinitesimally in her direction. "Ms. Frost."
She had come to recognize the distant expression and dismissive tone of voice as Pritchard's modus operandi and took no offense at his cool welcome. "From what I can see, this launch party is a great success. So far, I've talked to about half of Destiny's new authors plus any number of retailers and representatives from the media. Destiny won't be an unknown quantity when our first books are released."
"It does seem to be going well." He met her gaze squarely. "How are you doing in terms of filling the positions in your division?"
"Alana has been a great help in setting up interviews. I've met with a number of people in the last several days." She thought he had placed just a little too much emphasis on the term your but didn't intend to be baited into a power straggle. She was the division head, and that's how she intended to proceed. "I'll have a list of my choices to you by noon on Monday."
For the briefest instant, he looked surprised. "That was fast."
Auden shrugged. "Hays isn't the only one who's efficient."
"Apparently."
"Is she still here?" Auden tilted her head, still meeting his very direct stare. "I saw her earlier."
"I wouldn't know." For the first time he looked away, then, as if catching himself, quickly back. "It's usually her habit to put in an appearance at affairs such as this and then slip away as soon as possible. She has a great deal of work to do."
"Yes, I know." Auden heard just a hint of warning in his voice, as was so often the case when Hays was the subject. He was protecting her, or isolating her, but Auden had yet to understand why. Whatever his motives, she didn't intend to be deterred. If Hays was still there, she wanted to see her.
"The weather outside is deteriorating rapidly," Pritchard informed her. "I'm about to make an announcement that we've reserved a block of rooms here for anyone who wants to spend the night, I've taken the liberty of getting you and your companion a suite."
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," Auden said quickly. "I'm only a cab ride across town from here."
"Yes, I'm aware of your residence. However, the mayor has declared a snow emergency and soon only official vehicles will be allowed on the streets."
"For how long?"
"At least the next twelve hours."
"You're kidding."
He shook his head.
"Well, that's going to be interesting." Auden glanced about the room, at the people in evening clothes, many of whom had probably arrived by limo or cab. "I doubt that many people here came prepared to spend the night."
"At least those from out of town who booked rooms for the night or weekend will be fine." He smiled briefly. "As for the others, the hotel has graciously offered to provide casual clothes for anyone who requires them."
"Casual clothes?" she asked suspiciously.
Finally, Pritchard smiled. "I believe that would be T-shirts and sweatpants from the Four Seasons health spa."
"Lovely. I can hardly wait." Auden laughed and to her amazement, Pritchard joined in. "It was very thoughtful, nevertheless, Mr. Pritchard."
"Well, we could hardly have our promoters and authors tramping about Philadelphia in knee-deep snowdrifts or spending the weekend here in rumpled eveningwear."
"God, I hope we aren't marooned beyond tomorrow morning." She had visions of trekking across town in heels.
"Apparently, this storm is of blizzard proportions, and if that's the case, I very much doubt that vehicular travel will be possible before Monday."
"Terrific." Auden glanced around the room. "Well, I guess we'll just have to consider this an adventure and make the best of it."
"I do believe mat would be the best approach."
She smiled at him once again and moved off into the crowd. After another five minutes of fruitless searching for one particular face, she stood still and surveyed the large ballroom. Most large spaces such as this doubled as convention centers, which meant that the ballrooms and banquet halls were usually connected to smaller adjoining spaces that could be turned into meeting rooms. She made her way around the periphery, checking the adjacent rooms. All were deserted.
In the far northeast corner, she found a door marked "Lounge" and pushed through. Like all the other rooms she had checked, the lights were off and the space was unnaturally quiet, especially in contrast to the continuous low rumble of voices in the ballroom. Opposite the door, large windows admitted a soft silver glow from the streetlights surrounding Logan Square. Outside, the snow continued to fall, a heavy curtain of unbroken white. She was about to step back into the ballroom when she heard the familiar deep voice.
"Are you looking for a little peace
and quiet?"
Auden stood still, searching the shadows. A dark figure, backlit by moonlight and snow, rose from one of the sofas near the windows. Auden couldn't see her face, but she didn't need to. She knew the unmistakable profile and the sharp, strong form. "No, actually, I was looking for you."
"Were you?" Hays's voice held a note of surprise. I would have thought you would be completely occupied once Thane found you.
"Yes." Auden made her way carefully between the tables, chairs, and sofas until she reached the sofa where Hays leaned with a hip against the broad arm. Closer to her, Auden could make out the publisher's features in the illumination reflected off the snow, but shadows remained. Shadows always seemed to hover in Hays's eyes, U. no matter how bright the light. "I saw you earlier across the room, and ^ then you disappeared." She laughed softly "For one second there, I almost thought you were a ghost."
"I'm not." Hays's voice was very still.
"Oh, I know," Auden replied, just as quietly. "But you do have a | habit of disappearing."
"I have a relatively low tolerance for gatherings such as these. Every twenty interactions or so, I have to escape for a while."
"Well, Destiny's launch is a tremendous success. Everyone is incredibly enthusiastic—authors, staff, and promoters alike."
"Good. I'm glad that you're happy with the way that things are coming together."
"Yes, I truly am. Of course, I'm a little disappointed that some of the authors couldn't make it, but I know it was unrealistic to expect all of them, especially with the weather." Auden put her hand down on the top of the sofa, leaning close to Hays in the dim light. "I'm especially sorry that Rune Dyre isn't here, though. She's a big seller, and I wanted to meet her."
"Cutlass is here, and she's as popular. Have you met with her?"
"Yes, just a little while ago. Do you know her?"
"We've e-mailed. She's quite charming and very talented."
Charming. Yes, I suppose she is. And suave and very attractive, too. But she doesn't intrigue me. Not like you do. Auden lifted a shoulder. "She's very nice. More importantly, she promised me a look at her new manuscript soon."
"Excellent," Hays said, happy to have diverted Auden's attention from the question of Rune Dyre's absence.
"Now, if I can get a few of the other authors to commit to sending me their current works in progress, we'll have a full schedule for the next eighteen months."
"Eighteen months," Hays repeated. A lifetime.
"It would be a good beginning."
"Yes," Hays said quietly, watching the light play across Auden's features, one half of her face outlined in moonlight, the other lost in darkness. "It would be a...start."
"It appears I'll have a bit more time to work on those who are here. Mr. Pritchard tells me that we may all be marooned here for the next day or so."
Hays walked to the window and glanced down at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway below. Logan Square, with its large central fountain, empty now save for snowdrifts, was shrouded in white, as pure and untouched as any fantasy world. "I believe he may be right."
Auden joined her at the window. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes. Very," Hays said softly, taking advantage of the shadows to drink her fill of Auden's face caught in a halo of light reflected off the snow.
Auden turned slightly, her eyes moving to Hays's face. "Will you be staying, too?"
"Yes."
The room was so very still, and the world so very tranquil, and the beauty of the night—and the woman—so excruciating that Auden hurt in a place she hadn't known existed. Why do you do this to me? You and no one else?
For an instant she glimpsed the fragile woman beneath the impenetrable exterior.
"If I'm lucky, sometimes I find a treasure just waiting for someone to look beneath the surface. It doesn't always happen, but when it does, it's like a gift."
"What is it?" Hays's heart beat quickly, her pulse thudding in her ears. Auden had the strangest expression in her eyes. Sad and yet impassioned, all at the same time.
"You'll think I'm being silly." Auden almost touched her, but she held back. This is not like that. They were lovers.
"No, I won't."
Auden believed her. "I was thinking about a passage in a book."
"What?"
"In Dark Passions..." Uncertain, Auden held Hays's eyes and saw her pupils flicker in the moonlight. "It was a moment like this one— when the silence was filled with secrets."
Hays gasped. You can't know
"You know the story, don't you?" Auden asked softly.
"Yes."
"I don't know what made me think of the characters just now."
She's asking you, but you can't answer. You shouldn't be alone here with her like this. Hays drew a deep breath and lied. "No, neither do I, There is a great deal of pain in that book. Look outside—the night is filled with joy."
"Yes, I know." Auden shook her head, smiling ruefully. "Sorry. I can't seem to keep these things out of my head."
"You needn't tell me," Hays said with a faint laugh. "I'm as attached to those fairy tales as you, I'm sure. But real life is rarely like our fantasies."
"So I've been told." Auden knew that whatever connection had::? shimmered on the air between them for an instant had vanished. She ry had ventured too far inside Hays's walls and had been reminded yeH again that such intimacy was not welcome.
"I should get back to our guests" Hays said, retreating from the window into the darkness of the room.
"Yes." Auden followed. "So should I."
When they stepped out into the brightly lit ballroom, Auden blinked as if emerging from a deep sleep. Beside her, Hays's expression was friendly but guarded.
"Good night, Auden."
"Good night, Hays."
As Auden watched Hays slip into the crowd, she was aware that Abel Pritchard stood a few feet away, observing her with thinly veiled displeasure. She glanced at him quickly, then turned to look for her friends. Whatever threat he thought she might pose to Hays's controlled world, he was clearly wrong. The only one whose balance was the least bit affected by their relationship was her own. Haydon Palmer was unassailable.
"Hey!" Gayle exclaimed from so close by that Auden jumped. "Where did you disappear to?"
"What? Oh—I was talking to Hays."
"Ah, the mystery woman. Where is she?"
"She just... left. "Auden tried to keep her voice light. "Apparently, she isn't big on crowds."
Gayle raised an eyebrow but didn't press. "I hear you and I are going to be roomies tonight. I just called Mrs. T, and she said she'd walk Shylock as far as the sidewalk. If he didn't do his business there, she informed me, he could just hold it."
Auden laughed. "Oh, poor Shy."
"He'll survive." Gayle lowered her voice. "Besides, this could be fun. I told Liz and Thane they could come up for a while after the party is over, and we'd...talk."
"You didn't"
"You mad?"
"No," Auden said with a sigh. "Liz and I have a lot to discuss. If we're going to be stuck here for a while, we might as well work."
"Gee," Gayle remarked with a grin, "it wasn't exactly work I had in mind."
"Which one do you have your eye on?" Auden asked good-naturedly.
"I thought I'd give you first dibs."
Auden blushed. "Gayle. God. I don't...I mean...I'm not...I work with these women!"
Gayle cocked her head, "You don't work with Thane, exactly. And you don't officially work with Liz yet. And we're just talking a little fun here."
"No." Auden realized she sounded harsher than she meant to. She forced a smile. "I'm not in the market for a date. You go right ahead."
"Hey, Aud," Gayle said softly. "I was only teasing. They're nice women. It'll just be talking, I promise."
Auden took Gayle's hand. "Sweetie, we're all over twenty-one. If you decide you want to spend a little private time with one of them, we're in a suite. Go ahead."
"I would n
ever want to make you uncomfortable—"
"Oh, for crying out loud. I'm a virgin, not a nun!"
Gayle burst out laughing and slid her arm around Auden's waist.
"Come on then—let's go find the infidels."
Chapter Eleven
H ays stepped out of her hotel room, still dressed in the white shirt and black trousers she had worn to the cocktail party. Uncomfortably warm despite the too-cool thermostat setting of the room's ventilation system, she had left the matching jacket on the king-sized bed in her suite. As she pulled the door closed behind her, voices from down the hallway caught her attention, and she looked that way automatically,
Auden stood with the handsome woman in the tuxedo accompanied by Liz and Thane. Auden's date was just unlocking the door to the corner suite, laughingly commenting on the luxurious accommodations. Despite the fact that Hays had made no sound, Auden pivoted in her direction, and their eyes met.
Apparently sensing Auden's hesitation, Thane looked down the hallway as well and, when she saw Hays standing there, tossed her a rakish grin. Hays nodded and walked away. She didn't know that Auden watched her until she stepped into the elevator.
Secret Passions - Scene Five
She came to me out of the darkness, silhouetted in moonlight, as ethereal as a dream. But this night, she was not a mere whisper of longing to disappear on the edge of awakening. She was solid and real, and I could feel her heat so very near on my skin. Together, we watched the world dissolve into pinpoints of starlight reflected off
the falling flakes. Outside, the night was untarnished, untouched by disappointment or loss. Inside, with her close by my side, I could not remember why I despaired—my skin was too alive, my heart too full, my mind lost to all save the sense of her. Had I been able to think, I would have realized that I was no longer thinking at all. There was only her.
As she stood facing the snowscape, perfect in the radiance of otherworldly light streaming into the still space, I stepped behind her and rested my fingertips on her bare shoulders, pale above the edge of the dark gown. The strength beneath the smooth skin astounded me. Everything about her was alive. Energy streamed along my fingers into the very marrow of my bones. For one brief instant, I feared that I could somehow steal her life, feared beyond reason that that might be what I truly desired. She was everything I was not—most critically, alive.
Radclyffe - Love's Masquerade Page 10
