Adrienne swept across the room in a sea of bronze brocade. The man she was heading for rolled his eyes heavenwards but she never saw because by the time she reached him, he was smiling pleasantly at her.

"Hi Babe.", he winked at her. "Still making entrances, I see." A quick smile flashed across Adrienne's face as she pirouetted, the fabric rustling before finally settling down around her. Every eye in the room was on her, some disapproving, some fascinated, some lustful...

The brocade overcoat was fastened at the waist, sweeping out behind her in a elaborate train. Beneath it she wore nothing but a strapless black body suit. Perfectly respectable, but she still stood out like a bird of paradise in this genteel world of pressed suits and demure cocktail dresses.

"Do you like it?" She stood there grinning, knowing perfectly well he didn't.

"Its... err... very dramatic. But then you knew that, didn't you."

"Poor Andy...", she tucked her arm through his and started walking him to the buffet. "Someday you'll give up trying to make me respectable." He snorted.

"Babe, you can wear a burnoose to the next clients meeting for all I care. Just make sure you keep churning out those designs."

"No problem. I was lying in bed last night when it came to me in a flash!" She gestured dramatically before grabbing an hors d'oeuvre and popping it into her mouth reflectively.

"Hold on." Andy snapped to attention. "There's someone I want you to meet.", he said as he dragged her away from the buffet table. She cast a last longing glance at the food behind her. He walked her over to a group of navy Armani suits, and tapped the single grey Klein on the shoulder. The man turned around and his eyes fixed on Adrienne.

"Garett Rate, I would like to introduce you to..."

"Adrienne, its been a long time...", Garett smiled at her.

"You two know each other?" asked Andy, a little confused.

"You could say that." Adrienne gave him a slow smile. "We were lovers in college." Andy turned a shade redder and cast a nervous glance around them, expecting a fully-fledged scene to explode around him. The unusually calm note in her voice told him that this was not going to go well.

"So you are the wunderkind that Andy has been trying to get me to sell.", said Garett taking her elbow and walking her back to the buffet. "I would have figured that you would never let anyone handle your own publicity." His pulse was racing as he felt her soft skin against his palm. He had never forgotten the strange energy she possessed but tonight she seemed to radiate it. The bronze brought out the gold in her skin and her hair was still the same jet that he remembered.

"Ah well. Things change." She shrugged. "I'm not the showperson I used to be. I'm happier sticking to technical side now." Oh God! How did the man stay so good-looking? By rights, his gut should have been sticking from between his suspenders. She resisted an urge to slip a hand under his dress shirt and feel just what good shape he was in.

"You have changed.", he said turning to her. "I've never seen you with long hair before." Before he could stop himself, he had drawn his hand through the silky waves that cascaded down her back. Not a muscle in her face moved, even though her stomach had started going through the strangest acrobatics.

"And you look wonderful.", he added in a low voice. Her inner self groaned. That was the voice she remembered from long nights and early mornings a lifetime ago. Soft whispers, long velvet thrusts, heat and passion. Her body remembered too.

He was so focused on her that he couldn't help noticing, with a sight shock and then pure exhilaration, that her nipples were erect and straining against the black material of her body suit. Then to his own consternation, he felt his own body react. Damn! She noticed. A wicked gleam crept into her eyes as she arranged the folds of her skirt to block the sight of the bulge in his pants from the rest of the room.

"You don't look so bad either." He felt her gaze travel lazily over his body and come to rest at his crotch. The tension in his groin increased, as muscles tensed involuntarily. This was Adrienne all right. No one else had ever dared to tease him this way in public. He wondered whether she remembered that he always gave as good as he got.

Smiling, he lifted a hand and took the weight of one firm breast in his palm. Slowly, he let his thumb brush her taut nipple through the fabric. With a sense of victory, he saw a mixture of feelings run across her face as she backed away from him. Then a cool mask slipped into place, as she offered her hand to him.

"Its been nice seeing you again, Garett but I don't think that it would be a good idea if you handle the SRC67 campaign." He lifted a brow in question. "We didn't work together well in college and I don't think we would work together well now. I tell Andy that as soon as I can." He shrugged nonchalantly, even as he started seething inside.

"If you can't take a little challenge..." he dared her delicately.

"Yeah Right!", she threw back mockingly over her shoulder as the crowd parted to let her through.

That night, Garett plopped down on his hotel bed for what must have been his twentieth attempt at relaxing. Something was burning in his blood. To be exact, Adrienne was burning in his blood. His pride was stung that Adrienne had actually refused to work with him when there were hundreds of other companies clamoring at his door to help make them rich. And it didn't help that every time he closed his eyes to sleep, he could see her in his bed, naked and uninhibited, eyes shadowed with passion.

She wanted him. The tension that hummed between them was unmistakable. And she always got what she wanted. She settled back into her warm bed. The doorbell echoed through the house. A satisfied smile crept across her face. He had come as she knew he would.

Garett stood outside her door, ignoring the arctic gale that buffeted at him. He shook his head with a wry smile. Adrienne had told him long ago that she wanted to live in an abandoned fire-house. It didn't surprise him that she had managed to do just that.

The door swung open. She stood framed in the doorway, wearing nothing but a ivory silk nightshirt. The wind rushed past them into the house, setting her hair adrift and plastering the material to her curves. He couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Come in..."

The warmth and silence of the place should have soothed him. It probably would have if she wasn't in it. She sat beside him on the comfortable couch, pouring him a cup of hot chocolate with all the poise of someone fully dressed. She hadn't bothered to throw a robe on or put slippers on her feet, but he didn't mind a bit. The silk clung to her curves with a subtlety that awoke the senses and made it strain for more...

She leant back and sipped at her mug. A look of pure pleasure crossed her face as she tilted her head back and let the rich chocolate flow down her throat. She sighed with happiness and tucked her feet under her to get comfortable. She looked at him then, perusing him with an intensity that matched his own.

"Why are you here?" The question was simple and direct. A full range of excuses flowed through his brain. Came to talk you into working with me, wanted to talk over old times, came to screw your brains out... For some reason, he didn't feel a need to lie.

"I came to finish what we started ten years ago." He didn't need to remind her of what he meant. He saw the memory creep into her eyes, darkening them until he was reminded of a storm about to break.

She was wearing a maroon sundress in the depths of winter. She was definitely more comfortable than he, buried as he was under several layers of clothes. As soon as he stepped in the door, he started stripping until he was down to the thin T-shirt that was bearable in the tropical temperatures of her apartment. When he was done, she caught his eyes and then deliberately turned away from him and glided to the carpet, hips swinging gently under the soft fabric. He wasn't watching them though. His eyes were drawn to the expanse of her back peeking at him from between the cloth panels holding the dress together.

She swung around then, the fabric flaring out around her before settling against her bare legs. Oh God! She was totally naked under that dress. Her breasts had already detected the presence of their lover and her nipples showed through clearly just below her low neckline. His own body started to react to her subtle invitation. He stood still for a minute, feasting his eyes on her slim form, enjoying the sweet pleasure of his own arousal. An innocent smile crossed her lips as she started toying idly with the buttons running down the bodice. Her eyes never left his face as one, two, then three buttons slipped out of their holes.

In a flash, he was in front of her, his hands diving under the fabric to cup her breasts in his palms. She gasped softly and closed her eyes, a mute appeal for him to pleasure her. He couldn't resist, he started to squeeze and mold her breasts, rubbing his palms over the sensitive tips of her nipples just the way she liked it. Her breasts felt so firm and good in his hands that he had sudden visions of his cock thrusting between them, rubbing against her bronze flesh. He closed his eyes, holding in the erotic images in his mind.

One hand slipped along her leg to pull up her soft skirt. He could see the material bunch up against her hip, see his hand slip under it and search for the heat and warmth of her. He saw it all in his mind's eye. Slowly his lashes lifted to focus on her. Her eyes were open now, her gentle yearning for him undisguised. Something swelled within him then, an inspiration, powerful and unrelenting.

He lay back onto the carpet, stopping her as she made to join him there. Instead he clasped her hips and moved her to stand astride him. He could sense her puzzlement as she stood all alone, wondering what he wanted her to do. Slowly his hands guided her forward until she was standing over him. She realised then what he was about. He could see up her skirt. Up at her bare groin.

His gaze was intense, his hands slipping up under her skirt to stroke along her inner thighs. She felt fingers drift across her cleft, not parting them, merely stroking. A wave of sheer erotism flowed through her, leaving her feeling strangely helpless and completely at his mercy. Adrienne had to bite her lip to keep from whimpering.

"I've always wondered what this would look like..." Garett murmured from below her. Two fingers slipped partly between her outer lips, stroking along her sensitized flesh before slipping fully into her vagina. Adrienne gasped at the contact. She could feel his fingers deep within her, pressing against her walls, stretching her out for him.

His fingers started to thrust in and out of her. She could feel it. She could see it in her mind's eye. Her senses fed on the sheer sensuality of the moment. His other hand came up then, finding her clitoris and circling it in rhythm with his thrusts. She doubled over, fighting to control the pulsing pleasure roaring through her, groaning uncontrollably as muscles contracted instinctively.

Adrienne took it as long as she could, forcing herself to stay upright even though the tension in her legs and abdomen was driving her crazy. Disjointed visions of hot sex flowed through her mind, all powerful thrusts and passion. She could feel the frenzy building and she started kneading her hands against her thighs, trying to keep her balance. Her legs finally gave way and she dropped to the carpet beside him. He didn't let her off the hook though. Swiftly he changed position and took up the rhythm once again, leaning over her to watch her squirm under his hands. She was soaring now, her hands clutching at his shoulders as her hips thrust up against his hand. But she needed more...

"Garett... Please come into me." Her voice came in short bursts as she started wrestling with the snap of his jeans.

"We'll have to make this quick." He replied gently. "I have to leave in 10 minutes." Adrienne froze. His fingers still moved between her legs but that didn't do a bit of good. The mood was broken, leaving her feeling flat.

"Why?" she demanded.

"I have to be at the game soon." Adrienne didn't answer right away. She was too busy trying to control her temper. Disjointed thoughts flowed through her head, mostly dealing with how she wanted to kill him.

"You're not leaving in 10 minutes.", she stated calmly.

"Oh really? Why not?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I won't let you." She caught his wrists and pinned them on either side of his head.

"So we always have to do what you want, is that it?", he asked tensely.

"No, but do you know how it feels to have someone set time limits on sex?? I feel like a very convenient body right now. I'll just have a quick fuck and go to the game!", she mimicked viciously.

"Whats wrong with a quickie? Why does it always have to be a long production with you?"

"Time limits." she growled. "My whole life is a series of time limits. I'm not going to take it when it comes to love-making. I deserve better." She let him loose and stood up, placing a hand on her lower back and pressing down. The combination of stress and unfulfilled desire had created a dull, throbbing ache there.

"There are some things I won't compromise on.", she finished quietly. Silence filled the room.

"Maybe I should leave to let you calm down."

"Fine."

And that was that. Even now Adrienne could remember that afternoon with a clarity she rarely had with her memories. So he wanted to finish it, did he?

"Why?", she asked bluntly. "Whats the good of it after so long?"

"No good at all." he admitted. "You're still a incredibly desirable woman, Ade. I don't know what it is, but something about you reaches out to me and hits all the right spots. That and I've never really felt that what we had was ended." She looked incredulous.

"It been TEN years, Garett."

"I think you're misunderstanding me. What I'm trying to say is... I can't put it into words... I'm the kind of person that needs to finish everything he starts. We broke up so suddenly. Its never really felt over. You've always been there, a loose end dangling in my past."

"And you want to wrap me up..." She started laughing with genuine amusement. "I LIKE this. Its so weird. So me..."

"Seriously though, I can't sleep with you. There are only a few rules I keep and one of them is not to hop into bed with a man I've just met..." Garett smiled.

"You still know me, Ade. I think you always have." She became very still in the corner of her couch. He slid over to her and lifted a hand to stroke her jaw. He looked into her eyes and what he saw, he didn't really understand.

"Kiss me." he said.

Her eyes darkened, something still so familiar to him. She leant towards him slowly, her eyes searching his face. Not a single part of her body was touching him when her lips met his. Her tongue slid into his mouth, quietly exploring. Tasting, teasing him elegantly. He moved his body over hers, pressing her down into the couch as he met her tongue with his own. She gave way to his insistence, pulling him tight into her body and hooking a slim leg over his hip.

Garett felt her hips arch towards him, felt her groin press against his stiff shaft. Damn! How could he have forgotten the effect she had on him? Desire poured through him, intense and wildly exciting. He pulled away from her lips, looking down at her flushed face. Her lips parted gently and her tongue slipped out to moisten them. And her eyes... Oh God! Her eyes...

Her lashes fluttered down gently as she arched her back, her breasts rising up in subtle invitation. His mouth found an erect nipple through the thin fabric. A small gasp escaped her as the friction of the cloth and the rasp of his tongue tantalized her sensitive tip. The hands on his shoulders started to kneed his muscles in rhythm with his stroking. He transferred his attention to her other peak already showing red through the thin fabric. One hand came up to caress her other breast. A soft groan slipped from her as she arched again, feeling the delicious tension start coiling in her torso.

He pulled back, breathing hard as heat spread through his veins. She immediately slipped out from under him and to her feet. Garett closed his eyes and groaned inwardly. She was right. This whole thing was stupid. A ridiculous attempt to recapture some of the magic of youth. He raised his eyes to her, opened his mouth to apologize and froze. She was standing in front of the antique burner, the glow from it shining though her clothes and outlining her body clearly to him. Her eyes were intense as her hands came up to her neck. One by one the buttons on her nightshirt fell apart to expose her body to his view. He never even noticed when the shirt slid to the floor with a whisper.

Something lodged in his throat as he sat there on the sofa, looking at her. The last time she had the freshness and purity of youth. Now it was the full-blown sensuality of a full grown woman. She stood there, unrelentingly female, unashamably woman.

He came to his feet and then he was standing in front of her. Without a word, she started work on his buttons. He placed his hands on her waist, feeling its smallest, before sweeping them up to cup her breasts. He took their weight in his hands, marvelling at the subtle changes time had wrought on her. Her breasts were fuller, yet softer and her nipples were larger and infinitely more sensitive...

He took a nipple between his fingers, driving it in small circles against her breast. He heard a harsh gasp and looked up to see the flame light in her eyes. Her lips parted slowly and her tongue flicked out to moisten her lower lip. The subtle invitation started a delicious tightening in his groin that eased only when she unzipped his slacks. Immediately her hand slid under the warm fabric to feel and shape his rigid penis straining madly against the cotton of his briefs.

Suddenly she dropped to a knee before him. He laid his hands on her bare shoulders, lifting each foot as she deftly drew off his shoes and socks. Then she took his outstretched hand, rising to her feet gracefully. Her hands travelled over his bare chest, stroking and kneading, then reaching around to cup and squeeze the firmness of his butt. Then with a sensual smile, she hooked her fingers in the belt loops of his slacks and pushed down slowly, the material sliding off easily to pool around his feet.

One final mission. Garett held his breath as her deft fingers slipped under the waistband of his briefs and ever so slowly, peeled them off him. His erect penis leapt free of its confinement, pointing at her proudly. She took a long look at him then. Her first lover.

His stomach muscles tightened involuntarily as he felt her gaze travel over his body in an invisible caress. The appreciation in her eyes suddenly brought him a realization of his own beauty. With a sense of wonder he felt every nerve ending in his body come alive, tingling slightly as they awaited her touch. New. He felt young and alive again...

Adrienne could hear her own heart pounding in her ears. He still looked wonderful, lean and subtly muscled. Simply begging to be touched. But she didn't. Instead, she caught his heated gaze with her own, sinking down to her knees in front of him.

The throbbing in his cock intensified as soon as he read the intent in her eyes. His hands found her shoulders, tightening his grip as part of his self-control slipped. Her gaze dropped to his straining penis, and he shuddered as though she had touched him. Slowly, she lifted both hands to stroke his hard shaft, examining it as if for the first time. Velvet and steel. Beautiful.

Her hands slid off his cock then, slipping around to clasp his butt. Garett's breathing shallowed as he watched her mouth draw closer to his cock. He saw her tongue dart out and gently lick the drop of moisture that had gathered at its tip. The hands on her shoulders gripped convulsively as he watched her lips approach, part to take him in. Oh God! How many times had he fantasized about a woman on her knees before him, pleasuring him like he had never been pleasured before. The anticipation was unbearable...

And then he felt the pressure of her mouth. Oh God! No fantasy could even come close to the reality. Groaning, he couldn't take his eyes off the sight of his shaft disappearing between her lips.

Adrienne took her time. She let her tongue trace the sensitive ring around his cock-head, flicking, teasing it unbearably until she suddenly sank his entire shaft into her throat. Garett stiffened and threw back his head with a strangled moan, clutching her as the incredible pleasure of the sudden heat and tightness shot through his body. She didn't wait for him to recover but started bobbing her head, her tongue swirling madly against the sensitive underside of his dick.

Instinct took over. Garett's hips started thrusting involuntarily, trying to force as much as possible of himself down her throat. But she wasn't having any of that! She took hold of his hips firmly and held him still. She was going to do this her own way...

Adrienne pulled back and plunged down again and again, her lips squeezing with just the right amount of pressure. Her hands crept around to pull his hips towards her, taking more and more of him in until his entire length slid easily down her throat. His hips found the rhythm, moving with her towards his climax. He threw back his head, his body arching like a taut bow, gasping little moans of pleasure as he concentrated on the pleasure she was giving him. Faster and faster the tension built, layers of it, taking him to the edge of heaven. A grimace etched itself on his face as he began to fight it, wanting the incredible sensations to go on forever...

"Adrienne! Oh God! No! Not like this!", he moaned as an even more deeply rooted instinct took over. He pulled away from her, his mind filled with hot, lusty images of his cock sinking into her body. He needed to thrust into her warm, tight hole, to feel her body squirm under his, to feel her muscles hold him when he came... He dropped to his knees beside her.

"Do you have a condom?", he asked urgently.

"Yes.", she answered in a level voice.

"Where is it?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm not going to have sex with you."

It hit him like a bucket of very cold water. He froze.

"What kind of twisted game are you playing?", he growled.

"Nothing.", she smiled softly. "I told you I don't sleep with men I don't know. I meant it."

Garett felt the fury start to boil within him. He wanted to... And then he realised.

"This is some sort of revenge for that last time, isn't it." he said slowly.

"Of course not.", she scoffed. "I don't hold grudges for that long..." But the truth was in her eyes...

Garett swore silently. Rematch: Adrienne 1, Garett 0.

"This isn't over, you know...", he threatened softly.

She smiled.

"I know."

How to seduce an incredibly stubborn woman who hates your guts...

New York, January 10, 1993

The phone shrilled annoying again. A groan escaped from beneath the jade comforter. Nothing moved in the still, dark room. Another insistent shrill. A hand emerged from under the covers and groped for the phone. After managing to knock the receiver off its holder, the rest of Garett crawled forth to pick it off the floor.