Jessica raises an eyebrow.

"Like Eve, you're so quick to eat from the tree of knowledge," she smirks.

"Are you smirking at me, Ms. Jung?" I ask sweetly. Pompous .

She narrows her eyes at me and picks up her phone. She presses one number.

"Jongin. I'm going to need Charlie Tango."

Charlie Tango! Who's he?

"From Incheon at say twenty-thirty... No, standby at BLANC... All night."

All night!

"Yes. On call tomorrow morning. I'll pilot from Incheon to Seoul."

Pilot?

"Standby pilot from twenty-two-thirty." She puts the phone down. No please or thank you."Do people always do what you tell them?"

"Usually, if they want to keep their jobs," she says, deadpan.

"And if they don't work for you?"

"Oh, I can be very persuasive, Tiffany. You should finish your breakfast. And then I'll drop you home. I'll pick you up at Melatone at eight when you finish. We'll fly up to Seoul."

I blink at her rapidly.

"Fly?"

"Yes. I have a helicopter."

I gape at her. I have my second date with Jessica oh-so-mysterious Jung. From coffee to helicopter rides. Wow.

"We'll go by helicopter to Seoul?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

She grins wickedly.

"Because I can. Finish your breakfast."

How can I eat now? I'm going to Seoul by helicopter with Jessica Jung. And she wants to bite my lip... I squirm at the thought.

"Eat," she says more sharply. "Tiffany, I have an issue with wasted food... eat."

"I can't eat all this." I gape at what's left on the table.

"Eat what's on your plate. If you'd eaten properly yesterday, you wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't be declaring my hand so soon." sets in a grim line. She looks angry.

I frown and return to my now cold food. I'm too excited to eat, Jessica. Don't you understand? My subconscious explains. But I'm too much of a coward to voice these thoughts aloud, especially when she looks so sullen. Hmm, like a small child. I find the thought amusing.

"What's so funny?" she asks. I shake my head, not daring tell her and keep my eyes on my food. Swallowing my last piece of pancake, I peek up at her. She's eyeing me speculatively.

"Good girl," she says. "I'll take you home when you've dried your hair. I don't want you getting ill." There's some kind of unspoken promise in her words. What does she mean? I leave the table, wondering for a moment if I should ask permission but dismissing the idea. Sounds like a dangerous precedent to set. I head back to her bedroom. A thought stops me.

"Where did you sleep last night?" I turn to gaze at her still sitting in the dining room chair. I can't see any blankets or sheets out here - perhaps she's had them tidied away.

"In my bed," she says simply, her gaze impassive again.

"Oh."

"Yes, it was quite a novelty for me too." She smiles.

"Not having... ." There - I said the word. I blush - of course.

"No," she shakes her head and frowns as if recalling something uncomfortable. "Sleeping with someone." She picks up her newspaper and continues to read.

What in heaven's name does that mean? She's never slept with anyone? She's a ? Somehow I doubt that. I stand staring at her in disbelief. She is the most mystifying person I've ever met. And it dawns on me that I have slept with Jessica Jung, and I kick myself - what would I have given to be conscious to watch her sleep. See her vulnerable.

Somehow, I find that hard to imagine. Well, allegedly all will be revealed tonight.

X

In her bedroom, I hunt through a chest of drawers and find the hair dryer. Using my fingers, I dry my hair the best I can. When I've finished, I head into the bathroom. I want to clean my teeth. I eye Jessica's toothbrush. It would be like having her in my mouth.

Hmm... Glancing guiltily over my shoulder at the door, I feel the bristles on the toothbrush.

They are damp. She must have used it already. Grabbing it quickly, I squirt toothpaste on it and brush my teeth in double quick time. I feel so naughty. It's such a thrill.

Grabbing my t-shirt, bra, and from yesterday, I put them in the shopping bag that Jongin brought and head back to the living area to hunt for my bag and jacket. Deep joy, there is a hair tie in my bag. Jessica is watching me as I tie my hair into a ponytail, her expression unreadable. I feel her eyes follow me as I sit down and wait for her to finish.

She's on her phone talking to someone.

"They want two?... How much will that cost?... Okay, and what safety measures do we have in place?... And they'll go via Suez?... How safe is Ben Sudan?... And when do they arrive in Darfur?... Okay, let's do it. Keep me abreast of progress." She hangs up.

"Ready to go?"

I nod. I wonder what her conversation was about. She slips on a navy pinstriped jacket, picks up her car keys, and heads for the door.

"After you, Miss Hwang," she murmurs, opening the door for me. She looks so casually elegant.

I pause, fractionally too long, drinking in the sight of her. And to think I slept with her last night and, after all the tequila and the throwing up, she's still here. What's more, she wants to take me to Seoul. Why me? I don't understand it. I head out the door recalling her words - There's something about you - Well the feeling is entirely mutual Ms. Jung, and I aim to find out what it is.

X

We walk in silence down the corridor toward the elevator. As we wait, I peek up at her through my lashes, and she looks out of the corner of her eyes down at me. I smile, and her lips twitch.

The elevator arrives, and we step in. We're alone. Suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, possibly our proximity in such an enclosed space, the atmosphere between us changes, charging with an electric, exhilarating anticipation. My breathing alters as my heart races. Her head turns fractionally toward me, her eyes darkest slate. I bite my lip.

"Oh, f**k the paperwork," she growls. She lunges at me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. Before I know it, she's got both of my hands in one of her in a vice-like grip above my head, and she's pinning me to the wall using her hips. Holy . Her other hand grabs my ponytail and yanks down, bringing my face up, and her lips are on mine. It's only just not painful. I moan into , giving her tongue an opening. She takes full advantage, her tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I have never been kissed like this.

My tongue tentatively hers and joins her in a slow dance that's all about touch and sensation, all bump and grind. She brings her hand up to grasp my chin and holds me in place. I am helpless, my hands pinned, my face held, and her hips restraining me. Oh my... She wants me. Jessica Jung, Greek goddess, wants me, and I want her, here... now, in the elevator.

"You. Are. So. Sweet," she murmurs, each word a staccato.

The elevator stops, the doors open, and she pushes away from me in the blink of an eye, leaving me hanging. Three men in business suits look at both of us and smirk as they climb on board. My heart rate is through the roof, I feel like I've run an uphill race. I want to lean over and grasp my knees... but that's just too obvious.

I glance up at her. She looks so cool and calm, like she's been doing the Korea Times crossword. How unfair. Is she totally unaffected by my presence? She glances at me out of the corner of her eye, and she gently blows out a deep breath. Oh, she's affected all right - and my very small inner goddess sways in a gentle victorious samba. The businessmen exit on the second floor. We have one more floor to travel.

"You've brushed your teeth," she says, staring at me.

"I used your toothbrush," I breathe.

Her lips quirk up in a half smile.

"Oh, Tiffany Hwang, what am I going to do with you?"

The doors open at the first floor, and she takes my hand and pulls me out.

"What is it about elevators?" she mutters, more to herself than to me as she strides across the lobby. I struggle to keep pace with her because my wits have been thoroughly, royally, scattered all over the floor and walls of elevator three in the Northern Lights Hotel.