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Julius turned to look as she crossed the room and began to
close the blinds. Athena looked fabulous. Of course, she always did, because
she was a strikingly beautiful woman who understood her own advantages, but she
was wearing a Chanel suit again, just as she had when they’d met last. For some
reason, Julius found the sight of Athena in a ladylike suit more alluring than
she could ever be to him in one of her more flamboyant latex or leather
outfits.

In fact, she took his breath away.

“I’m surprised to see you,” he managed to say.

She plucked his overcoat from his hands, the one he’d
forgotten he was holding, and hung it up behind him again. Her perfume
surrounded him, tempting him. “You’re not getting away, even so,” she informed
him and Julius smiled.

“Sounds as if you have a plan for this afternoon.” If so, he
wasn’t going to fight her.

Athena sat on the edge of his desk and set to removing her
gloves, tugging one finger at a time. “I do. I’m going to seduce you
thoroughly, probably more than once.”

Julius blinked at her bluntness, but Athena smiled at him.

“I’m not much for the road not taken, Julius,” she admitted.
“I want to try everything.” She rose to her feet, her fingertips sliding along
his jaw in a slow caress. “And so far, you’ve managed to evade sampling.”

She touched her lips to his before he could think of a thing
to say, her tongue darting between his parted lips. She made a little growl,
then speared her fingers into his hair, pulling him closer. “I knew you would
be worth the wait,” she murmured, then kissed him so thoroughly that Julius
forgot about everything except the temptress in his arms.

* * *

The tattoo shop was perfect, exactly as Louise would have
expected a tattoo shop to look. It was all black and red, dripping with Gothic
details and booming with loud rock music. There were binders of stock designs
on a front counter, with teenagers draped over them, choosing favorites. One
wall was covered with photographs of completed work, all of it from the same
masterful hand. The photographs were signed, but she couldn’t decipher the
signature.

A woman in tall platform boots, her blonde hair spiked and
tipped in pink, gave her a cool survey. Then she saw Charlie and her eyes lit
with pleasure. They exchanged hugs—Louise noticed that Charlie pinched
the woman’s ass, and that she evidently liked it—then he introduced
Louise to Desdemona.

“Is the master around?” he asked, his choice of phrase
making Louise wonder if tattoos were all that happened in this place.

“Just finishing up in the private room,” she said, glancing
at the clock. “He’s doing Amanda’s commemorative today.”

“Commemorative of what?” Louise asked.

“She knows Amanda, too,” Charlie supplied. Louise didn’t
think it tactful to mention that she’d tricked Amanda. She’d been punished for
that deception, so maybe they could let bygones be bygones.

Desdemona looked around, then leaned closer, dropping her
voice. “Of the Plume. He’s doing the type today.”

“Property of...?” Charlie asked.

Desdemona smiled. “Of course. Once a member, always a
member.”

Louise looked between them as an idea dawned. “Are there
lots of people getting those?”

“Well, yeah,” Desdemona said. “Ever since Zeke came up with
the peacock design, people keep coming in. Amanda has been pretty tough about
verifying that they really were Plume members before they get the tattoo,
though.”

“I’ll bet,” Charlie said.

“Can I see the design?” Louise asked.

Desdemona nodded and pulled out a binder that was stashed in
a cupboard under the counter. On the front page was a swirling design of a
peacock feather. It tilted to the right, then the vein of the feather
gracefully swirled to the left, like a mirrored S. It swirled into a circle
below the eye of the feather and there were different suggestions of type. All
of them said “Property of the Plume” but some were script and others were
simple. Some remained within the circle, others overlapped it, and one echoed
the curl of the feather’s vein. There were sketches of the feather in black
outline, in shades of gray and in color. The subsequent pages were photographs
of tattoos.

“Most of them are still healing,” Desdemona said. “There are
a lot more we need to document in the next couple of weeks.”

“I wonder where I could fit in a feather,” Charlie mused.

“Back of your left shoulder,” Desdemona said. “There’s a
small gap that would be perfect.”

“Excellent! Can you schedule me in?”

Louise went through the book again and again, her conviction
growing by the second. She’d never gotten a tattoo, although she liked them.
She’d just never seen the right design.

Until now.

“I want one, too,” she said and Desdemona gave her a look.

“Were you a member?”

Louise considered telling a lie, she wanted the tattoo so
badly, but guessed that it wouldn’t work. Charlie knew the truth, and Amanda
was apparently here, too. “No. But I wanted to be. I applied.”

“And she’s the artist who did that sculpture show with Rex.”

“Oh! That was you?” Desdemona’s gaze warmed. “I liked that a
lot. Great work.” She shut the book and put it away. “I’ll have to ask the
master, though. Just a second.”

And she strode toward the back of the shop before Louise
could stop her.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Charlie said. “The smell of
that Thai place is killing me.”

* * *

Athena was amused when Julius offered her a cigarette. She
seldom smoked but it seemed part of the mood of their interval, so she chose a
cigarette from the old-fashioned case. He lit it for her, the perfect
gentleman, even when he was nude in his office and looking slightly disheveled.

He’d been an enthusiastic and tender lover, a combination
that was always sure to get to Athena. She’d been surprised that he was so
toned and trim. He must spend a lot of time at the gym, which was fine by
Athena. She’d always suspected that Julius was a little bit vain, which was a
good quality in a man in her opinion. He took pride in his appearance, and he’d
taken pride in making their encounter all that it could be. There was a glint
of wickedness lingering in his eyes and Athena smiled back at him, very glad
that she’d followed her impulse.

“How’s everyone from the Plume doing?” she asked. It was
only a matter of time before they talked about the Plume, and she knew he’d be
cautious about taking their discussion in the direction of business.

“Well enough, I think. Amanda has done an impressive job of
keeping track of everyone. Those members who were arrested were almost
immediately released, of course, and much of that is due to her organizational
skills.”

Athena smiled, thinking that she had a job for Amanda.
“You’ll have to give me her new number before I leave. I want to thank her.”

Julius nodded. He began to write out telephone numbers for
her, from a file on his desk. “How is the Count?” he asked, his tone too idle
to disguise his interest.

Athena laughed. “He’s tied up for a while.”

Julius looked up at her, his curiosity clear.

“I won’t have to worry about hearing from him again.”

Julius smiled a little in his relief. “Will I be creating a
defense for you?”

“No. He won’t be hurt.” She shrugged. “Unless he dies of
pleasure. That could happen to anyone.”

Julius’ glance was considering. “You sound indifferent.”

“Less than that. We weren’t well suited and that’s done.”

He studied her for a long moment, seeming to see the secrets
of her heart.

Athena changed the subject deliberately. “Have you heard
from Rex?”

Julius frowned and took a long draw on his cigarette. “Yes.”

“But...?” Athena prompted.

“I have to confess that I misled him.”

Athena laughed at his regret. “Julius, you’ve guided us with
such care so many times. Don’t imagine that I don’t know it.” He looked
surprised, then relieved by her tone. She sat on his desk and swung her legs as
she smoked, well aware he was appreciating the view. “You must have had a good
reason to do it. Tell me.”

Julius came to lean against the desk beside her, placing one
hand on her knee. “There was something in his voice when he called. He sounded
shaken. I had a feeling that he could become despondent very easily, and I
believe that would be a very bad place emotionally for Rex.”

“I think you’re right,” Athena agreed. “When I first knew
him, he’d had a bout of depression. It was very dark, and took him a long time
to shake.”

Julius nodded, unsurprised that his intuition had served him
well. Athena was intrigued that this man she’d always believed so logical
relied so much on his intuition and didn’t think he could do otherwise. It
would take her years to figure out all the apparent inconsistencies in Julius’
nature.

She suspected it would be worth the exploration.

“So, I let him think that everyone here believed him
responsible for the destruction of the Plume.”

“Everyone does, except for you and me. Because you had the
recording.”

Julius gave her a look. “I wanted him to be angry.”

Athena smiled. “I’ll bet it worked.”

“He was furious.” Julius took another draw on his cigarette.
“And then, just as I’d hoped, he began to plan solutions.”

“Solutions to what? Where is he? What happened to him?”

Julius hesitated.

“Julius, don’t spout client confidentiality to me! This is
Rex.” She dropped her voice low. “And you know that I’ll get the story out of
you one way or the other.” Athena ran her fingers through his hair and he
smiled crookedly at her.

“You’re right, of course. But you’re not going to like the
truth much.”

Athena sighed. “It’s seldom convenient.”

“Leya used Rex to conceive a child, then abandoned him.”

“That bitch!” Athena butted out her cigarette and jumped to
her feet, unable to keep herself from pacing the office. “That witch!” She
shook a finger at Julius, outraged on Rex’s behalf. “I never liked her. I never
trusted her.” Julius offered her another cigarette and she accepted it
gratefully. Her fingers were shaking when he lit it for her. “She was too smug.
I always thought she was sneaky. Manipulative.”

“It turns out you were right.”

“So, what’s he doing about it? I can’t believe he’s going to
just let her use him like this?”

“At his request, I’ve drawn up a contract exchanging
visitation rights for support. I’m not optimistic, though.”

“Why not?”

Julius cleared his throat and sounded stern. “This is a
woman, Athena, who coldly schemed to conceive Rex’s child without his knowledge
or consent. She clearly has a plan for raising the child herself. I doubt that
she has any financial worries. Why would she change her mind about letting Rex
be involved in that child’s life?”

Athena sat on the desk beside him again. “But Rex would be
such a great father.” She could easily envision him, holding a small baby with
care. It was an image that made her heart flutter. She realized Julius was
watching her. “Don’t you see? He’d be even more protective than he was of all
of us. That tiny person, dependent upon him, would bring out everything that’s
wonderful about Rex.” She took one last draw on her cigarette and stubbed it
out. “Plus, boy or girl, it’ll be one gorgeous kid.”

There was a long pause before Julius spoke. “You still love
him.”

“I’ll always love him, but I’m smart enough to recognize an
exercise in futility.” Even if it had taken her a while to become convinced.
When Julius continued to watch her, seeing and thinking too much, Athena leaned
across his desk. Maybe the view would distract him. She claimed a blank sheet
of paper and his fountain pen. “Can you send him a message from me?”

“You’re not going to ask where he is?” There was a teasing
note in Julius’ voice.

“I don’t want to make you jealous by showing too much
interest.”

“Too late,” he said softly but she ignored him.

“And I don’t want to push my luck on this client
confidentiality thing.” She began writing, the words flowing easily once she’d
started. She smiled at the realization that her grandmother’s birthday would be
the perfect date.

“April 13,” Julius said, reading over her shoulder.

“I should be able to get most of the work done by then,”
Athena said. She handed him the piece of paper, then flipped through his Day
Timer, writing the same information on that date on Julius’ calendar. She
noticed him watching her. “Yes. I expect you to be there, too. No excuses about
work.” She smiled at him. “You can see for yourself that there’s nothing to be
jealous about.”

Julius didn’t promise. He read the address. “And when
exactly are you going there?”

“My flight’s at seven tonight,” Athena said and ran a
fingertip down his arm. “I’d say we have time for one little farewell, don’t
you?”

“We’ll make time.” Julius spoke with conviction even as he
ran one hand possessively down her thigh. Now his expression was filled with an
intent that made Athena’s heart skip. “It’s a long time to April 13.”

* * *

Charlie was glad he’d found Louise at the Plume site. She’d
looked lost and as much as she wasn’t his type, he wanted to cheer her up. Her
show had been good and he guessed that she’d launched her career in the arts.

He could understand feeling a bit blue after the thrill of
the moment was over, though. He encouraged her to order and then to eat,
thinking that she needed a bit more meat on her bones.

The waif look had never worked for him.

Too bad. She might feel grateful to him later.

Zeke stepped into the restaurant, looking as much like
trouble on a stick as it was possible for one person to do. The younger man was
tall and lean, his black leather jeans tight, his artistry impeccable and his
manner commanding. The owners of the restaurant smiled at him, but their manner
was a bit wary. Respectful. Customers unfamiliar with the black-haired
blue-eyed troublemaker slid away from him with awe. Zeke marched through the
place like he owned it, smiling his crooked smile.