"Its now or next week," she continued, enjoying her control. There was no way the new commander could wait even a few hours to discuss her schedule.


"Now would be fine," Cam acquiesced graciously. She didnt want a power struggle over trivial issues. She had no need to prove herself that way.


Blair stepped slightly aside, motioning Cam into the high-ceilinged open loft space. She smiled as Cam carefully avoided brushing against her.All business , she thought to herself.


"Do you have a first name, Agent Roberts?" Blair asked as she crossed to the kitchen area. A breakfast bar flanked by tall stools separated the cooking space from the large living room. She leaned down to pull two cups from the shelves under the island, quite aware that the movement afforded a clear view into her dressing gown.


"Cameron," Cam replied, keeping her face and voice expressionless. Her mind registered the striking perfection of the young womans body, an image of her soft, pink-nippled breasts indelibly implanted in her memory. She was being taunted, that much was clear. What she didnt know was why.


Blair straightened slowly, searching for a reaction in the handsome agent's face. She was curious to find none.


"Cameron," she breathed huskily, "thats nice. You can call me Blair."


Cameron continued unperturbed, "Ill try not to take too much of your time, Ms. Powell. If we could just review your plans for the week, I can leave you to your day."


Blair stared at her, anger seething in her blue eyes. "Dont patronize me, Agent Roberts. We both know you wont beleaving me to anything at all."


Cam nodded assent. "Forgive me, I didnt mean it that way. Of course, I cant. But I can make my presence and that of my people as unintrusive as possible."


Blair was surprised by her conciliatory approach. That was a new tactic. Usually they tried to bully her with threats of unfavorable reports to her father, as if she were an unruly child in school. Either that or they promised her privacy while tightening the net around her. She had absolutely no reason to believe this one, despite the sincerity in her intense gray eyes. She walked around the island carrying the coffee until she was next to Cam. She reached to put the cups on the counter, brushing close to Cam as she did.


Cam didnt flinch at the contact, although her body registered the pressure of Blairs breasts against her arm and the heat of a naked thigh against her leg. She was annoyed by the twitch of arousal that occurred entirely involuntarily. She consciously kept her breathing light and steady.She knows about the video cameras. Putting the team commander in an embarrassing position on tape might conceivably benefit her at some point, or it just might be her idea of a game. Either way, Cam pitied Daniel Ryan. Blair Powell was a powerfully desirable woman, and if such attractions still interested her, it might become a problem. Blair had no way of knowing that despite the reflex arousal she provoked, Cam was completely immune to sexual allure.


Blair deliberately pressed closer, and Cam allowed the moment of contact to linger long enough to make it clear she was aware of it, and undisturbed by it. Shed gotten quite a lot of practice in the last six months saying no to attractive women. Then she stepped away, reaching into her inside jacket pocket for the computer log Mac had provided her.


"The schedule?" she said softly.


Blair stared at her, color rising to her face. She had just been rebuked, subtly, but very definitely. Rejection from women was a new and unwelcome experience. Shed never been as blatantly provocative with Daniel Ryan, but she had sensed his discomfort whenever they were alone, and she knew she had an effect on him. Something about Cameron Roberts cool, aloof manner made her want to crack that perfect self-control. If she must have a jailer, she wanted it to be oneshe commanded.


"Yes, lets get that over with," she responded with irritation, taking her coffee and moving into the sitting area.


Cam followed, noting the large work area in the far corner of the loft. Easels stood open with canvasses mounted on them and other works leaned against every surface. Sunlight streamed through the skylight, illuminating the uncovered surfaces. From the brief glimpse she got, it appeared that Blair Powell deserved her reputation as a genuine artist. Cam took a seat across from Blair on one of two facing leather sofas. Blair tucked her legs under her as she curled gracefully into the cushions. Cam noted abstractly that she was much more beautiful in her unconscious moments than when she used her considerable sexual power as a weapon. In the next instant her mind had returned to the work at hand.


"I have you at a gallery opening tomorrow, dinner at the White House New Years Eve, and attending the Macys parade here in New York City with the mayor the next day," Cam read from the schedule. She looked to Blair for confirmation.


"Busy week," Blair muttered. "That seems to be it," she said tersely.


Cam regarded her thoughtfully. She would have hated such intrusion, but there was nothing to be done about it. The fact that Blair Powell did not choose this life - it wasnt her after all who had run for public office - was beside the point. And the hard part was yet to come.


"What about your personal plans," Cam asked, her eyes on Blairs face. She would not apologize for what she needed to do. Cam wanted it clear that she would not compromise her own responsibility or Blairs safety because of Blairs dislike for the situation.


"I dont have any," Blair responded lightly.


Cam leaned back, tossing the schedule aside. She smiled faintly. "I need to know anything you have scheduled - dinner plans, a date for drinks, that sort of thing. If you dont know, Ill need you to tell me as things come up. All you have to do is check in with the command post -"


"I know all this, Agent Roberts," Blair said testily.


"Yes, but apparently youre not fond of the routine."


"Would you be?"


"Thats not the point. You are the daughter of the President of the United States. You dont need me to tell you what that means. Please let us do ours jobs, and I promise you we will be as discreet as we can be."


"Do you expect me to tell you when I plan on a sexual liaison too?" she asked bluntly.


"I dont need to know what youre doing so much as where youre doing it," Cam responded smoothly. She knew Blair was trying to get her to back off, and she could not relent now. "It would be preferable if you would inform us when you planned to spend the night somewhere other than here, for example."


"And what if I dont know where Ill be spending the night?"


"Then Ill improvise."


"Youre a lot more direct than your predecessors. Arent you afraid Ill complain about you and youll end up guarding some minor foreign diplomat on their tour of the capitol?" Her tone was caustic, but she studied Cam with guarded respect. The new commander was in a class of her own. Impossible to shock, and clearly not intimidated by her. A refreshing change, but much more of a challenge than the others.


Cam laughed. "Ms. Powell, some people would consider that a plum assignment!"


"Compared to this you mean?"


Cam stood, refusing to be provoked. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Powell. Please call me at any time if there is anything you wish to discuss. I would like to review your itinerary each day. Let the command room know when it will be convenient for you to meet with me."


"Oh, absolutely," Blair responded with a smile, her tone implying just how little that request meant to her. She remained seated as Cam left the room, thinking how attractive her tight, graceful body might be under other circumstances.







Chapter Four




Mac Philips looked up as his new boss walked into the command center. He raised an eyebrow slightly in inquiry. She seemed pensive but displayed none of the thinly veiled discomfort Ryan tried to hide after one of his encounters with Egret. But then Mac didnt expect her to reveal anything. He couldnt remember the last time he had met anyone quite so impenetrable. He had a feeling this was going to be a "need to know" operation. He found he liked her unspoken respect for Egrets position, and her basic assumption that they were there to protect her, not have an easy time. He was getting tired of the undercurrent of dissatisfaction and criticism that had been the daily fare around there for the last few months. If she could turn that around, he was all for her.


"Anything unexpected?" he asked as she joined him.


"Not so far. The public functions are as outlined. For the gallery opening tomorrow, Ill be inside with two others. Have two people with the car outside. That means the afternoon and evening shift will split the extra duty."


He made a note. "Right."


"We can use some of the White House detail for the dinner on New Years Eve. Have one team stay here to meet her plane when she returns for the parade. All of that is standard, and in the future you can draw up the duty rosters. Just be sure I get a hard copy of who will be where."


"Done," he responded. He waited, wondering how she was going to deal with the real problem.