*Chapter 1*
As soon as he saw her appear on the wall of video screens, he forgot about the sword in his hands. Security cameras two floors below his office tracked her as she passed through the double glass doors, crossed the white marble floor, and stopped in front of the lobby reception desk. Every movement she made was like a subtle invitation.
_Watch me._
Without looking away from the monitor, T'ang Jian-Shan took the three-foot-long Masamune blade he had been examining and replaced it in its sheath.
At first glance, nothing about the woman necessarily demanded his attention. Of average height and slender build, she presented no apparent physical challenge to his security guards. The slim briefcase she carried wasn't handcuffed to her wrist. The low-heeled pumps on her feet matched her unremarkable, conservative jacket and skirt. Everything about her said "businesswoman."
Everything but the way she moved.
Her stride was easy, fluid, without hesitation--as if she was so intent on her target that nothing else mattered. She was like the sword in his hands and the way it glided through the air--just before it sliced through skin and muscle and bone.
_Is she a businesswoman, or a weapon_?
He reached out and pressed the zoom switch to enlarge her image. She was not beautiful, and her exotic features and bone structure hinted that more than Caucasian blood ran in her veins. Other than a narrow watch and small gold hoops in her earlobes, she wore no jewelry. Not that she needed more.
_She wears her hair and her skin like jewels._
When she turned slightly to speak to the receptionist, light played over the sophisticated coil of pale hair at the back of her head and chased the movements of her gleaming lips. She'd used dark lipstick to camouflage the full curves of her mouth, but like her body, it too sent a message.
_Would you like a taste?_
As if sensing the camera, the woman removed her sunglasses, exposing the full impact of her striking face. Long lashes swept up, revealing unusual eyes--so dark that he could not see the pupils within the irises. They glittered above her prominent cheekbones and slightly crooked nose like _kurozuishou_ cabochons set into an alabaster Noh mask.
Her lips said _come to me_, but her eyes added _if you dare_.
He felt the allure of that challenge but ignored it. An ordinary businesswoman didn't have clever eyes and the mouth of a fallen angel. At least, not in his business.
"Han." The black-and-white screens didn't reveal the precise color of her fair hair or midnight eyes, which annoyed him. "This gaijin, do you recognize her?"
His bodyguard lumbered over to loom beside him, and inspected the close-up image of her face. "No, I have not seen her before, _kei_."
He touched a switch to zoom out as his business manager, Madelaine Pierport, appeared in front of the woman at the reception desk. The visitor switched the briefcase from her right hand to her left before shaking Madelaine's hand.
He pushed the sword case across the desk. "Put the Masamune in the car, if you would."
"_Hai_." Han retrieved the case and departed.
He waited until the door closed before he enabled the audio. A low, sultry voice came over the speakers, as close and warm as a caress.
"--letters of introduction," she was telling Madelaine. "I'd be happy to leave them with you."
