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any different?”
    His hand tightened at her hip. “You never know, I could surprise you.”
    She almost laughed at that statement. There was no surprise in store for her. The best he could do was manage to amaze her with the delivery of whatever he wanted from her. She had no doubt why he was here.
    “You’re on my turf now,” she warned him. “I doubtthere’s anything that you could do here that would surprise me, John.”
    She surprised herself sometimes, though. Now was one of those times. She was amazed at her reaction to him, at the excitement that filled her. He had taken the prize from her hands last time, and he was no doubt determined to do the same thing this time. She should be outraged rather than aroused.
    “It’s important, Bailey,” he told her. “We need to talk, after the party.”
    “After the party I’m going to be incredibly tired.” The song drew to a close as she stepped back from his hold. “Maybe later. Leave your number with the doorman, I’m sure he’ll make certain I get it.”
    He didn’t let her go. Surprising her, he caught her arm, as he drew her from the dance floor and to the wide double doors leading out of the ballroom.
    She had a feeling he wouldn’t let this go so easily.
    “I cannot leave my own party,” she protested with feigned lightness, her temper beginning to burn.
    “Just for a moment, Miss Serborne,” he promised as they passed the wide doors and he headed unerringly to the back of the house.
    Their progress was being noted. The tingling at the base of her spine was building, assuring her that whoever had been watching her for most of the night still had their eyes on her. She’d tried to pinpoint the sensation all evening and had yet to assign it to one particular guest, though she had her suspicions.
    Whoever it was, they were good, better than she would have expected, considering the people she knew she was dealing with. Of course, they had been skating by for years now, they would have grown adept at hiding, she assured herself as John drew her straight to her own personal office.
    The door had been locked earlier, but it wasn’t locked now. Her brows arched as he opened it and drew her inside before closing and locking it.
    “Thank you for making such a spectacle of me.” She rounded him furiously. “You dragged me through my own party like a disobedient pet.”
    “And you were growling at me every step of the way,” he glowered back at her. “What part of
We need to talk
didn’t you want to understand?”
    “The
needing to talk
part?” She opened her eyes wide in false amazement. “Did you somehow manage to misunderstand me?”
    She crossed her arms over her breasts as she lifted her brow in curiosity. “You don’t take no for an answer at all well, do you, Mr. Vincent?”
    His lips twitched in amusement. Now, didn’t it just make her day to know she amused him in some small part?
    “I must admit, I have problems with that word,” he finally replied. “Perhaps my mother said it too often when I was a child.”
    She gave a short little snort at that. She doubted any woman had ever told him no.
    “So what was so important that you felt the need to make a spectacle of me at my own party?” she asked coldly. “I hope it’s a matter of life or death, because really, there could be no other excuse for it.”
    His brow lifted. The dark blond color against his sun-bronzed flesh was incredibly alluring. He could have been a fallen angel, too ruggedly handsome for words, and too charming for his own good.
    “You play the part of the society princess very well,” he mused. “I wouldn’t have expected it of you.”
    She gave a little shrug of her bare shoulders. “You could say it’s in the blood,” she retorted mockingly.
    At least, that was what her mother had always assured her. That she had the blood of American royalty running through her veins and she should always remember it. There hadn’t been a single member of her mother’s