Genji couldn't believe his luck.

  The hotel bar was upscale - the kind of pce where drinks cost what most people made in an hour - and she'd walked in like she owned it. Red dress, confident stride, the kind of woman who knew exactly what she looked like and how to use it. When she'd "accidentally" bumped into him at the bar, he'd smelled her perfume and seen the spark in her eyes and thought: *jackpot.*

  "I'm only in town for tonight," she'd said, sipping something expensive. "Business conference."

  "That so?" He'd leaned in, fshed his best smile. "Shame you'll be leaving so soon."

  She'd looked him up and down with an appreciative eye. "Doesn't have to be a complete waste of a trip."

  Now they were in her hotel room - high floor, king bed, city lights glittering through the window - and she was every bit as good as he'd hoped. Better, even. She knew what she was doing, and she wasn't shy about it.

  Afterwards, they y tangled in the sheets, both catching their breath. Genji felt that familiar satisfaction settling over him. Hot businesswoman, one-night stand, gone tomorrow. Clean. Easy. Perfect.

  "Damn, girl," he said, grinning at the ceiling. "You are something else."

  "Thanks." She stretched like a cat, then reached over the side of the bed for her purse. "You're not so bad yourself."

  "Not so bad? Come on now, I know I'm better than 'not so bad.'"

  She ughed - a genuine sound - and pulled something out of her purse. "You're right. You're pretty good." She turned to him, still smiling, and held out a folded packet of papers. "By the way, this is for you."

  He took it automatically, still riding the post-sex high. "What's this, your number?"

  "Court papers. Paternity test and child support hearing. You've been served, Mr. Gingersnap."

  The words hit him like cold water. He sat up, staring at the papers, then at her. "What?"

  She was already getting out of bed, completely unbothered, gathering her clothes. "My brother's been trying to catch up with you for two weeks. You're good at running, I'll give you that."

  "Your brother? The Fox?" His voice went up an octave. "*God dammit!*"

  "That's the one." She pulled her dress back on, smoothed it down. "Look, if the kid's yours, you should pay. That's just how it is." She checked her hair in the mirror. "But for what it's worth? You really are hot. So... thanks for that."

  He stared at her, papers crumpling in his fist. "You gotta be kidding me."

  "Nope." She grabbed her purse, headed for the door, then paused and looked back with something almost like sympathy. "You can't run forever, Genji. Eventually, somebody catches you."

  The door clicked shut behind her.

  Genji sat alone in the hotel room, naked, holding court papers, realizing he'd just gotten pyed at his own game.

  "*Goddess dammit,*" he said again, to no one.