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. Check. Aleks wasn t bothered.He d set up the trap and the Australian had fallen right into it.Reachingout, he moved his knight. Checkmate. The Australian frowned. Shit.No way. Aleks said nothing.There wasn t anything to say.The evidence was right there on the chessboard.The guy cursed a bit in the way Australians often did, then reached over the board to shake hands,gracious in defeat.A few people had gathered around them while they d been playing, the magnificent view ofBangkok from the hotel s famous outdoor rooftop bar apparently far less interesting than a chessgame.As the Australian vacated his seat, a couple of them looked as though they wanted to play too,but Aleks shook his head and began packing up his board.Playing tourists wasn t much of a challengeand it did nothing for his game.He d be playing real opponents in the tournament in a couple of daysanyway.As the crowd drifted away, he gestured to the barman again, and the man poured him another shotof vodka.Good Russian vodka.Viktor s favourite.He downed it, but the alcohol did nothing to ease the tightness in his chest at the thought of the oldman.Grief.It s called grief.Was it? It had been so long since he d felt anything he couldn t be sure.Then again, perhaps itwas.Grief was, after all, the usual emotion after someone had died.Aleks gripped the shot glass then pushed it over the bar for another hit, puzzled with himself.In order to feel grief one had to care.And Aleks wasn t sure that he did.After all, Viktor had been just another old man playing chess in Moscow s Timiryazevsky Park.A man who d been kind to himon a few occasions when Aleks had been young, but no one that special.The barman filled up the glass again, and Aleks drank it down, rubbing his chest.But even thethird vodka didn t make a difference to the odd tight feeling.He may as well have been drinkingwater.The wind picked up, replacing the scent of exotic flowers, sewage and the hot oil smell of a bigcity with the heavy, thick scent of rain.Distant thunder rumbled, a warning that perhaps an open-airrooftop bar in the middle of tropical Bangkok was not the best place to be in the rainy season.Bar staff began to usher people through the tables of the outdoor restaurant situated near the bar,toward the steep, beautifully lit glass staircase that led up from the terrace to the domed elevatorentrance.Aleks pushed away the shot glass and stood.Lightning crackled across the sky, lighting up the rooftop.This high up, the flash against the cloudswas magnificent and prompted a startled gasp from the patrons waiting for the elevators.Aleks didn t look.Lightning was lightning.He d seen it before.Moving toward the staircase, hebegan threading his way through the now empty tables of the restaurant area. It s incredible, isn t it? a woman said in a husky, awestruck voice. So beautiful. Something in the sound of that voice whispered along his nerve endings like the brush of cat s tail.It made him stop.Made him look.She stood near the glass balustrade that bounded the roof, staring up at the clouds as ifmesmerised.Lightning flashed again like a magnesium flare, illuminating delicate features and anincredible mass of pale silver-gilt hair held back by a purple scarf.Her eyes were wide and in thatflash of light, he saw they were blue.A startling electric blue.He stared, unable to help himself, slowly taking in the rest of her.She wore typical backpackergear, blue tie-dyed loose trousers and a tight little black singlet that revealed a slender, womanlyfigure.Clothes that wouldn t have passed muster with the hotel s draconian dress code that was forsure.How did she get up here? She was extraordinary.He d never seen anything like her.The first heavy, fat drops of rain began to fall, heralding the start of a tropical downpour. You should get undercover, he said. You re going to get wet. She turned, those incredible eyes a flash of blue through pale, silvery lashes. Thanks.But I mokay. Her mouth curved and he couldn t help noticing the shape of it.Full, pouty.Beautiful. A littlerain never hurt anyone. There was a warmth to her smile.A warmth he found inexplicably fascinating. Are you sure?The rain can get heavy here. Another lightning flash ripped across the sky.Her eyes glittered like lit sapphires. Yeah, Iknow. Her smile widened, the brilliance of it a burst of sunshine in the midst of the storm aroundthem. Thanks for the warning, though. Heat gathered inside him.A spear of something so intense he almost couldn t breathe.He wanted her.The timing couldn t have been worse.In two days he had his first game and he d always been apurist when it came to chess preparation.No sex.No alcohol.Nothing that would take his focus fromthe game.And he d already overstepped the mark by having the vodka.Sex would only make itworse. Aleks nodded to her instead and turned away, walking toward the steps.He found it oddlydifficult, as if a part of him was reluctant to leave her behind.Strange.He d never been so drawn to awoman before, and he couldn t work out why.Her appearance had caught his attention, no doubtabout it, but there d been something else about her.Her smile.The look in her eyes&No, best not to think about it.Women were complicated.In fact, people in general werecomplicated, and he preferred to keep his life free of complications.Chess was the only thing he hadroom for.Chess was simple.Logical.With clearly defined rules.You always knew where you wereon a chessboard.At least he always did.As he walked up the steps, the rain began to get heavier, and he only just managed to get throughthe glass doors that led to the elevators before a full-on tropical downpour ensued.He turned, looking out through the glass across the rooftop to see if the woman had followed him.Apparently not.Her tall figure stood among the wet dining tables and artfully planted rooftop gardens,her face turned toward the sky, eyes closed.Water streamed over her, soaking her clothes, making them stick to her body, outlining the gentlecurve of perfect breasts, narrow waist, slender hips and thighs
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