One deep inhale, and she realized he smelled good enough to take a big bite out of. Or nibble and lick leisurely. Every glorious, masculine inch of him. She could literally feel the sexual magnetism pouring off him, a natural confidence that kindled too much need and desire and the kind of craving no other man but Gabe had managed to stir within her.
She gave herself a hard mental shake. God, she was crazy to still lust after him, but the knowledge that he was still under her skin only served to reinforce her plan to take advantage of the opportunity Gabe had presented and indulge in a little sexual revenge of her own.
With effort, she transferred her gaze to her brother Derek, who’d brought Gabe as a guest. “Nice of you to bring fresh blood to our weekly poker game,” she told him, an upbeat, sassy note to her voice.
Derek chuckled. “Shhh. I told him it would be a friendly game of poker.”
“You didn’t warn him just how ruthless Chloe can be with a new player?” Scott asked, amusement creasing his handsome features. “Why not just have Gabe empty the contents of his wallet into her purse and be done with it.”
Chloe beamed at the compliment. She had to agree that she was an impressive poker player, and she’d learned from the best. Her ruthless, card-shark brothers had granted her no leniency for being the youngest in the family, or for being the fairer sex. She’d learned quickly that it was either learn the game and play it well, or end up fifty bucks poorer every week.
She slanted Gabe a sly look. “I’ll go easy on him, boys,” she said, the promise not quite as pure as it should have been. Besides, she found the thought of beating the pants off Gabe MacKenzie too irresistible, in more ways than one.
He held her gaze, one dark brow raising, matching the subtle challenge she’d just issued. “No need to go easy on me, Chloe,” he drawled lazily. “I can definitely hold my own in a poker game.”
And with you, she read in his gaze. “Okay, consider yourself forewarned then.” She smiled sweetly.
Her brothers moved away to make room for another player and put out the rest of the pretzels and peanuts. Alone with Gabe once again, yet all too aware that her siblings were within hearing distance so she needed to behave, she decided to stick with polite pleasantries for now.
“So, what have you been up to lately?” After the accident that had ruined his knee, Gabe had redirected his ambitions to representing some of the biggest names in the sports industry. “Still living the good life as a sports agent in Chicago?”
His broad shoulders lifted in a shrug. “I don’t know about living the good life,” he said modestly, “but yeah, I’m still doing the sports agent thing.”
She caught the slightly wistful note in his voice and words, as if his life lacked something despite all that he’d achieved on his own. An amazing notion, considering the fact that he was highly successful and made enough money to be considered wealthy, though he certainly didn’t wear or flaunt his monetary assets. She guessed a part of him still remained a cautious spender since he’d come from such an impoverished upbringing.
She took another swallow of her drink and slowly licked a bit of sugar off her bottom lip, just to torment him since that’s where his eyes had chosen to linger. “What brings you back to San Diego?”
“My mom,” he replied, and took a long, slow drink of his beer.
She tipped her head, recalling a bit of information she’d heard from her own mother. “Isn’t she off in the Caribbean on a cruise with her new husband?”
He nodded, causing a lock of that silky hair to tumble across his forehead, adding to his virile appearance. “Yeah. She’s selling her house here in San Diego and moving to Nevada where Clyde lives and works and she wanted me to go through what’s left in my old room. So, I’m here for a week to pack up what I want and tie up other loose ends.”
After that kiss he’d planted on her in the kitchen, she wondered if she was one of those other loose ends he intended to tie up. And what, exactly, did that resolution consist of besides a lusty, dizzying kiss?
“And what about you?” he asked, his gaze touching on her damp lips once again, the gesture as evocative as a caress. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other. What are you up to?”
She was surprised he remembered their last encounter at a nearby restaurant, which had been very brief as he’d passed her table where she’d been eating lunch with a girlfriend. He’d stopped and asked about her family, his sinful eyes and demeanor as breathtakingly sexy as ever. After a few minutes of polite conversation on her end he’d continued on his way. But as always he’d left a lasting impression, which had carried her through the rest of the day and into the night.
She saw no harm in telling him what she did for a living. “I just recently went to work for an Internet sales company designing web sites and databases for large corporations.”
“Wow,” he said, suitably impressed, then followed that up with a teasing comment. “You don’t look like any computer geek I’ve ever known.”
She laughed lightly. “Thank you…I think.”
“That was definitely a compliment,” he assured her with an easygoing grin. “Intelligence, a good sense of humor, and natural beauty all in one package is rare to find in a woman these days.”
A warm blush swept over her cheeks, startling her, mainly because she wasn’t normally prone to such coy mannerisms. But then again, the men she’d dated had never been overly interested in her choice of profession, nor had they seemed to appreciate her attributes the way that Gabe just did. His remark could have been nothing more than a flirtatious ruse, but judging by the serious set of his features, she didn’t think so.
“Come on, you two,” her brother Chad called from the dining room. “Put your money on the table and let’s get the game started.”
“We’re coming.” She turned to go when she felt the brush of Gabe’s long fingers at the base of her spine—a fleeting touch that could have been as erotic as a deep, intimate caress for how wildly her pulse escalated. Her breath caught in her throat as she glanced back at him, and a slow, sensual grin appeared on his lips. He looked too damned composed, guileless even, while her entire body thrummed with heated awareness.
Gabe took a seat at the table, and she selected a chair across from him. Her glance encompassed all four men, but lingered the longest on Gabe. “I’m feeling very lucky tonight, boys, so no whining when I win.”
“We’ll see about that,” Derek said, picking up the deck of cards to shuffle.
Gabe’s piercing blue eyes remained steady on her as he withdrew fifty dollars from his leather wallet and tossed it toward Chad, who doled out colored chips for everyone’s cash. “I have to say that I feel like I’m going to get lucky tonight, too.”
She lifted a brow incredulously, surprised that he’d go so far as to issue her a double entendre in front of her brothers, as well as an obvious dare. And judging by the curious looks her siblings sent her and Gabe’s way, they were very aware of the sexual undercurrents between them.
Gabe was being very, very bad, and she decided it was up to her to teach him a thing or two about poker, and maybe a bit about seduction, too. Because if anyone walked away from tonight’s game satisfied, it would be her.
Shoring up her confidence, she blinked lazily and said in a husky drawl, “Then by all means, let the game begin.”
“Ante up,” Derek announced, and tossed a handful of roasted peanuts into his mouth. Once everyone added their opening bet to the middle of the table, he dealt the first hand for seven-card stud and the fun began.
After two and a half hours of bawdy jokes, laughter, raucous teasing, and a subtle, seductive push and pull between her and Gabe, the game dwindled down to the last hand and a pot of chips that encompassed the last of everyone’s money, except Gabe’s, who’d been on a winning streak all night long and who held everyone’s surplus in reserve.
Each of her brothers folded their current hand at the delivery of their fourth card because they didn’t hav
e enough money left to match Gabe’s latest increase in the betting. Chloe was just barely able to remain in the game, and from the looks of her cards, she finally had a decent hand to play.
“I’m out.” Chad huffed in disgust, and drowned his loss in a huge swallow of beer.
“Yeah, me, too,” Derek echoed, tossing his cards, facedown, onto the table.
Scott did the same, his mouth pursed with exasperation and his gaze narrowed on Gabe. “How in the hell did you manage to wipe us out?”
Gabe merely smiled and transferred his gaze to Chloe. “How about you, Lady Luck?” he drawled, laughter dancing in his eyes. “Are you willing to risk the rest of your money on this last hand?”
Her supposed luck throughout the game had been dismal, not that she appreciated him rubbing her nose in the fact. Nor was she about to bow out now and admit defeat to him in front of her brothers. She’d play to the bitter end.
To give herself an extra boost of confidence she finished off her third margarita and matched Gabe’s current bet. “I’m in.”
“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that,” Gabe said, his velvet smooth voice wrapping around her like a long-denied addiction. Tempting, taunting, teasing her.
“Don’t gloat too much,” she shot back, striving for a bravado she didn’t completely feel. “You haven’t won yet.”
“‘Yet’ being the operative word,” he added, his eyes glimmering with deviltry and too much self-assurance.
The next card was dealt. Her brothers watched the game, adding amusing commentary while Chloe continued to match and raise Gabe’s bets, increasing the stakes and tension between them until the final card was doled out. She glanced from her hand, to Gabe’s, chewing absently on her bottom lip. As it stood, with four cards faceup, one down, and the last card just being delivered, it appeared that Gabe had a good chance at a flush of diamonds if one of his other cards came through for him, while she was sitting on a three of a kind of fours. Great, another losing hand, she thought grumpily.
Just as she was about to peek at her last facedown card, Gabe reached across the table and pressed his fingers to the rectangular card so that she couldn’t lift it up and see what she held. Uncertain of his actions, she met his smoky gaze.
“How about double or nothing,” he asked, his tone way too low and intimate for her peace of mind. Especially with her brothers listening in on the conversation.
Her heart thumped beneath her breast. “That’s a nice gesture, but nothing doubled is nothing,” she rationalized, as if he couldn’t have figured that out for himself. “If you haven’t noticed, all of my money is out on the table.”
“Yeah, I noticed.” He smiled, a bit predatory, and traced a long tapered finger along the edge of her card. “I was thinking of something more along the lines of a personal, private bet to raise the stakes a little more.”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. He couldn’t be serious.
Oh, but he was.
“Whoa,” Scott said and abruptly scooted back his chair and stood, amusement evident in his tone. “I’m not sure I want to hear where this is going.”
“I’m with Scott,” Chad agreed. “As interesting as this game is getting, I think this is our cue to leave.”
Chloe couldn’t believe her brothers were ready to bolt out on her. “You don’t have to go,” she protested, not at all certain she wanted to be left alone with Gabe and whatever he had on his devious mind.
“Yeah, I think we do.” Derek shoved his fingers though his sandy blond hair. “Whatever’s going on between you and Gabe, and something obviously is, it would be better resolved without an audience.”
A touch of panic curled in her belly. “Nothing’s going on!”
“Uh-huh, sure,” Derek said knowingly, and turned to Scott. “I came to Chloe’s with Gabe, so would you mind dropping me off at my place on your way home?”
Scott grabbed his lightweight jacket and shrugged into it, anxious to be on his way, too. “Not at all.”
Derek planted a hand on Gabe’s shoulder as he passed his chair and murmured something beneath his breath that Chloe couldn’t hear, though judging by the fierce look on her brother’s face, he’d just issued Gabe a friendly warning about not hurting his baby sister. While she’d grown used to such protective gestures, Derek had nothing to worry about. She was old enough to take care of herself as far as this man was concerned.
Minutes later, the trio shuffled out of Chloe’s condo.
“Thanks a lot, guys,” she called after them. The door closed, and the air suddenly turned thick and warm with expectations and unbridled awareness. “Traitors,” she muttered.
Gabe leaned back in his chair, the muscles across his chest rippling beneath his cotton T-shirt. “They’re guys. They know when they’re not wanted or needed.”
She smirked. “You’re a guy, and I don’t see you heading out the door.”
A sexy, too-confident smile flirted around the corners of his mouth. “That’s because you want and need me.”
Even though her mind screamed yes!, she wore her best poker face. “Don’t be so sure of yourself.”
He rested his elbows on the armrest of the chair and clasped his hands in front of him. “I’m confident enough to put my wager where my mouth is,” he said, his voice a soft rumble of sound in the quiet, still room.
Knowing there was no avoiding the inevitable, and drawn to the innate sensuality in his gaze, she asked, “What kind of personal, private bet did you have in mind?”
“Have you ever wanted something so badly that you think about it all the time?”
It was a rhetorical question, couched in a low, husky tone that mesmerized and enthralled Chloe.
“At night it consumes your dreams, and it’s the first thing you think of when you wake up. The desire and obsession grows, becomes nearly unbearable, like a fever in your blood you can’t get rid of.”
She swallowed hard, feeling exactly like that now, all hot and bothered and needy.
Her breathing deepened, her entire body flushing with desire. He was seducing her with his words, tapping into her most erotic thoughts of him and bringing them out in the open. It was as though he had a direct link to her thoughts and knew all the forbidden secrets she’d harbored for so many years.
“Have you ever wanted something that badly, Chloe?” he murmured silkily.
From across the table, his intense gaze remained locked on hers, delving deep into her woman’s soul. This time he expected an answer, and her reply came boldly, truthfully. “Oh, yeah.”
He looked pleased with her answer. “Then here’s your chance to dare anything.”
She clung to one last bit of reality, even as her wildest fantasies begged to be a part of this last bet. “Even requesting that you leave and don’t come back?”
“If that’s what you truly want,” he said, seemingly willing to accept whatever she requested. “But you’d have to win this last hand first, and do you really want to waste your bet on something that you don’t really want?”
There was that bit of arrogance again, as if he knew exactly what she wanted, needed even. She glanced at his faceup cards again, then her own, and knew that the odds of her winning the last hand were strongly against her. She could end the game now, without a personal, private bet on the table. The opportunity to walk away from him just as he’d done to her six years ago presented itself, but turning down a challenge wasn’t in her nature. Which meant she had to be willing to succumb to whatever he wagered.
His mouth tipped up in a beguiling smile. “What is it going to be, Chloe? A personal dare to spice up the pot, or are you going to call it quits?” His voice and words deliberately taunted her.
Backing out wasn’t an option, and the man sitting across from her damn well knew it. She held his sensual gaze, realizing what an emotional risk she’d be taking if she agreed to his dare. Realizing, too, that he’d be gone and out of her life after this week. Chances were they’d never see each other aga
in, so why not indulge in a fantasy or two of her own?
Scooting back her chair, she retrieved a pad of stationery from a drawer in the kitchen. Ripping out two pieces of the violet-hued stationery trimmed in feminine lace print, she tossed one of the sheets his way, along with a pen, then sat back down to jot down her dare.
Suspecting his final wager would be as explicit and sexual as his kiss had been, she decided that her bet would be just as wicked and scandalous. She’d put her deepest desires down on paper, just to shake Gabe up a bit and put them on equal footing when he won the last hand. To let him know she was game for anything.
She’d request a brief affair, a sexual fling…all the pleasures he’d denied her six years ago and everything she’d craved ever since. Sex. Lust. Desire. Her written fantasy would suggest it all.
With a deep breath and her hand steadier than the rapid beat of her heart, she added her folded note on top of Gabe’s in the middle of the pile of chips. Then they both flipped over their final card, revealing their hand.
“I’ll be damned,” Gabe murmured in amazement. “A full house to my flush. It looks like you won.”
“Oh, wow.” Chloe stared at her three fours and the second ace she’d just revealed, giddy with the victory of beating Gabe and winning the huge pot of money…until it dawned on her that he was now honor-bound to deliver on the sexual and brazen request she’d suggested as her wager.
Which made her wonder what kind of proposition she’d narrowly escaped. She reached for Gabe’s note, but he snatched it up and out of her reach before she could grab the piece of paper.
Startled by his quick move, and annoyed that he was denying her the chance to read his bet, she frowned at him. “That’s not fair.” Standing, she rounded the table to his side, her hand palm out. “Hand it over, MacKenzie.”
“Nope.” He stood, too, and stuffed the note deep into the front pocket of his jeans, far out of her reach since she had no intention of wrestling him for it, which would entail shoving her hand down his pants. “Neither one of us stated any rule about the other person’s wager being read out loud if they lost.”
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