Page 46 of One Night Gamble
“I have spent the entire time we have been dating trying to convince myself that you’re not a card shark. Not a poker player—”
“But you know I am. I’ve never hidden that.”
She nodded. “You’re right. The thing is, I didn’t want to see any trace of my father’s weakness in you. And until tonight…until I saw you with a hand of cards and winning on the line, I didn’t.”
His hand fell away from her face. “Am I supposed to lose?”
“No. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about how I realized that there was an entire part of you that I’d never seen before. That man was a stranger to me, yet he’s so much a part of you. I felt stupid for not noticing it before.”
“What are you saying?”
“What else are you hiding?”
“Nothing,” he said, turning away and cursing. “Why would I hide that? I don’t even know what you are talking about. Honestly, I play cards to win because winning is the only option I had to survive. The only reason why I’m standing here today is that I learned about odds and what it took to win.”
She wrapped one arm around her own waist. She had known from the moment they met that there was something between them that she had to ignore. Something that would break the both of them if she let it. And tonight, she realized that it wasn’t her fear of staying in Vegas that had been driving her to keep some distance between her and Casey—it had been this.
He was exactly the man she didn’t want him to be. He was a rogue and a gambler and charming as hell—exactly the type of man she didn’t want to love. Yet she did love him.
“Talk to me, Talia,” he said. “Tell me what it is you want me to do and I’ll do it.”
Those words unconsciously echoed things she’d heard her father say and she knew that, no matter what, she had to end this with Casey. He wasn’t the kind of man to give away everything he had to feed his gambling addiction, but she was too much her father’s daughter. Seeing him play had terrified her. It had made her want to tuck money into her shoe so that he wouldn’t find it if he searched for it. And that was not a normal reaction to seeing someone play an innocent game of bridge.
She knew that.
“You don’t have to do anything,” she said. “I’m the one who has to figure this out.”
She turned back to the tallboy that Casey had bought for her to keep her jewelry in and reached up to take off her pendant necklace—the olive branch he’d given her—but his hands were there. His fingers quickly undid the clasp and handed the necklace to her over her shoulder.
His fingers brushed her neck and then slid down the slope of her shoulder, touching her through the fabric of the wrap top she’d put on earlier. The heavy polished cotton fabric normally felt thick enough to withstand anything but Casey’s touch burned through it, making her skin feel too tight and too sensitive as goose bumps spread down her arm. He put his arm around her waist and drew her back against his body, holding her close. He took a deep breath.
She waited with anticipation.
Only silence greeted her.
“I can’t change that part of me,” he said at last.
“I know,” she admitted.
Turning in his arms, she put her hands on either side of his face. This was it. This would be her last night in his arms. She had enough money to make the final payment on Gran’s house, accomplishing what she’d set out to do when she took the job at the casino.
And this thing she felt for Casey…she had to get out before it destroyed what she thought she knew about herself.
She went up on her tiptoes and rubbed her lips against his. His mouth was so perfect—the right combination of strength and softness. Her lips parted under his and the kiss she gave him was goodbye. She knew it, and when he lifted his head and their eyes met, she was pretty sure he had guessed it, too.
“Make love to me,” she said.
…
The soft sound of her voice, the sadness in it, the need in it, made him want…well more than he knew he had a right to. He had this night to make love to her. To show her that what they had was real and much stronger than anything she’d experienced in the past. He undid the tie at her waist and the fabric of her blouse fell open, but was fastened by a tiny button on the inside at her waist which he made quick work of. He pushed the top open and then reached behind her to undo the fastening of her bra. He rubbed his hand up and down her back. It was so smooth and graceful. Holding her always made him feel almost too big and awkward.
His entire body felt too hot, like he was going to explode if he didn’t get her naked fast enough. But he shoved his own need to the background. Tonight, he needed to show her how much he wanted her. How very much he needed her in his bed and in his life. He wished he knew if he could show her how much he cared for her, loved her.
“Come here,” he said, walking over to the tufted chair in the middle of her dressing room. The chair was padded and had a back but no arms. He sat down and then drew her down on his lap. She shifted until she was straddling him, and he pushed the fabric of her skirt up to make it easier for her to settle over his erection.
He nudged her blouse off her shoulders and down her arms, then he took his time, running his fingers under the fabric of her bra against her skin. He saw her shiver delicately, and when he pulled the bra away, her nipples were beaded and hard.
She arched her back, which thrust her breasts up, and a growl escaped him. He put his hands on her waist as she leaned forward, brushing the tips of her breasts against his chest. Her mouth was on his neck, kissing and nibbling up the length of it until she reached his ear. She took the lobe between her teeth and bit lightly on it.
