Gambler's Woman by Jayne Ann Krentz Read Free Book Online

order, I might change the
color."

"No, don't do that." He reached for her, tugging her across his chest
His golden eyes gleamed very brilliantly. "Get the red one. That way,
whenever you drive it, you'll think of this night and this room."

The laughter went out of her in the face of his intensity. Abruptly,
the truth of what he was saying made itself felt But she had no need to
buy a red car in order to make herself remember what had happened
this weekend. Alyssa knew she would never forget this night, this room
or this man.

That realization brought with it another: no matter what happened this
weekend, she must be certain that no one in her real world ever
discovered the fantasy she had created for herself. The life-style and
the career she valued so much would be put in jeopardy if the truth
were ever known.

Jordan must have seen the flicker of wariness that came and went in her
sea-colored eyes because abruptly he cradled her face between his hands
and pulled her close for a warm, lingering kiss. She felt
his body hardening under hers and lifted her lashes to gaze down at him
wonderingly.

"Jordan?"

His eyes laughed up at her with the promise of renewed passion. "I said
the sight of my own backside in that mirror didn't particularly
intrigue me. Yours, however, is another matter."

"Jordan!"

But he had already thrown the sheet off her and was guiding her body
astride his. His warm, strong hands gently circled her waist, urging
her to him completely, and as she obeyed, Alyssa forgot about the
overhead mirror, the red Porsche and the threat to her career that this
weekend represented.

She gave herself up again to the fantasy and the man who had brought it
to life.
    Three
The first thing Alyssa saw the next morning when she opened her eyes
was Jordan Kyle calmly going through her purse. He was standing
unabashedly naked beside the low table where she had thoughtlessly
dropped the sequined mesh evening bag the night before. The money she
had won was neatly stacked on the table, and he was flipping
interestedly through the calfskin wallet when he noticed she was awake.

"Good morning, Alyssa Meredith Chandler of Ventura, California. And
happy belated birthday." Jordan glanced back down at the date on her
driver's license. "Let's see, you turned thirty last week, didn't you?"

Alyssa lay very still beneath the gold sheet, her eyes never leaving
the face of the stranger who had become her lover. Dear God, what had
happened to her? How could she have been so incredibly stupid? Was she
about to become the victim of a professional thief who made a practice
of seducing women who had won at the tables and then robbing them? The
thoughts flickered through her mind as her hand tightened on the sheet
at her throat.

Jordan glanced up again from the driver's license, and his gaze
narrowed as he took in the stark, uncomprehending expression on
Alyssa's features. Her auburn hair was tangled from where he had run
his hands through it during the night, and her mouth had a vulnerable,
almost-bruised fullness about it.
The sea-green eyes were wide and cautious, holding no sign of the
hidden laughter that normally lurked just below the surface. There was
a faintly reddened area on the soft skin of her throat, and the sight
of
it elicited a short, disgusted oath.

"Hell, I should have remembered to shave before taking you to bed last
night" He raised a hand to the shadow of an incipient beard on his jaw
and simultaneously tossed the wallet down beside the money. "I'm afraid
I've marked you, sweetheart. My only excuse is that I wasn't thinking
very clearly by the
time I got you back to the room!"

Alyssa watched him warily as he came toward her. He seemed very much a
lean, male animal in the morning sunlight. Without the sophisticated
veneer of his evening clothes, there was little trace of last night's
gentleman gambler about Jordan Kyle this morning. The fear that had
awakened in her a few minutes before when she'd opened her eyes to