High Stakes Chattel by Andie Blue Read Free Book Online

“ You were a grown man leading your own life,” she told him, meeting his troubled dark gaze. “I’m sure she understood that.”
    He frowned and looked up at Samantha with pain in his eyes. “The infection I’m studying, and trying to discover a cure for, is that which took my mother’s life.”
    Samantha was speechless in the face of his revelation. It was obvious his guilt was a key motivator in his controlled exile from society.
    He took a large gulp of his brandy and changed the subject before she could respond. “You want to make sure you have plenty of money in your purse if you choose the weapon of poison. Although it is more certain than a bow, the likelihood of failing and having to go back to the beginning is great,” he instructed her.
    H e felt he had said too much about his motive for his research. Samantha accepted for the moment that she should let the matter go and they played on, discussing the different merits of the hunter’s weapons.
    S he decided to try and charm him out of his serious mood. “Are we still playing for a reward?” Perhaps this time, when she lost, which she certainly would, he would take a kiss.
    “Feeling cocky, are you?” He gave her a roguish smile that made her breath catch in her throat. “What request would you make this time, since you’ve already gained the boon you asked before?”
    She certainly wasn’t going to let him know that she wanted a kiss or that he affected her as he did. “I could use another milk cow.” She gave him an innocent smile as she advanced her hunter closer to the dragon.
    “A milk cow?” Her answer surprised a bark of laughter out of him. “I must be losing my touch,” he murmured to himself.
    “ And, what would you have of me? Do you have some other chore that needs doing?” She smiled, pleased that she’d gotten him thinking of something other than his mother and the medical puzzle that awaited him upstairs.
    “I’m still thinking about it.” He gave her a long, assessing look that sent a shiver down her spine. He definitely wasn’t thinking of chores or milk cows now, she’d wager. His strong and masculine body seemed to fill the room. Perhaps she would be wiser to tease him less.
    The next two explanations he gave about his moves were so briefly worded that she knew she was nearly done for.
    When he captured the dragon and won the game once again, she suppressed her frustration and tried to be a good sport about it. “Congratulations, my lord. You are certainly a master at this game, although with your age, I think it’s only a matter of time before I surpass you.” She sensed somehow that she had hit upon his weak spot and was playing with fire.
    “ Now what? Are you going to blindfold me again?” She gave him a saucy smile, not able to stop herself from flirting with him.
    “No, ” he murmured, leaving her strangely disappointed. “The stakes get higher, Mrs. Blake, not easier. Every time. Until you don’t want to play anymore and you go away and stop distracting me from my work.” His voice lowered to a growl as he leaned in closer to her. The intense look on his face was a bit frightening. “Or, it forces you to get good enough to win.”
    “What , then, are the stakes?” she asked, her heart thundering in her chest as she became more convinced by the moment that he was going to ask something physical of her.
    “This time the handkerch ief is going to bind your hands,” he told her with a wicked smile.
    She inhaled sharply . What in the world did he mean by that?
    He pushed languidly to his feet, and she took another quick gulp of her own brandy, hoping it would calm her as the slow burn moved through her veins. When he reached her chair he took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
    She knew she should protest this strange request, but she was too shocked to speak, too intrigued to tell him no.
    “What was that you were saying about my advanced age?” His hand lingered on hers.
    Samantha stood staring