Page 32 of His Last Gamble

Suddenly, he lifted his head sharply to look up at her, as if some male instinct suddenly alerted him to danger. Or to something even more potent and powerful.

Their eyes clashed, clung and seemed to speak without the clumsy need for words.

And Charmaine experienced one of those moments that would remain with her forever.

With him knelt before her like this, almost naked, as if a slave in front of his queen, she felt suddenly aflame. Conflicting emotions bombarded her from all directions. She wanted so much, so many different things, and she wanted them all right now. This instant.

She wanted him to kiss her feet, to run his tongue around her ankles, then up her shin, around her calf, moving up to lick the small indent at the back of her knee.

She wanted to reach down and pull him up to face her, so that she would be free of this tormenting moment.

She wanted to bend down and push him back onto the deck, rip those black swimming trunks off him and make love to him as no other woman ever had before or could again.

She wanted him to pretend that none of this was happening so that she could pretend the same.

She wanted him not to be looking at her with those ocean-deep grey eyes. And yet she wanted him to keep looking at her like that forever.

She shook her head helplessly. And as if in answer to her unspoken appeal for help, slowly, and holding her eyes with his own all the time, Payne rose to his feet and towered over her. The air around them became charged with electricity, as if a sudden hurricane had emerged and was threatening to blow them both away.

His voice, when he spoke, was husky with desire. ‘Take that towel off,’ he rasped, but even before she had a chance to register his words, let alone obey, he was reaching out and yanking it away.

She took a tiny step forward to keep her balance, and shivered at her sudden exposure. She tensed a little as he dropped his eyes to look down at her, then relaxed as she saw the desire in them intensify and burn.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ he said, almost in accusation. She tensed as he lifted his hand, and then sighed as he ran one finger lightly down the side of her neck, over her shoulder and down one arm. Her skin tingled wherever his fingertip touched, and her knees began to tremble warningly. She could feel her breasts swell, the tender nipples pushing hard and urgently against the material of her bikini, begging for the loving attention of his tongue.

‘You know I want you, don’t you?’ he challenged gruffly, and Charmaine didn’t need to look down to where his manhood was straining hard against his swimming trunks in order to nod agreement.

‘And you want me?’ he persisted.

Charmaine licked her lips, aware of a faint taste of salt on them. She lifted her head and met his grey gaze head on.

‘Yes,’ she said sadly. ‘But it’s not a good idea.’

She’d spoken the literal truth. She was, in that moment of self-revelation, unable to lie or prevaricate. She did want him. But it was such a bad idea. At least, for her it was. Not only was she becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of her own heart, but what about her sister? Just how far had she intended to take things to avenge Lucy? If she wasn’t careful she could end up doing more harm than good here.

‘Let’s go snorkelling then, shall we?’ she gritted, stepping back and walking to the rail. Although she’d never dived in her life, she was so desperate to get off that boat and away from his potent charm that she clambered over the rails and did a less than graceful belly flop into the sea.

What she really needed was for it to be stone cold and grimly uninviting. Something to shock her back to sanity. Instead she sank beneath crystal clear warm blue water and emerged a moment later, her body still singing for his touch, her mind still crying out for what it had lost. And must never have.

On the deck, Payne looked down at her. His hands were clenched into fists and he looked thunderously angry.

What the hell was she playing at? Leading him one moment, then just turning things off the next, as if he was some sort of tap. What did she think — that what had just happened had no more meaning than turning down the offer of a drink?

There was a word for women like her. A nasty word. And it was a word, he slowly began to realise, that simply didn’t apply to her. As he forced himself to ignore the clamouring heat and urgent demands of his body, his mind played back the last few minutes.

He had always trusted his instincts — always. They were what made him such a devastatingly good poker player, and had been largely responsible for his incredible luck. And his instincts told him that this girl really was an innocent abroad. In spite of her incredible beauty, he was sure her lack of guile was genuine. Jinx’s cruel words this morning had penetrated a delicate skin, not a hard hide grown callous over the years. So she was no femme fatale playing dangerous games. He would bet his life on that.

So, if she wasn’t playing an elaborate teasing game, what had just happened?

As he leant on the rail and watched her do an inexpert breaststroke away from the yacht, he tried to clear his mind and concentrate.

It still wasn’t easy. She had him tied up in knots! Not surprising, since the sexual chemistry had been there, right from the start. She’d certainly come on board his boat today willingly. In fact, he’d sensed a hidden, almost defiant excitement in her ever since she’d returned with her bag full of beach gear. So it wasn’t as if he was mistaking the signals.

And that breathtaking moment when he’d looked up at her from the deck had been more than reciprocal. She’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted her. She’d even admitted as much.

Then something had changed. The moment, the passion, the connection had somehow vanished.

‘Why isn’t it a good idea, Charmaine?’ he called down softly, but she was too far away to hear him.

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