Sean said dryly. “So what?”
“So, I’m on vacation. You know. Sun, sea, sand. Gambling. I really like to gamble, even though I’m new at it.”
A muscle flickered in his jaw. “Go on.”
“You’re right about my name. I was born in Georgia but I live in Louisiana. That’s where I learned to play cards. On a riverboat. You know, on the Mississippi? A date took me, the first time.” She grinned, hoped it was disarming and that mixing lies and truth proved the ticket to success. “I picked up the game fast. I’m pretty good, if I must say so myself, but I’ve never played against serious competition. Against, say, a man like you.”
Sean lifted an eyebrow. Was this the whole thing? Had she flirted with him just to convince him to take a seat at the same poker table? Anything was possible. Novices approached him all the time. In his own tight little world, he was a celebrity of sorts.
Except, he didn’t buy it.
All this subterfuge, so he could beat her pretty tail off in a game of cards? So she could go home and say she’d played Sean O’Connell?
No way.
“I’d be thrilled if you’d let me sit at a table with you, Sean. I could go home and tell everyone—”
“Anybody can sit at any table. You must know that.”
“Well—well, of course I know that. But I’m not that forward. I know you think I am, after all that’s happened, but the truth is, I wouldn’t have the courage to take a seat at a table you were at unless I cleared it with you first.”
He still didn’t buy it. She wouldn’t have the courage? This woman who’d done everything but jump his bones?
“And that’s it?”
Savannah nodded. “That’s it.”
He moved fast, closed the distance between them before she could even draw a breath. All at once, her back was to the wall and his hands were flattened against it on either side of her.
“You took a big risk, sugar,” he said softly. “Coming on to me as hard as you did without knowing a damned thing about me except that I play cards. You got me going a few minutes ago. If your luck had gone bad, you might have gotten hurt.”
He saw her throat constrict as she swallowed, but her eyes stayed right on his.
“I told you that I knew you were Sean O’Connell. And Sean O’Connell isn’t known for hurting women.”
“No.” His gaze fell to her mouth. He looked up and smiled. “He’s known for liking them, though.”
“Sean. About what I’ve asked…”
“Why did you panic?”
“I didn’t. I—”
Sean put one finger gently over her lips. “Yeah, you did. I kissed you, you kissed me back, and then you got scared.” His finger slid across the fullness of her mouth. “How come? What frightened you?”
“Nothing frightened me.”
She was lying. He could sense it. There was something going on he still didn’t understand and, all at once, he wanted to.
“Savannah.” Sean cupped her face. “What’s the matter? Tell me what it is. Let me help you.”
Her eyes glittered. Was it because of the moonlight, or were those tears?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sean smoothed back her hair. “Just as long as you’re not afraid of me,” he said gruffly, and kissed her.
She let it happen, let herself drown in the heat of his kiss. She told herself it was what she had to do but when he drew back, she had to grasp his shoulders for support.
“Tell me what you want,” he said softly.
Savannah willed her heart to stop racing. Then she took a deep breath and said the only thing she could.
“I told you. I want to play cards. Then I can go home and tell everybody that I played against the great Sean O’Connell.”
“And that’s it? That’s all you need from me?”
His eyes were steady on hers, his body strong under her hands. For one endless moment, she thought of telling him the truth. That she was here to destroy him. That she was in trouble and had no one to turn to for help but herself.
Then she remembered that he was a thief, and she forced a smile to her lips.
“That’s it,” she said lightly. “That’s all I need.”
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