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

Alyssa obeyed. She felt as if she'd had a
rather narrow escape, although she
wasn't precisely sure what she had avoided.

Her weekend Las Vegas wardrobe included a sleek, strapless maillot
diagonally striped in black and white and piped at the upper edge in
crimson. Over it, she wore an overscaled white cotton cover-up that she
had bought a week earlier. Styled with push-up sleeves and a red sash,
it fell to her knees and doubled as a casual dress. When she reappeared
from the bathroom, Jordan's eyes flickered with approval, and he
inclined his head in a gravely polite manner.

"Does anyone back in Ventura know the real you?" he asked whimsically.

"No one knows how I've been spending my weekends lately, if that's what
you mean," she admitted.
And what a disaster it would be if anyone did!

"Not exactly, but we'll let it pass for now. Come on, my sweet business
associate. Let's go find a pool
and prepare ourselves for a hard night's work."

That evening, after dinner, when Alyssa walked into the first casino on
Jordan's arm, she did so with a whole new appreciation for the fantasy.
It was infinitely more enjoyable sharing it with a man who truly
belonged in this world, she decided.

"Do you ever feel like a marauding shark swimming through a casino and
taking a bite here and there?" Alyssa demanded laughingly as she joined
Jordan after he'd walked out of a poker game with a discreet pile of
chips.

He looked down at her and smiled faintly. "Sometimes. How are you
doing?"

"Okay. I'm going to play a little more blackjack and then quit for the
evening."

"I've made enough tonight to put you over the top of your goal," he
reminded her quietly.

"I'm on schedule," she retorted firmly.

"All right. Have it your way. I don't want you lying in my arms tonight
thinking I've somehow paid
you to be there!" Jordan muttered half violently.

She slid a slanting glance up at his set face and decided not to say
anything further on the subject. She had won the small battle, and that
was enough for now.

He watched her play with silent approval, and Alyssa found herself
enjoying the admiration of a peer.
It was a novel experience, and when she picked up her chips and walked
away from the blackjack table, she was feeling deliciously contented

They caught the midnight cabaret in the show room of Jordan's hotel,
and afterward he led her into a
nearby lounge for a nightcap. The evening had been perfect as far as
Alyssa was concerned, and he
must have seen the pleasure in her eyes.

"To the only woman I've ever met with whom I can truly discuss my
work," he saluted her, smiling as
he took a sip of the brandy he had ordered for both of them. Then he
set down the snifter and asked evenly, "You'll be coming back to Vegas
next weekend, of course?"

A strange tension gripped her as Alyssa faced him across the small
table. She hadn't been expecting
the question. Her mind had been on the present, just as it had been the
night before. For a woman who made a living using statistics to predict
future events, she had been doing a remarkably good job of ignoring her
own future.

"Why do you say, of course?" she countered as lightly as possible.

"Because at the conservative rate you're working, you've got quite a
way to go before you have the
down payment on that red Porsche. Vegas is the closest source of easy
money for you, so I assumed you'd be coming here rather regularly for a
while. Right?" He leaned back casually in his chair, his eyes never
leaving her face. She felt as if she were a deck of cards he had
shuffled and was now about to
play with. It was not a comfortable sensation.

"Well, yes, I had planned on returning soon," she agreed hesitantly.

"Don't bother with hotel reservations," he said politely. "You'll be
staying with me."

She held her breath. Part of her wanted to give way to the thrill of
happiness that accompanied the notion of seeing him again the following
weekend. But another part of her advised caution. The whole situation
was so