Read Online Gambler's Woman by Jayne Ann Krentz - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
Ads: Link
anticipation and passion and
gentleness as he pulled her close. The golden eyes seemed to go molten,
and Alyssa thought she would melt under the heat of them.
"Because you're so strong, so solid, so real," she heard herself
whisper as she lifted her arms to encircle his neck. "Illusions aren't
supposed to be so very real."
Her lashes had fluttered shut as she raised her mourn for his kiss, and
so she did not see the hardness
that appeared in the depths of his gaze. "Alyssa," Jordan growled
softly as he picked her up and carried her over to the round bed,
bathed in desert moonlight, "don't ever make the mistake of thinking
I'm not quite real. Don't put me in the category of illusion, honey, or
you will find yourself taking what will undoubtedly be the first
genuine gamble of your life. And I guarantee you will lose."
But Alyssa was too wrapped up in this new world of sensation to heed
the warning.
Four
The jet heading back to Los Angeles International had just reached
fifteen thousand feet when Alyssa remembered the dinner party she was
scheduled to give the following Friday evening.
With that memory, reality came flooding back. Instinctively, she turned
in the seat, straining to glance back in the direction of Las Vegas,
but the glittering city in the middle of the desert was already out of
sight Jordan would have caught a cab back to his hotel. In another
couple of hours, he would be
preparing to go to work. The night shift, she decided in wry humor. Her
lover worked the night shift
at his job. And when she was with him, she had done the same
But real life was a respectable position with a sophisticated research
and testing firm. Working the night shift in Vegas was a weekend
illusion, a dangerous fantasy that had somehow become incredibly alive
during the past couple of days. Alyssa turned back in her seat, staring
blindly at the magazine in her lap. She had allowed herself to be
utterly and completely seduced by her fantasy this weekend.
Never in her life had she succumbed so totally to the spell of a man.
Never had she been the type to become involved in weekend flings or
one-night stands. The knowledge that she had done exactly that during
the past couple of days left her feeling dazed and a little out of
control of herself. This wasn't a side of herself that she knew or
understood. She lowered her lashes uneasily as she contemplated the
unsettling facts.
Even though she had gone over some invisible edge this weekend, she had
only herself to blame. Hadn't she been dancing closer and closer to the
precipice each time she'd gone to Las Vegas during the past
few months?
No, damn it, she hadn't been in this kind of danger until this past
weekend, she corrected herself forcefully. There had never been a man
involved in her fantasy. There had been no temptation or seduction of
that sort whatsoever. Not until she had encountered Jordan Kyle.
And Jordan Kyle was unlike any other man she had ever met.
Since that disastrous year of her marriage to Chad Emerson, Alyssa knew
she had found it relatively
easy to keep from becoming entangled in any truly serious emotional
commitment. She'd had enough to do proving herself in the business
world. But humiliation at her own stupidity still surged to the surface
occasionally when she thought about that painful year and a half after
her graduation from college.
Her father had done his best to raise her, she realized. But he'd been
so hoping for a mathematical prodigy to more or less take his place in
the upper reaches of the academic research world that he'd firmly
guided his daughter into math. Alyssa hadn't minded. She loved the
subject and had a flair for it. But having a flair was not the same as
having a true genius for it. Reluctantly, because she longed to please
her father, she'd focused more and more on applied mathematics rather
than pure mathematics.
Applied math was the kind that was needed on a day-to-day basis in the
working world. From her end
of the spectrum
gentleness as he pulled her close. The golden eyes seemed to go molten,
and Alyssa thought she would melt under the heat of them.
"Because you're so strong, so solid, so real," she heard herself
whisper as she lifted her arms to encircle his neck. "Illusions aren't
supposed to be so very real."
Her lashes had fluttered shut as she raised her mourn for his kiss, and
so she did not see the hardness
that appeared in the depths of his gaze. "Alyssa," Jordan growled
softly as he picked her up and carried her over to the round bed,
bathed in desert moonlight, "don't ever make the mistake of thinking
I'm not quite real. Don't put me in the category of illusion, honey, or
you will find yourself taking what will undoubtedly be the first
genuine gamble of your life. And I guarantee you will lose."
But Alyssa was too wrapped up in this new world of sensation to heed
the warning.
Four
The jet heading back to Los Angeles International had just reached
fifteen thousand feet when Alyssa remembered the dinner party she was
scheduled to give the following Friday evening.
With that memory, reality came flooding back. Instinctively, she turned
in the seat, straining to glance back in the direction of Las Vegas,
but the glittering city in the middle of the desert was already out of
sight Jordan would have caught a cab back to his hotel. In another
couple of hours, he would be
preparing to go to work. The night shift, she decided in wry humor. Her
lover worked the night shift
at his job. And when she was with him, she had done the same
But real life was a respectable position with a sophisticated research
and testing firm. Working the night shift in Vegas was a weekend
illusion, a dangerous fantasy that had somehow become incredibly alive
during the past couple of days. Alyssa turned back in her seat, staring
blindly at the magazine in her lap. She had allowed herself to be
utterly and completely seduced by her fantasy this weekend.
Never in her life had she succumbed so totally to the spell of a man.
Never had she been the type to become involved in weekend flings or
one-night stands. The knowledge that she had done exactly that during
the past couple of days left her feeling dazed and a little out of
control of herself. This wasn't a side of herself that she knew or
understood. She lowered her lashes uneasily as she contemplated the
unsettling facts.
Even though she had gone over some invisible edge this weekend, she had
only herself to blame. Hadn't she been dancing closer and closer to the
precipice each time she'd gone to Las Vegas during the past
few months?
No, damn it, she hadn't been in this kind of danger until this past
weekend, she corrected herself forcefully. There had never been a man
involved in her fantasy. There had been no temptation or seduction of
that sort whatsoever. Not until she had encountered Jordan Kyle.
And Jordan Kyle was unlike any other man she had ever met.
Since that disastrous year of her marriage to Chad Emerson, Alyssa knew
she had found it relatively
easy to keep from becoming entangled in any truly serious emotional
commitment. She'd had enough to do proving herself in the business
world. But humiliation at her own stupidity still surged to the surface
occasionally when she thought about that painful year and a half after
her graduation from college.
Her father had done his best to raise her, she realized. But he'd been
so hoping for a mathematical prodigy to more or less take his place in
the upper reaches of the academic research world that he'd firmly
guided his daughter into math. Alyssa hadn't minded. She loved the
subject and had a flair for it. But having a flair was not the same as
having a true genius for it. Reluctantly, because she longed to please
her father, she'd focused more and more on applied mathematics rather
than pure mathematics.
Applied math was the kind that was needed on a day-to-day basis in the
working world. From her end
of the spectrum
Similar Books
