Read Online Joker's Wild by Sandra Chastain - Free Book Online Page B

he meant it. “Thank you, Joker. I think I might have been wrong about you. I’d like to give you a hug.”
    She slid her arms around his waist and laid her face against his broad chest. She refused to think about the feeling of energy and power that came with Joker’s touch. She just knew that every time he came near her, she experienced an inexplicable yearning. In spite of her hateful accusations, he’d given her a great deal, and she was grateful.
    They stood, holding each other, feeling pleasurein giving comfort. Without thinking, she nudged his shirt away so that she could feel the warmth of his skin against her cheek.
    His skin rippled in reaction to her touch. And then the way he held her changed. Her body began to ache with a warm heaviness that she couldn’t understand.
    “Tomorrow we’ll start exercising.” Joker cleared his throat and took a deep, steadying breath. Oxygen didn’t help. His voice sounded as if it came from somewhere below his kneecaps.
    “We will?” She felt dizzy, too disoriented to control the way her body was responding. “Maybe you ought to start by teaching me how to stand. Even my good leg is unsteady.”
    “I’ll hold you.” Joker’s touch was restrained as he moved his hands reassuringly down her back to cup her buttocks and take all her weight in his hands. He felt her press against him. He couldn’t be wrong about the invitation her body was sending him. She wanted him, but now was not the time. If he made love to her now, she’d never forgive him. She was hurt and vulnerable and reacting to his kindness. He’d hold her for a while, let her gently down, and then wait until he knew the feeling was truly for him.
    “It’s so warm,” she said. “We need air-conditioning. I’ve told Gran for years that we need to get some units, but she would never agree.”
    “I think we need some fresh air. Let’s sit out on the patio and get to know each other.” He lifted her into his arms, pushed open the door, and stepped into the cool of the evening. She snuggled close, every brush of her breast against him a form of pure torture.
    “Of course, it’s your house now,” she said agreeably, “and if you want air-conditioning, you don’t have to ask me.”
    “It isn’t that simple, darling.” He placed her In the swing and sat down beside her, keeping his arm around her. She laid her head naturally on his chest and adjusted her body until they were comfortable together. He didn’t think that she’d believe him if he told her that the down payment on the house had taken up all of his savings, that he’d had to make a few good bets at the track to parlay his money into twice what he’d had to Start with to have enough.
    “Why not? No, don’t tell me. I always did ask too many questions.”
    “Yes, you do. It’s so nice and peaceful out here. Let’s just sit and enjoy the night.”
    “All right.” Allison leaned contentedly against the man who’d stepped in and changed her life, determined to follow his suggestion. He cared about her. She needed his comfort, and she relaxed as he touched his foot to the floor and moved the swing back and forth.
    From where they were sitting, they could watch fireflies twinkle like stars against the velvet darkness of the garden. In the distance the crickets and tree frogs set up a symphony of night sounds, and the ever-present sweetness of honeysuckle and magnolias perfumed the air. A crescent-shaped moon hung low in the sky, sprinkling moonbeams through the branches of the trees.
    “How did you hurt your knee, Allison?”
    “There’s nothing unusual about a skater being injured. You fall, turn an ankle, bump a knee. I’d done it a thousand times—until the Olympics. Then …” She went silent for a moment.
    “What happened at the Olympics?”
    “We were in third place, behind the English and the Russian ice skaters. For some reason we weren’t skating well. There was one particularly difficult move we’d practiced, but