Gambler's Woman

by Jayne Ann Krentz

“Damn it, I gave you my word I’d keep quiet about Alyssa. What the hell more do you want?”

  “The full truth.” Jordan waited, implacable and frightening, even to Alyssa, whom he was in the process of defending. “I’ll get it one way or another. Either from you tonight or from the investigator within a day or two. The only deal I’ll make with you is that if you save me the trouble of hiring my friend in L.A., I’ll have Alyssa keep quiet about the identity of the woman. In other words, we’ll swap information, Davis. And then we’ll both agree to keep silent about what we know. It’s called a standoff, I think.”

  In the end, Davis told them. It was Alyssa who understood the full significance of the name, however. “Marilyn Crawford? You’ve been seeing Marilyn Crawford, Hugh?” She gasped in amazement.

  There was silence from the other man as he made a show of straightening his clothing. Jordan had released the now-sullen man when he’d produced the name.

  “Who is she?” Jordan asked, turning to Alyssa curiously.

  “She’s the president of a rival firm. No wonder Hugh wanted to keep the name to himself. McGregor would be furious if he found out one of his employees was seeing her. Yeoman Research and Marilyn Crawford’s company are arch enemies. We fight over the same contracts and bid for the same projects. Marilyn’s father, I understand, hated David McGregor, and when he left the firm to his daughter, he apparently left the legacy of hatred. McGregor would say without hesitation that any involvement between Hugh and Ms. Crawford clearly amounted to a conflict of interest. He’s probably suspect him of selling information.”

  “That’s not true!” Hugh blazed with surprising fury. “I wouldn’t tell that bitch a damn thing!”

  Jordan arched a derisive eyebrow. “Like I said. Not much of a gentleman, are you? You’re calling your lover a bitch?”

  “Everything’s over between us,” Hugh muttered tensely. “She lied to me. Promised me a position if things didn’t work out at Yeoman…” He stopped, realizing he was saying too much, but Jordan merely nodded.

  “So she was trying to get information out of you, and when she got what she wanted, she dropped you.”

  “She didn’t get what she wanted!” Hugh exclaimed with such intensity that Alyssa, for one, believed him. “I never told her a damn thing about Yeoman.”

  “And that’s when she decided to drop you?” Alyssa hazarded.

  “We had it out yesterday. She made it very clear she was only trying to get information out of me.”

  “Why did you ever get involved with her, Hugh?” Alyssa asked very gently. “I know she’s quite beautiful, but you must have known what McGregor would do if he ever found out.”

  “He’d do the same thing he’d do if he ever found out about your gambling and who Kyle, here, really is, wouldn’t he?” Hugh shot back.

  Alyssa winced. “Point taken. But I can tell you why I started gambling. I like it. And I don’t lose any more than I can afford,” she tacked on carefully, knowing he’d never believe her if she claimed that she routinely won.

  Hugh lifted one shoulder with a touch of bravado. “Maybe I started seeing Marilyn for the same reasons. She was exciting, a little dangerous, and I…I thought that if I ever were to learn anything useful from her, I might be able to use it to impress McGregor. Then she offered me a position if I didn’t get this promotion. I was grateful. I still wanted the promotion, but it was nice to know there would be somewhere else to go just in case. Then, yesterday, I guess she decided her own scheme wasn’t going to work, and she told me it was all over. Told me to go to hell, in fact,” he added roughly.

  “And suddenly getting the promotion became more important than ever, didn’t it?” Alyssa concluded perceptively. “So, armed with the information your wife had accidentally dug up, you came to see me.”

  Hugh said nothing, his sullen glance sliding resentfully to Jordan, who smiled very blandly. “Don’t ever come to see my woman again, Davis. If you try to do anything more than say hello to her in the hall at work, I’ll slaughter you. And if word of Alyssa’s ‘hobby’ ever gets out, I’ll know where to come looking for the culprit, won’t I?”

  “You’ve got a deal,” Hugh growled, heading for the door. “Alyssa and I will both agree to keep our mouths shut, won’t we, Alyssa?” But her answer froze his fingers to the doorknob.

  “You don’t have to worry, you know, Hugh. The promotion is yours.”

  Jordan, who had been watching his victim leave, swung around to stare at her. She smiled serenely at him, ignoring the startled Hugh. “I’m taking myself out of the running for that management post.”

  “What the hell…?”

  “The devil you are!”

  She wasn’t sure which man spoke first, but her eyes never left Jordan’s. “I’ve decided I don’t really care for the lovely career I’ve built. Folks in this world play a little too rough for me. I want out.”

  “Alyssa!” Jordan reached for her, yanking her up in front of him. “Honey, you can’t do this! Think about what you’re saying!”

  She smiled again and nodded dismissively at Hugh. “Good night, Hugh. This next part is between Jordan and myself.”

  Jordan shot the other man a look of warning. “You’re not to say a damn thing about this, understand? Alyssa doesn’t know what she’s saying tonight. She will undoubtedly change her mind by morning!”

  Hugh nodded, eyeing his coworker narrowly, and slammed out the door. Jordan instantly turned back to Alyssa, his powerful, supple fingers digging into her upper arms as he glared at her.

  “Honey, you’ve been under a lot of pressure today. Don’t make any hasty decisions tonight. This is your future we’re talking about!”

  “I know.” She smiled.

  “You can’t just shelve it like that! You’ve explained to me how much it means to you.”

  “It meant a lot because there was no other future which sounded more appealing, and I thought I had to prove something to a couple of people whose opinions no longer matter.” Her father was dead, and she had never really loved her ex-husband. She had her own life to lead.

  He groaned and pulled her tightly against him. “Sweetheart, listen to me before you do anything rash. I know my world looks glamorous and exciting to you, but believe me, you wouldn’t like it on a permanent basis. Hell, I don’t particularly like it on a permanent basis! I can’t let you give up everything to come and join me there. Why the hell do you think I moved heaven and earth to get here tonight in time to get you out of the trouble I’d gotten you into?”

  She moved her head once in a negative gesture against his chest. “You didn’t get me into trouble. I got myself into it very nicely, thank you. You were something of an innocent victim, actually.”

  “Alyssa, Alyssa,” he crooned hoarsely, holding her so tightly she could hardly breathe. “Honey, please don’t act hastily. I don’t want you to regret anything. I can handle Davis if he makes more trouble.”

  “I’m sure you can. You handled him very well tonight. Whatever made you guess he had something to hide?”

  “I wasn’t absolutely sure, but it was worth a chance. There had to be some reason why he was using you as a shield. An affair is an affair. If he didn’t care about his wife finding out, why hide behind the wrong woman? I gambled that there must be more to the story than what he claimed.”

  “And you won. As usual. You can be a little frightening, Jordan. My world isn’t the only one where folks play rough, is it?”

  “Don’t ever be afraid of me,” he groaned into her hair.

  “No,” she agreed gently.

  “Sweetheart, I meant what I said. Please don’t do anything rash like quitting your job.”

  “Afraid of having to support me?” she said, chuckling into his shirt.

  He shook her in soft punishment. “You know damn well that’s got nothing to do with it. I’m willing to support you for the rest of your life. And protect you and make love to you!”

  “That’s nice. Remember that when I
show up in Las Vegas tomorrow night, okay?”

  He held her slightly away from him, lifting her chin so that she met his searching gaze. “One more time, Alyssa. Don’t act hastily. We’re two intelligent, quick-thinking people. We can go on juggling both worlds together indefinitely.”

  “But I don’t want to do that, Jordan.” She pulled free of his arms. “Would you like a glass of cognac before we go to bed?” she asked, her eyes smiling at him.

  “No.”

  “No cognac?”

  “No bed. I’m going back to Vegas tonight,” he declared grimly.

  “Oh, Jordan.” She sighed, knowing what he was doing now because she could almost read his mind.

  “I have to give you time to think,” he declared, running a hand through his dark hair in exasperation. “I know that between the two of us we can make each other believe anything we want by morning.”

  “Which is a polite way of saying you can seduce me into forgetting everything when I’m in your arms? That I can’t possibly think straight while you’re making love to me?” she teased tenderly.

  He shot her a narrow glance. “It works both ways, you know. Why do you think I had to come looking for you when you sent that message saying you couldn’t make the Friday-night flight last week? I couldn’t even pay attention to my work! All I could think about was you.”

  Try to understand what that means, Jordan, Alyssa pleaded silently. Try to understand that maybe that means you’re in love with me the way I’m in love with you! Aloud she said persuasively, “It’s a long trip back to Vegas tonight.”

  “Not as long as the trip getting here,” he assured her grimly. “The thought of you tangling with Davis made me so damn furious I thought I’d go out of my head!”

  “I tried to tell you it wasn’t necessary to come and protect me, but you hung up the phone before I could get the words out.”

  “Believe me, it was necessary in spite of whatever you decide to do about your job tomorrow.” He stood staring at her, and the helpless, vulnerable expression on his hard face made Alyssa want to cradle him in her arms and soothe him.

  But there was nothing she could do at the moment. Instead, her eyes were full of her love as she said simply, “Good night, Jordan. I’ll find you at the casino. I’ll be arriving sometime between seven and eight, I imagine.”

  His mouth tightened as he read the determination in her, and he stepped forward, catching her possessively in his arms and kissing her hard. Then he was gone into the night.

  CHAPTER TEN

  THE FOLLOWING EVENING, ALYSSA drifted into the glittering casino sheathed in the black gown with the silver edging that she had worn the night she had met Jordan. She was every inch the sophisticated worldly lady gambler, a graceful figure of feminine mystery. Her rich auburn hair gleamed in the light of the heavy chandeliers, and the silver trim on her gown moved as if it were molten.

  In the depths of her sea-colored eyes, there was a beckoning and a longing and a promise that caught the attention of more than one male as she moved through the boisterous crowd. But each seemed to take one glance and recognize that the expression wasn’t meant for him. A few turned their heads, curious to see which man would claim the promise in her.

  Alyssa was unaware of the reaction. She was scanning the crowd of elegantly dressed players searching for only one face. Tonight none of the glitter or the brash luxury surrounding her appealed. Tonight nothing mattered except finding the man for whom she searched. It occurred to her as she made her way through the casino that she had never felt so free before in her life.

  Always there had been a predetermined goal, an end set for her by others. Her father had set impossibly high scholastic standards, hoping he had sired a genius to take his place. Her ex-husband had set her to work, luring her into marriage with the promise that somehow she could share the academic world through him, even though she wasn’t quite up to the genius levels required to participate fully.

  When she had finally gone out on her own, the goal of success in the business world had, in a sense, been predetermined for her, also. It was the only route left to her by which she could prove herself.

  The fantasy world of the casino had been her escape for a while, but tonight she entered it knowing she no longer needed it. Tonight she had come to free not only herself but the man she loved. Together they would build a new world all their own. If he loved her, too.

  That was the only hitch, of course, Alyssa reminded herself as she wound her way into the crowd, heading for the blackjack tables. Did Jordan truly love her? She was betting everything on the hope that he did. Never had the stakes been so high.

  She found him seated at a blackjack table, and for a long moment she stood silently watching him as he played. Dressed in the black and white of formal evening clothes, his lean, hard body made a subtly dangerous statement. The overhead light gleamed off the Vandyke-brown hair that touched the crisp white collar of his shirt, and she knew when he turned around that the familiar golden eyes would be warm with their own inner fire. Standing very still a little distance away, she watched the smooth, sure movements of his long fingers as they placed bets and checked cards. Magic hands.

  He didn’t turn around until the play had ended. Then he politely accepted his modest winnings and slid off the stool, starting toward her as if he had known she was there all along. He stopped a couple of feet away, eyes raking over her, from the black patent leather sandals to the crown of her auburn head. He had known she was there, watching him, she realized because he could almost read her mind. And she could almost read his.

  Almost. That was the factor that made the next step so risky. Almost was not for sure.

  “Can I buy you a drink?” she murmured, knowing her outward composure probably hid the way her pulses were racing.

  He smiled, remembering, as she had, the way he had approached her that first night. “It’s all right,” she went on, eyes glinting with a trace of laughter, “I don’t work for the casino.”

  “No?” he questioned, coming closer by a pace as if drawn by invisible cords. The sound of his deep voice touched every nerve in her body.

  “No,” she assured him softly. “It’s quite safe to come and have a drink with me.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” he said as he allowed her to take his arm and they headed toward the nearest lounge. “You look a little dangerous to me tonight.”

  “But I don’t work for the casino. I don’t work for anyone, as a matter of fact.” She felt his arm tense under her fingers. “That’s one of the things I wanted to speak to you about,” she went on bravely. “I resigned my job today.”

  He seated her carefully and slid into the black leather booth beside her, his face intense. “You don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of you. Always.”

  Her mouth crooked lovingly. “That’s very generous of you, but it’s not quite what I had in mind.”

  He touched her wrist as it lay on the small table they shared, and Alyssa stirred faintly when the familiar thrill trickled through her. “What, exactly, did you have in mind?” he murmured. He was looking at her, she suddenly realized, as if he couldn’t quite believe she was there. Had he really thought that in the end she would choose her job and her world instead of him?

  “I had in mind a new career for both of us, Jordan. Something quite respectable. You seem to be lured by the prospect of respectability.” Alyssa held her breath after she made the statement. Would he want what she was going to suggest?

  The fingers on her wrist ceased their gentle tracing. “What are you suggesting?”

  “A consulting firm with a name like Chandler-Kyle. Or, if you insist, Kyle-Chandler. A firm which would offer statistical and probability consulting to business. One that would not get involved in government contracts where a reckless past might prove a hindrance. We would have to invest in some hardware, like a computer, and some of your skills might have to be expanded a bit in new directions, but on the whole I think that, between us
, we have a lot of potential.”

  “And if it didn’t work out?”

  “Then we could always fall back on making our living by our wits, couldn’t we?” she murmured, flicking a careless hand toward the active casino floor in front of them. “In fact, we might find gambling a useful way to drum up a little capital for our new business. We might also find it a pleasant way to spend our vacations.”

  “In other words, you’re suggesting we make a stab at having the best of both worlds?”

  “On our own terms. Which we can do if we don’t work for other people who have prejudices against our particular talents.”

  His fingers began to move again, drawing an intimate design on the vulnerable skin of her palm. His eyes never left her face. “Do you think I could hold up my end of such a consulting firm?”

  So that was it. Lacking the formal degrees, Jordan apparently lacked some confidence in his own abilities. Alyssa didn’t. “I’ve been around enough mathematicians in my life to know true ability when I see it. Believe me, Jordan, you’ve got it. You may not have a degree, but you seem to have acquired a formidable amount of training along the way. Between us we have the skills.”

  He drew in his breath. “The skills to be respectable.”

  “Yes.” Damn it, what was he thinking? All at once, Alyssa couldn’t read even a fraction of his mind. The heat in his eyes was almost overwhelming, however, and she tried to take heart from it.

  “And on our own we can still wander in and out of your fantasy on occasion?” he pursued thoughtfully.

  “If you like,” she amended cautiously.

  Then he smiled, a brilliant, challenging grin that set all her fears to rest in one fell swoop. “Oh, I think I’d like that. This world of mine might be a hell of a lot more fun once I knew I wasn’t trapped in it. You’ve got yourself a deal, Alyssa Chandler. We’ll toss a coin to see whether the new firm’s name will be Chandler-Kyle or Kyle-Chandler.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d like to be the one who does the tossing,” she murmured.

  He threw back his head with a laugh that drew several interested stares. “Don’t you trust me, sweetheart?”