by Loyd, Sandy
“She’s definitely got her hands full, but my money’s on her. Besides, what’s done is done.”
Chapter 11
Simon led Giselle into the library and over to the table with four chairs in one section of the large room.
While walking to the bar, he asked, “What game would you like to play?”
Giselle giggled and Simon grinned. “Maybe I should rephrase my question. Before I do, though, would you like a glass of sherry?”
“Non,” she said, bestowing a wide smile and a firm shake of her head. “I want what you are drinking.”
Lifting an eyebrow, Simon met her gaze. “Isn’t that a bit strong?”
“Non, you forget I lived in Paris. I have come to love French brandy. Bourbon is not much different.” At his scoff, she countered, “What? You do not believe me?”
“No. It’s not that.” He laughed and poured two stiff drinks. “I believe you. I just wonder how well you hold your liquor.”
“Why not bring the drink over here, Simon, and I will show you. Bring the bottle, too. We may need reinforcements.”
Her comment earned another laugh. “My, my! I’m learning all kinds of things. Imagine a little French lush. I never would have guessed.”
He placed the drinks along with the bottle on a tray and strode toward her. With a minimum of movement, he put the tray on the table and handed one drink to her while picking his up.
He sat down next to her just as she spoke.
“You know, I should not be in here with you.”
He glanced at her, and took a drink. Then he set his glass on the table and began shuffling the cards. “All right, I’ll bite. Why not?”
Eyeing his actions, she brought her glass to her lips and took a lengthy sip before answering.
“Because you are a bold one, Simon Harrington. And I do not know what to make of you.”
His rich laughter rose up and filled the air. “And you amuse me, Giselle. Why is that? I can’t remember laughing so much or enjoying a woman’s company since the last time I was with you.”
She smiled coyly. “So that is why you ignored me during dinner. Because I amuse you?” she asked, keeping her smile in place while her eyebrows shot up.
“No.” He began dealing the cards. “I ignored you at dinner to have your company after dinner. It appears my ploy worked. Didn’t it?”
Giselle picked up her cards, rearranging them before setting them down and taking another drink. Suddenly she burst into laughter. She shook her head, grinning. “That is simply too devious.”
While arranging his cards, Simon lounged back in his chair, allowing a nonchalant expression to move over his face. “One does what one must,” he said offhandedly.
“No wonder I find you so entertaining.” At his shrug, she asked, “So, what are we playing?”
“I thought we’d play poker, since you seem so familiar with male vices. Five card draw.”
“I have to warn you. I am pretty good at poker,” she countered. Her grin returned, reaching her eyes.
“Naturally,” he murmured, giving in to the urge to curl his lips into a wide grin.
“What are we betting with?” She leaned toward him, clearly getting into the spirit of the game.
“I don’t know. We can use matchsticks if you’d like. Or money?”
“Playing for matchsticks sounds rather boring.” Giselle’s smile turned smug when she added, “And I have no need of money. Why not raise the stakes and play for something we both really want from the other?”
Her provocative dare drew his attention. Something about her expression didn’t bode well. He straightened, clearing his throat. He hesitated. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“What is the matter, Simon?” she whispered, her voice challenging. Hell, everything about her challenged him. The gleam in her eyes, the secret smile she flashed, even the way she held her head when she goaded, “Are you losing your boldness?”
He shook his head, working to ignore her taunting ways. Trouble was, he couldn’t ignore her for long. Not the enchanting woman he glimpsed in front of him, dressed so provocatively, throwing out challenges.
His amusement grew. Knowing he only wanted one thing from her right now and also knowing if she knew what it was, she’d run for her life, he grinned. “Are you going to push until I get it back?”
“Of course,” she said slyly, more laughter bubbling up.
The minx was enjoying herself immensely. Watching her, he tamped down a desire to wipe clean the teasing gleam emanating from her eyes, replacing it with one of passion. Not his best idea. Though stuck, he wasn’t sure he wanted to get unstuck. Shrugging, he said, “Very well. I’ll play it your way. What’s your bet?”
“My company after dinner tomorrow night. If I win, you do not have it. If I lose, you have it. Now, what is yours?”
Simon was silent as ten seconds ticked by, then another ten. With his eyes on hers, he mulled over his options for dealing with the chit and wondering at the craziness of actually considering his bet.
“A kiss,” he said, backing down at the last minute.
Her trill of light laughter danced in the air around him, mocking him.
“Oh, Simon, I am disappointed in you. That is hardly worth playing for.”
He held his tongue while discarding three cards, then looked over at her with a raised brow. “How many?”
“One. Would you like to raise the bet?” she asked mischievously, her eyes alive with humor, still mocking him.
Biting back his smile, he tried not to be amused. “Not when you only take one card, I don’t.”
“I could be bluffing.”
“Maybe. But I don’t think so,” he said confidently. “Let’s see your cards.”
“Smart man.” She turned over two aces and two tens. “What do you have?”
He flipped his cards, showing only a pair of fives. When she started to rise, he put his hand on her arm, effectively stopping her.
“One more and we can raise the stakes,” he goaded, with a closed expression sliding over his face.
“I already have what I want,” she said, shaking her head. “Why should I take a chance on losing again?”
“Same reason I took your first bet. Because you’re a gambler at heart and can’t resist the challenge I’m throwing out.”
She sat back down, considering his claim while meeting his eyes. “Oui. If you lose, you lose not only my company, you will have to spend time with Minnie and Maizie.”
“All right. I can agree to that.”
When he didn’t say anything further, she prodded, “What is your bet, Simon?”
He shrugged. “I’m going for broke. You may not like it.”
“I will not know until you tell me, will I?” she threw out haughtily. After another long pause, Giselle urged impatiently, “Well?”
“I want a night with you. Not just the evening, but the full night.”
She laughed. When she could speak again, she said, “Let me see if I have this correctly. You want me to bet my company for full night against your spending a little time with Minnie and Maizie? I hardly think the two are comparable.”
“You asked and I bet,” Simon explained, shrugging nonchalantly. “You certainly don’t have to take me up on it. I merely thought to make it more interesting…up the ante, so to speak.”
“Oh, it definitely does that,” she agreed. “I have never done anything so outrageous in my life and I am not sure if I want to, not for one measly evening with Minnie and Maizie. It hardly seems a fair trade.”
“Then think of something so it is fair. That is, if you’re not too afraid to take me up on a real game with real stakes,” he dared, taunting her further, causing her eyes to narrow while her gaze seemed to be searching for some answer in his face.
“Let me think.” Finally, she glanced at him, her expression curious. “If I spend the time with you, what will be expected of me?”
“Nothing but your company. But I rese
rve the right to change your mind about certain aspects of your visit.”
“You mean you will try to have your way with me?”
He chuckled. “Something like that.”
“And if I do not want to, you will accept my decision?” she asked tentatively, her expression becoming guarded.
“Of course. I only want willing women in my bed. There’s no thrill in forcing myself on someone, even though some find the idea sporting.” His gaze pierced hers while he added, “Make no mistake, Giselle. I do want you willing in my bed and that will be my goal for the night.”
The blush spreading up her face told him she was probably still an innocent. It also made him rethink the craziness of this game. But once he put the offer out on the table, he wasn’t about to back down. He wanted her too much, and his reasoning where Giselle Franklin was concerned had taken a holiday long before this.
Giselle licked her lips in a nervous fashion. “I see. And you would do this, despite what you saw and heard this afternoon.”
“That’s between you and Bradford,” he whispered solemnly, his expression hardening. “This is between you and me. The two have no connection.”
“You are willing to spend the night with me, ply me with sweet words to gain my acceptance, and you are not concerned I may have feelings for someone else?”
“Do you?” he asked a little too quickly.
“Do I what?”
“Have feelings for Bradford,” he clarified, leaning back in his chair, holding her gaze. “I couldn’t quite make that out from your words. It’s obvious he does for you, but are they reciprocated? Are you going to marry him?”
“What if I said yes?” Giselle asked quietly, swallowing hard with a searching expression.
“Then I would fight doubly hard to have you.”
Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “That does not make sense.”
“It does to me,” Simon stated firmly. “I asked a few simple questions. Are you in love with Bradford and are you going to marry him? How hard can they be to answer?” He asked his impatient questions in a curt voice as irritation spread along his spine.
“You do not ask much, yet you ask too much,” came her tormented reply. “I cannot tell you how I feel about Bradford, nor can I say I will ever marry him at this point. But my question for you is why does all this matter if I am but a game to you?”
He gave a self-deprecating laugh and answered honestly. “Who says I have to be rational in my dealings with you? Look at it this way. I’m wagering a night with an inexperienced virgin in the hopes I may sway her into making love with me. I must be mad. How many men have you flirted with over time, Giselle? How many men have tried and failed to woo you? One hundred? Two hundred? Are you worried that I could succeed where others have failed?”
His words caused her to look closely at his face again, but he still allowed his expression to yield nothing.
“Why are you doing this? I do not understand.”
“Neither do I,” Simon said, sighing. “Are you going to take the bet or not?”
She remained silent, the entire time Simon held his breath, not totally sure of her answer. He gave a sigh of relief when she said, “I cannot take it for the original bet. You would have to agree to leave me free every evening you are here.”
“Done,” he said quickly, then picked up the cards and hesitated. Snaring her gaze, he asked, “You’re sure you want the bet? I don’t want you to cry foul if you lose.”
She stiffened and threw her shoulders back. Her expression resolute, she took a long swallow of her drink, almost choking on it.
“I will honor my bet, if you will,” she said, once her coughing fit ended. “Now, deal the cards.”
“Anything you say, my dear.” Simon smiled at her confident expression and the bravado voiced in her words. “Good luck.”
He shuffled the cards thoroughly before dealing them. When he was done, he put the deck facedown and picked up his hand, keeping his face blank while arranging his cards.
He took three cards out of his hand and laid them on the table. Glancing at her, he raised a brow. “How many?”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Three.”
Simon dealt her three cards as well as himself. He lounged back in a nonchalant pose, his serious gaze meeting her wary brown one.
“What do you have?” he asked, his voice coming out in a whisper.
“Nothing.” She laid her cards facedown, looking at him with a turbulent expression in her eyes.
His breath came out slowly as he laid his cards on the table. “Looks like a pair of fours beats nothing.”
She stood and said softly, “Can I honor my part tomorrow night? I need some time to come to terms with my folly.”
He nodded and watched her walk proudly from the room, wondering the entire time if he’d gone completely mad. What had possessed him to suggest such a thing? He leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, seeing only her laughing brown-eyed stare dancing around in his brain, mocking him. And he knew nothing short of having her would erase the image from his mind.
Chapter 12
The next morning Simon was up an hour or so before dawn. His thoughts, as he mounted a horse and rode down the lane, focused on Giselle Franklin. It irked him to be thinking about her at all. It irked him even more to realize his main reason for getting on the road early was to return with plenty of time in order to interest her in a ride during the afternoon. He hoped a little time spent in her company would soften her attitude toward him and the night to come.
His jaw clenched and the horse underneath him shied a bit. He relaxed the tension radiating from his body and gripped the reins tighter to gain control of the animal.
As he continued galloping away from Twin Oaks, the memory of the night before pricked his consciousness. Mentally chastising himself, he knew he should forget about the bet…forget about allowing a mere slip of a woman to affect him. With no time to dally and much to accomplish, he should do his job quickly so he could leave. The sooner he left, the better off everyone would be, including Giselle.
He snorted. Yeah. He understood fully what he should do. But should and would were miles apart. He had no sense, because right or wrong, nothing would stop him from having his night. Now that the cards had been dealt, literally, he had no other recourse than to play them out, even though the game became more serious by the day. She drew him like water draws a man in the desert. The more he was with her, the more he wanted to be with her. It was as simple as that. No other woman had intrigued him in such a fashion, both two years ago and now. Why it had to be someone as flighty as Giselle was beyond his comprehension. He saw her trap so clearly, and it amazed him that he was stepping into it freely.
~~
The yearling reared his head, not happy with the halter Giselle had placed over his head.
“Steady, boy,” Gus said, gentling the horse.
“You really do work here?”
Caught off guard, Giselle looked up to see Simon straddling a horse, his face sporting a silly, lopsided grin. The sight of him lifted her mood and pleasure spread through her system because he had clearly sought her out.
All day long, thoughts of the evening to come had played over and over in her mind. The fact that after tonight her virginity might be lost did not seem to faze her. This might be her only chance to experience life to the fullest. The idea of having an exciting man like Simon Harrington introduce her to the ways of love caused a surge of anticipation to run through her.
“Oui, I do. Imagine that,” she answered coyly. Though she had kissed many, he was the first man who ever made her wonder what went beyond.
He chuckled and glanced at Gus. “Can I borrow your worker? I have a few questions to ask her. I thought we could take a ride out together and she could answer them on the way.”
Gus took the reins of the halter from her and nodded. “Ja, I see Jake gave you a couple of horses needing some exercise. Since the weather will be turnin
g cold soon, it’s good to work them as much as possible. Go on, Giselle. I can finish here.”
Giselle licked her lips, grazing the bottom one, shy all of a sudden and not sure if she wanted to be alone with Simon. He seemed much too virile and she no longer trusted her ability to handle him.
“What’s the matter, Giselle?” Simon teased. “Afraid?”
Wanting to wipe his too confident grin off his face, she threw her shoulders back, stalked up to him, and yanked the reins he held out to her out of his grip.
He leaned over and whispered so only she could hear, “No need to be afraid, honey. I don’t bite, at least not hard.”
As fast as she could, she placed her foot in the stirrup, jumped on the horse, and galloped away from the pasture, listening to his taunting laughter behind her.
Seconds later, hoofbeats warned her that Simon rode hard to catch up.
Urging the mare faster, Giselle felt her face flame. Even more appalling was that he had been fully aware of her reaction. How could she ever think to meet him head-on if she continued to run from him like a scared rabbit at his slightest taunt?
Remember, Giselle, she chided herself. If you keep your calm and don’t respond to his teasing, you might be able to rattle him.
She had done so the evening before and could do it again.
Eventually she slowed, allowing him to ride up beside her.
After ambling for a quarter of a mile, she placed a bored look on her face and turned to him. “How far are we going to ride?”
“I don’t know. Far enough to have you to myself.”
She yanked on the reins, halting her horse. Keeping her bored expression intact, she said, “Simon, this is not part of our agreement.”
“Then I’m changing the rules of our agreement.”
She could tell by his clipped voice and the irritation flaring from his eyes that her assertion and manner annoyed him. “You said you had some questions for me,” she asked, continuing in the same vein. “So ask away.”
“That was just a ploy to get you alone and you well know it,” came his angry reply. “Don’t start playing coy with me, Giselle. You won’t like the consequences.”
