by Becky Lower
Flynn laid down his hand with a flourish. “Four of a kind.” He reached for the pot, only to have James hold his arm.
“Four of a kind can be beaten.” He glanced at Clay. “Sir, show your cards.”
Clay tossed his losing hand on the table and he pushed back his chair, rising with a huff. “I got crap.”
James laid his straight flush on the table and Mr. Flynn’s eyes bugged out.
He raised a hand and pointed his finger at Elise. “It was all her fault. She probably signaled you somehow that you had the winning hand.”
Elise swished her skirts, wishing she’d brought her whip along instead. “How could I have seen your cards, Mr. Flynn? I’ve been on this side of the table during the entire game. Not once did I go behind you. Since you’ve been paying very close attention to my movements, you should realize what I’m saying is the truth.” She picked up the earrings from the pile and attached them to her earlobes again. “Come along, James. I’d say you’re done here for the evening.”
James pocketed the winnings and the ownership papers for Big Mo, then shook Mr. Flynn’s hand. “No hard feelings, I hope. You’re a worthy opponent. I’ll give you a chance to win some of it back before we leave the boat.”
“Just leave the lady back in the stateroom and I’ll gladly play against you again. But she’s too big a distraction.” Mr. Flynn rose and took a step toward Elise. He wrapped his fingers around one of the earrings. “I’ll win these next time simply so I can have the honor of attaching them to your lovely ears.” His thumb brushed Elise’s cheek. She controlled the tremor that tried to roll through her body and instead stared into the man’s eyes. He released his hold on the earring and she took a breath.
“I’ll look forward to the next match, then.” Elise kept her voice low as the words spilled from her and she took hold of James’s arm. “Let’s get some fresh air before we turn in.”
After that tense game of cards, James must have needed to unclog his head as much as she did, since he had already been poised to head to the deck first. The night air smelled sweet as it drifted in over the waves of the Mississippi. The stars shone brighter than she had ever seen them. For a few moments, nothing was said as they stood at the railing and inhaled deeply.
“Thank you.” James broke the silence.
“For what? You played superbly all on your own.” Elise wished she had played a bigger part in the evening, but she could not claim the victory as hers.
“That was the best pot I’ve won in a long time. I now have enough money to leave riverboats behind and begin my business in San Francisco. I have you to thank for it.” James barked out a laugh. “Even though you initially tried to bankrupt me, it seems your purchase of this lovely red gown paid off. Especially when you did the one-shoulder shrug. I though old Flynn was about to have a heart attack.”
She swiveled her head to stare at his profile as they promenaded around the boat. His strong jaw showed a trace of stubble and dark eyebrows winged above his eyes, which, even though they weren’t looking in her direction, she already knew they were a lovely blue color that reminded her of the sky on a cloudless day.
His hat covered his head of thick, nearly black hair and she had a sudden urge to toss the hat into the drink and sink her hands into that head of fine hair. One hand reached up to follow through on her thoughts, but she controlled her urge to touch him again. She needed a clear head, not one muddled with the sensations this man caused. There were no canoes in the water filled with her saviors. She alone would have to save her family’s business. She alone would have to save herself from this dangerous man. James had not yet turned over the registration paper.
“Why don’t we go back to our rooms so I can slip into something a bit more comfortable?” She purposely deepened her voice, striving for provocativeness.
His sudden intake of breath convinced her he’d taken her meaning for what it had been meant. “A splendid idea, sweetheart.” He led her quickly to her room. “I’ll unlatch the connecting door this evening.”
“And I’ll join you momentarily,” she stopped outside the entrance to her cabin and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek quickly before she hurried inside to change. However, James took advantage of her closeness and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her back to the door. He lowered his head and his mouth met hers, searing her lips. She lost her breath and sank into his hard body.
His hands roamed over her naked shoulders, lowering the bodice of the gown to an almost embarrassing level, and his fingers toyed with the large stone of the necklace between her breasts. If she shifted only slightly, those fingers would graze her bosom. She poised on her tiptoes, eager to feel his touch. His mouth left her lips and carved a path down her neck. She held his head in place, dazed by his delicate touch, scarcely able to breathe. His deft fingers found the lacing in the back of the gown and he loosened the bodice even more. She had to remove her hands from him in order to hold her gown up. Which brought her out of her sexual haze. No! No! No! What had she been thinking, nearly undressing in the hall outside her cabin? Nearly undressing anywhere with this man around? She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“I’ll be only a minute, now that you’ve helped me with the lacings.” Despite herself, she leaned into him for one more kiss. Perhaps a last kiss.
James might have the impression she was going to change into only the fancy underthings she’d purchased that morning, but she had other plans. At least she’d had other plans when he wasn’t kissing her. Staying on board with him was proving to be too great a temptation. His slick exterior was undermining her common sense.
Her best course of action was to take Big Mo’s papers and jump overboard as soon as she could. To do so in her lovely evening gown would be a recipe for a drowning. She donned her shirt and gaucho pants again, along with her well-worn boots. She removed the ruby necklace and matching earrings, patting them with a sigh. They were James’s property and had been merely a prop for the night’s successful activity. She opened the connecting door.
James had taken the few minutes to untie his string tie, leaving it dangling on both sides of his neck. He’d unbuttoned the top of his shirt as well and removed his jacket. He still had on his vest, though, which is where he’d placed the paper he’d won. Her paper. He glanced up as the door opened, his perpetual smirk fading when he caught sight of her in the shirt and gauchos.
“I’m still tense from the evening’s activities and thought we could do with another stroll around the deck.” She crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him. “I didn’t want to stay in such a formal gown so I decided this outfit would be easier to climb into for one more turn around the deck.” She bumped her body up against him. “And it’s easier to get out of. Once we get to the rest of the night’s activities.”
He took hold of her waist, encased once more in the whip, and drew her in for a long, hot, searing kiss that had their tongues dueling. Just as her mind dueled between good sense and disaster.
“I had hoped we could begin those festivities now.” He murmured as his lips met hers in another scorching kiss and he backed her against the wall again. His tongue advanced and retreated in her mouth and his lower body matched the rhythm he’d set as he pulsated against her. Dear God, what this man was capable of evoking in her caused her to panic.
She could feel his body tightening, and his manhood swelling. Her feminine parts swelled as well, at his touch, and she was aware of a low throbbing ache again in her abdomen. Yes, the sooner she left him, the better. All she needed was the paper. To jump overboard at night was not an ideal scenario, but she had no other option. To stay, even for one more night, with James on the other side of the doorway, would be suicide. She’d take her chance with drowning over suicide any day. All she needed was that paper, and some money to get back home, and she’d be gone.
Only a sliver of moon made an appearance as they circled the deck. She shivered at the thought of the cold water rushing over her in the dark and t
ook a step closer to James in order to share his body heat. Or to imprint his form on her psyche before she left. To stay would be her undoing, since she’d never met a man who kissed as well as he did.
“You’re becoming chilled. Let’s return to the cabin. I can find all kinds of ways to heat you up.” James wrapped a strong arm around her waist as they strolled.
“No, not yet. You haven’t yet shown me the paper that you won. We don’t even know for certain it’s the correct one, since I only had a second to look at it.” She halted, hoping he’d tug the paper from its hiding place.
He stared at her for a long minute, and Elise could feel the coil of heat bouncing between them. This man had the capability of stealing her heart. Just as Bailey had Eleanor’s. She needed to remind herself of the disastrous outcome of that union. She needed to get off the boat before his slick charm totally undid her.
“This just might be my last riverboat ride, thanks to tonight’s pot.” James stroked his chest, running a hand over a bulging vest pocket, which she hadn’t noticed before. It contained the sizable pot from this evening’s activities. He took the crisp heavy paper from another pocket and handed it to her.
She studied it greedily, and ran her finger over her father’s familiar signature at the bottom of the document. “This is the right paper. It’s what I came on board for.”
“You still haven’t made clear what you’ll give me for this.” James tugged her closer.
She stroked her hand over the bulging pocket, and glanced up at him under her lashes. Sure of her charms and knowing they would be welcomed, she leaned into him, perched on her tiptoes and kissed him every bit as soundly as he had done with her in the room. She did appreciate the way he tasted of rum and tobacco. He closed his eyes and growled in the back of his throat.
“Miigwich, Slick.” Elise slid her fingers into his vest and grabbed his pocket full of money before she vaulted over the side of the boat, holding her breath and the all-important document as the water crashed over her.
She broke the surface of the river and started to swim toward what she hoped was the shoreline. Another something hit the water near her. She glanced about, attempting to see who or what had gone overboard. James’s handsome face popped out of the murky water a mere ten feet away from her.
“Nice night for a dip, don’t you agree?” She could tell he had the tell-tale smug look on his face, even if she couldn’t see him that well.
“What in the blazes are you doing?” Elise’s voice quavered with the cold. But she flamed hot inside. The infernal man had followed her.
“You took my money, you little thief. And you haven’t paid me yet for what is yours. I can’t let you get away.” He swam toward shore with smooth, long strokes. As if he took a dip in the muddy Mississippi every day. As if this were some lark. As if she had invited him along.
And damn. She did want him along.
CHAPTER SEVEN
James may have earned a reputation for having nerves of steel while in the service, but all it took was one kiss from the beautiful exotic creature named Elise Lafontaine for his emotions to completely unravel. Several kisses, actually; each one better than the one before. He’d been close to his money goal when he boarded, and hoped this trip would be his last, so he could enter the next stage of his life.
She had upended his plans from the moment she came on board, spending his money carelessly in the on-board shop, and then having him compound the foolishness by buying a costly necklace and earrings to match the gown. And now, stealing the rest of his money along with her papers. He was perilously close to having something else stolen, as well. Something he’d guarded for years, not wanting the hurt that came with it. He should have been angry. But his lips curved upward as he plunged into the muddy river after her. He hadn’t been so alive since the war ended.
How could it be that Elise picked right up on the fact he was amassing a fortune and setting up a business to impress a woman? His days in the army taught him how to readily mask his feelings. Especially since he had served his entire career in the folds of the Confederacy. Yet, Elise had managed to slip behind the mask and see what truly drove him. The woman could be dangerous—even without her whip. Or in the middle of the mighty Mississippi.
He really had no choice but to follow her into the flowing water.
“What in the blazes are you doing?” the beautiful, exotic creature yelled at him, her voice strident and yet sensuous at the same time.
“You took my money, you little thief. And you haven’t paid me yet for what is yours. I can’t let you get away.” James replied, keeping the memory of how her deep blue eyes called out to him from the moment he’d seen her, almost like a siren song. He’d had no choice in the matter except to intervene then. And now, his plans to finish compiling his fortune and to strike out for San Francisco had jumped overboard with her. He gave a passing thought to the jewels and costly gown in her stateroom. The cleaning crew would certainly appreciate her generosity.
“You’re hopeless, Slick. I just need to get on home, and your money will help get me there.” Elise crawled out of the brackish water and made her way slowly up the steep bank, where she lay for a moment to catch her breath.
He sprawled beside her, gasping for air like a fish who plopped on shore by mistake. He’d gotten soft in the months since the war ended. No more drills, no more long marches to keep his body fit. No tingle of excitement, dread, boredom, or fear on a daily basis. No sneaking around in the middle of the night. Gambling had kept his mind sharp, but the rest of his body needed some work. He glanced over at this bewitching woman he’d followed from the boat. Even in the pale moonlight he could see the curves of her body as her wet clothing clung to her form. His mouth dried even as he gasped for air, in a most ungentlemanly fashion.
“What’s next, sweetheart?” He brushed her long dark hair from her face and stared into those intriguing blue eyes. It was too dark to clearly see the color, but her eyes had bored their way into him from the first moment so he didn’t need the light to be well aware of their color.
She swatted his hand away. “What’s next for me is to find my way home, to alert my brothers about the Confederate pair, and have my siblings apprehend them in New Orleans. Or track them, once they get off the boat. None of which is any of your concern.”
“You could have stayed on board and taken care of that on your own. I would have vouched for your story when we docked, and Cody and Clay would spend their next night in jail.” James sat up and ran a hand down his soggy front. “We didn’t need to jump.”
“I gave it some thought, but you won the paper I’d come on board to retrieve, so there was little need for me to stay.” Elise bristled beside him, and scooted away from his grasp. “Besides, no one asked you to jump.”
James rose and offered Elise his hand. “Ah, yes. Your needs have been fulfilled. But there is that little matter of payment for my services you seem to be forgetting. I’m not leaving your side until you pay up.”
She ignored the hand and jumped to her feet. “You belong on the boat, amassing your fortune so you can flaunt it in the face of the woman who did you wrong. And I have nothing to give you for payment. You’ll only slow me down.”
“I can come up with a few ways you could pay me back. More than a few, actually. And, as far as slowing you down, feel free to test me.” He caught her intake of breath as she gave him a sidelong glance.
Maybe he hadn’t misread her feelings when they kissed. Maybe she would care to test him, take him for a ride as if he were a champion horse. For the first time in years, a lady intrigued him enough to interrupt his well-laid plans. So he was going to stick with her like a flea on a dog. For a while, anyway.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“Can you even make a fire, Slick?” Elise strode away from his side, away from the enticement of his arms. “We need to dry off, first and foremost. The rest of my agenda will come later.”
He caught up to her in a heartbeat, and she smiled w
hen his boots squished. Perhaps he’d caught a fish in those boots, which would be dinner for them.
He nodded at her question. “I've started many a fire in my day. As for the rest of your agenda...” He glanced in her direction, taking his time in his perusal of her wet clothing, and noticing how her white shirt clung to her breasts. His gaze made her hot and cold at the same time. Gooseflesh appeared on her arms, and she crossed them in front of herself, to cover her chest from his gaze. He’d come close to stealing more from her than any other man had done. He was not the type of man she was searching for. In fact, he was exactly the type of man she avoided. And now, he’d followed her off the boat. Damn him, anyway.
She broke eye contact and took a deep breath. They were near a grove of trees where they would have cover for the night. And there were probably enough fallen branches to start a fire with, if James carried a flint. Getting dry and getting some sleep were their first priorities. She’d figure out which direction she should head at first light, when she could see the lay of the land and get her bearings. If bearings were indeed possible with the slick, handsome riverboat gambler alongside her, matching her every movement. He wouldn’t give up and leave her until she paid him what he was due. She’d have to bluff him, as if she had a bad poker hand, since none of his payment options were something she wanted to participate in. She truly did hold a bad poker hand. If she couldn’t figure out how to fend him off, he might just kiss her again, making her insides jump sideways and her knees become jelly.
She cleared her throat. “There will be no ‘rest of my agenda’—at least as it relates to you. In the morning, we’ll part ways. I need to get home before my brothers all wander off in different directions in search of me, and you need to get back on the river, get to your gambling.” Elise decided on a level spot out of the way of any prying eyes on the river. “We’ll camp here.”
