The Baby Gamble (Texas Hold'em)

“I want to hear you say it.”

“Why?”

“You’re the one who says words are so important.”

Tilting her head, Annie studied him. From the short tousled hair, past the tie loosened at his neck, the legs that seemed to go on forever. “What do you want, Blake?”

“My needs are simple,” he said. “I want to lie in your bed, take you in my arms and forget that there are a million reasons I shouldn’t be there.”

She wanted that, too. Making love with Blake again wasn’t going to solve anything. Or change anything.

Grasping his hand, she started to lead him back to her room.

He didn’t budge.

“What?” she asked, glancing back at him. And only then realized how horrible she must look. Old

sweats. Hair tangled around her shoulders and down her back. Tear-streaked, makeup-free cheeks. She wasn’t a twenty-year-old anymore, who could get away without the camouflage makeup provided.

“Say it, Annie. Tell me that you want me in your bed tonight.”

Why she resisted, Annie wasn’t sure. But something stopped her from doing what he asked.

“We aren’t good for each other, Blake.”

“I know that.”

His easy acquiescence surprised her. And saddened her. Though she’d known the truth, his validation still hurt. Which only proved the danger she was in, standing here talking to him. Contemplating more.

“We’re too different. Our personalities, emotional needs, they don’t complement each other.”

“I know, Annie.”

Sincerity rang in his words. And, surprisingly, calmed her.

“And you still want to spend the night in my bed.”

“I still want to take you into my arms and hold you awhile.”

It made no sense, what they were doing. And yet it felt completely right.

“I want you in my bed tonight, Blake.”

She knew, as soon as she said the words, that she’d just crossed another line, into territory so unfamiliar she’d have no hope of traveling there without getting lost.

BLAKE MOVED SLOWLY, entering Annie, pulling back, returning and finding peace, as well as passion in the movement. He’d loved her well that night, finding things in her he’d never found anywhere before in this life of his. Giving and caring, certainly, but so much more than that. She accepted him just as he was now, without any expectations. Or a need for things he’d never be able to give her.

In Annie’s arms, he was finding unconditional love—something he’d lost in the crash that had taken his parents when he’d been too young to completely understand the changes that had been wrought in his life.This was the third time they’d come together that night. Silently. Seemingly understanding that words would only come between them, not help them. He reached for her and she was there. She reached for him and he couldn’t deny her.

He loved her slowly this time. Savoring every nuance, every sensation, his eyes focused completely on hers as he slid in and withdrew in long, slow strokes, no less passionate for their lack of fervor. He’d stripped her of her clothes hours before—and she’d reciprocated.

Her bare breasts, nipples erect, brushed against him as he moved, back and forth, and the friction through the hair on his chest was just one more sensation to take in. To appreciate.

There was no doubt in Blake’s mind that he loved her. Had always loved her. Just as he knew he never wanted to hurt her by imprisoning her within his emotional voids. He didn’t look for a happy ending here. Only a moment. A touch of heaven to take with him into the darkness.

He could feel the pressure burning within him, building—and he tried to hold on. He didn’t want to spill into her, to end it. And at the same time, he had to give himself to her completely, to know that moment of total release.

“I want you to come with me.” He hardly recognized his ragged whisper.