Back in Her Husband's Bed

Nate was not deterred by her apparent refusal. He widened his stance, gripping her with almost crushing strength to thrust in short, quick movements that left her no choice in the matter. The pressure built up, washing over her like a tidal wave. She was swept up in it, overwhelmed by the sensations she had deprived herself of for so long.

“Yes,” Nate hissed into her ear, coaxing her release as he held her thrashing body tight against him. When she stilled, softening in his arms from exhaustion, he moved quickly, shouting out her name with his last few thrusts.

Exhausted, he eased her back against the wall, resting her bottom on the railing. It was cold, but Annie didn’t care. Her whole body was throbbing, her skin feverish and slick with sweat.

Nate propped his elbows on the wall beside her and leaned against it to breathe, his body still cradled between her trembling thighs. “That—” he spoke between rapid breaths “—was worth the wait, but let’s not go another three years before we do it again.” His dark eyes studied her face for a moment before he lifted her up off the railing. With her wrapped around him, he reached over to hit the button and let the elevator continue up to his suite.

Seven

Annie wasn’t certain how the first day of the tournament would go. She was used to playing on her own terms. Free to indulge her superstitious rituals without personal distractions. This mess was the opposite of how she liked to work.

For one, she got almost no sleep. She and Nate had made love until her muscles gave out and she simply couldn’t do anything but collapse onto the bed. When she finally did sleep, it was like a minicoma until Nate shook her shoulder and told her she had to get up.

It felt odd to wake up in Nate’s bed with him beside her. Strangely comforting and familiar. She didn’t remember this feeling from before. Then there had only been the panic of knowing she was married. Today she was still married, but that didn’t seem to bother her as much.

It was an interesting and unsettling development. She’d sat up in bed and watched him disappear down the hall in nothing but pajama pants. Almost immediately her body was ready for more of him, but she knew now was the time to focus. She had a big day ahead of her.

Before she could go downstairs, she had to get briefed by Gabe for the tenth time. She also had to get wired. That experience itself was uncomfortable enough, even with Nate’s warm hands under her blouse to distract her. The head of security had said several important things after that, but all she knew was that the tape that secured the wires pulled at her skin and itched something fierce. She still hadn’t adjusted to the idea of having Gabe listening in to her conversations all day. Same team or no, every word out of her mouth was subject to his scrutiny and she didn’t like having to worry about it on top of everything else.

Add all that onto the pressure of scoping out her fellow players and she was completely unprepared to play poker. With the way she felt, she might just choke and get eliminated before she could fulfill her end of the bargain with Nate. What would his price be then?

Annie settled into her assigned seat and eyed Gordon Barker. He was three seats down. Gabe had arranged for her to share a table with him today because he was on their short list of suspects. She’d heard a rumor or two about him over the years, but they’d never been as loud as the ones about someone like Eddie Walker. If he was involved in some elaborate scheme, he was smart enough to keep it quiet.

Personally, Annie hadn’t had a lot of experience playing with him, so she wasn’t sure either way. As the tournament started, she decided to spend the first few hands focused on her game and building her chips. Once she had a healthy cushion above the other players, she would feel more comfortable breaking her focus to watch Gordon. She had to play well if she was going to be successful in any of this.

As the lunch break approached, Annie was pleased with how the day had gone. A few players had been eliminated. Gordon was still playing, but she’d seen nothing suspicious and she hadn’t lost any hands to him. He was probably another name she could cross off the list, but she wasn’t about to rule him out yet. If she was too good at her job, soon there wouldn’t be anyone but Eddie on Nate’s radar. Toppling him would not only be difficult, but destructive. Tessa would not be happy if she found out Annie had sent her boyfriend to jail.

When the tournament stopped for lunch, she grabbed her food and went to sit down beside the Captain. She figured he was probably her safest bet for company. He wasn’t much for gossip. With any luck, she could attempt to make conversation and dig for information as required, but he wouldn’t deliver anything but another one of his long-winded Navy stories. It was the perfect choice.