His heart stalled and a surge of heat shot straight through him when a tiny moan escaped her parted lips as she sagged against him. He had expected her to pull out of his arms and give him hell for his reaction, but to his immense satisfaction, it appeared that she was as turned on as he was. With sudden clarity, Lane realized that the tension between them had just as much to do with an undeniable chemistry drawing them together as it did their rivalry over who would own all of the Lucky Ace.
The discovery wasn’t something he was at all comfortable with. Needing time and distance to think, he eased away from the kiss and took a step back. “I should probably let you get some sleep,” he said, knowing he was facing another cold shower and another night of feeling as if he could climb the walls.
Staring down at her, he couldn’t help but notice the blush of desire on her creamy cheeks and the slightly dazed look in her emerald eyes. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that she would be as passionate about making love as she was about getting his share of the ranch.
The thought sent a surge of heat knifing through him and he quickly turned to cross the hall to his bedroom. “We’ll get started on you learning the fundamentals of the game after breakfast in the morning.”
“I haven’t agreed to let you teach me how to play,” she reminded him.
With his hand on the doorknob, he turned back. “If you have a better idea, I’d like to hear it.”
“I...well, no,” she admitted.
“Do you think you can win on your own without me teaching you?” he asked, knowing full well she couldn’t.
She started to nibble on her lower lip, then stopped herself and shook her head. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to show me a few things about the game.” She paused for a moment and then shrugged, adding, “If that’s what you want to do.”
He almost laughed out loud. If he hadn’t realized before how fiercely independent she was, he did now. She had to make it sound as if she would be doing him a favor to let him teach her how to play so she could beat him. Normally, that attitude would irritate the hell out of him. But coming from Taylor, he just found it cute and...endearing?
Quickly opening the door to his room before he crossed the hall and took her back into his arms, he grinned. “Pleasant dreams, Taylor. I’ll see you in the morning.”
* * *
The following morning, Taylor yawned as she finished loading and starting the dishwasher. She had spent most of the night visiting websites and researching all she could on the game of Texas Hold’em. At least, that was the excuse she was going to use if Lane asked her why she was so sleepy. She wasn’t about to admit to him or anyone else that after that kiss at her bedroom door last night, she couldn’t have slept if her life depended on it.
Both times Lane had kissed her, she’d felt as if she would melt into a puddle at his big booted feet. And neither time had she been able to work up the slightest resistance. All Lane had to do was start lowering his head and every ounce of sense she possessed seemed to desert her. Never in her entire life had a man had such a drugging effect on her.
A shiver slid up her spine when she closed her eyes and thought about how his lips felt as they explored hers. He wasn’t aggressive the way some men were. Lane’s firm lips softly moved over hers with such care—it was as if he worshipped her. Her lips tingled from just the memory of it.
Taylor opened her eyes and shook her head. She needed to get her mind off Lane and his addictive kisses. Her full attention needed to be focused on what she had learned about the card game they would be playing. His lips on hers might be the most erotic thing she’d ever experienced, but he was still her rival and she had every intention of beating him at his own game in order to regain all of the Lucky Ace.
Forcing herself to concentrate on the information she’d read on the internet, she still wasn’t sure about the ranking on a couple of hands, but for the most part it seemed pretty straightforward and fairly easy. They would each be dealt two cards facedown, known as their “hold,” then three community cards called the “flop” would be dealt faceup. They would be given the opportunity to bet, then the next card, called the “turn,” would be dealt faceup and they would be given the chance to make another wager. When the last card, called the “river,” was dealt, they would once again bet and the object was to make the best five-card hand out of their hold cards and the five community cards face up on the table.
Now all she had to do was let Lane teach her when and how much to bet on the different hands and what to look for when she was trying to discover someone’s tell.