GAMBLING ON LOVE (Travis Series) (16 page)

“What are you doing
?”
she
asked
, acutely aware of the slowing burning heat that had begun to pulse
between her thighs.
 

“I believe we had a deal.
”
He
strolled across the room
and
tower
ed
over her, looking sexy as sin
and entirely too predatory for her peace of mind.
“Well
?
Where’s your private wash closet?”

Beth laughed nervously
.
“Sam, you can’t be serious.
”
He
merely quirked an arrogant brow and
left her standing there while he closed the blinds on the windows one by one
.
“Sam, I can’t,” she said in a hoarse whisper
.
Beth started backing up
as he turned to face her again
.
“Sam, really
…
I just can’t!”
 

He kept advancing
, as sleek and dangerous as
a
lion stalking
its prey, until
Beth was
pinned between the door and his body
.
She
looked up at him and felt the last bit of air leave her lungs
.
His eyes told her
Sam
had no intention of letting her out of it, but then she was pretty sure her face had the words
take me
written all over it.

“A deal is a deal,” he whispered.
 

What little strength
that remained
in her legs was zapped the moment their lips touched
.
And i
f he hadn’t been pressing into her so hard,
Beth
would have
crumbled
to the floor
in
a spineless mass of jelly
.
Oh God, he tasted good, and his hands
—
they were everywhere
.
Sam’s strong arms
curled
around her waist, pulling her into him
and
then slowly lift
ing
her
so that her feet left the ground
.
His mouth worked to keep her totally mindless while he carried her across the room
to
her desk
.
Beth was only vaguely aware that he was shoving things aside until he set her down and reached for the zipper of her slacks.

“Sam
…
” she tried to protest.

“
Shhhh
, sweetheart, you wouldn’t want anyone to hear, would you?”

He
eased
her pants over her hips, hooking his thumbs
in
the band of her panties
and removing
both pieces of clothing
in
one
economical
movement
.
She felt incredibly vulnerable, but the excitement of
making love to
Sam in the middle of the day with people
right
outside her door made the temptation too irresistible
.

S
ett
l
ing her on the edge of
the
desk
,
Sam hastily
unbuckl
ed
his
belt
and
dealt with his
zipper
,
shov
ing
his pants and boxers down in the same smooth movement he’d used on hers.

Their
eyes locked
for one breathless moment before Sam
roughly pushed her thighs apart
and
impal
ed
Beth’s
tender flesh with a quick, hard thrust
.
He
mov
ed
in and out of her
in long, deep strokes
, slowly at first
and
then more rapidly
.
H
is hands spanned her
hips, pulling her
in
to him even as he drove forward with his body
.
Beth
gripped
his shoulders, her fingers clenching and unclenching the material of his shirt
with each measured plunge
.

She clamped her jaws
in a
desperate
attempt to keep from making any tell-tale sounds
, but it was too much
.
As the first climax erupted in a surge of molten heat, Beth buried
her face in Sam’s chest to muffle the
guttural moan
that
tore
from her throat
.
Her
body shuddered violently
,
and still Sam continued to drive into her until she thought she
would
scream
if he didn’t release her soon.

Thankfully, Sam was teetering as close to the edge as she was. Croaking out her name, he brought them both to a
thunderous
climax with a few masterful strokes, leaving them
trembling and
gasping for air in the aftermath.
When Sam finally lifted his head from her shoulder where it had fallen, beads of perspiration hovered at his temples. His eyes were dark and sultry; seductive, even now when she
felt
wholly satisfied as only a
thoroughly ravished
woman could.
 

“
That
was amazing.” Sam cupped her face in his hands, lightly tracing her kiss-swollen lips with his thumb. “
You
were amazing.”

“Amazingly weak,” she muttered. “I’ve never done anything so…so
irresponsible
in my life.”

“
Don’t think of it like that,” Sam replied. “Think of it as a new experience…one that I hope will be repeated in the near future.”

“Sorry, but this
is going down in the books as a once in a lifetime
experience
.”
Beth pushed him away and slid off
the
desk
.
“
As it is, y
ou’ve probably already set tongues to wagging out there
!
If we stay in here any longer, I’ll never be able to face my employees.”

Sam grinned as he watched her grab her panties and pants and yank them up
.
“How long are you going to pretend you didn’t want it just as much as I did?”

She
would have denied it, but what was the use? They’d both know she was lying.
“So maybe I did.
”
Beth
glanced back at her desk and groaned
.
“How am I supposed to get any work done now
?
Every time I look at my desk
,
I’m going think
about what we did there.”

“Good
.
I want you to think about me all day.
And tonight,
”
the devil danced in his eyes, “maybe you and I can
try some of those kitchen appliances I told Vic about
.
”

“You’re a bad man, Sam Travis,” she chided
.
“Now take me to lunch before my reputation is totally shot.”

 
 
 
 
                                                        *
**

Beth felt
as if
she was floating on a cloud when Sam dropped her off at the office
.
He’d pulled into the parking lot
,
stopped the truck
, and
then gathered her in his arms
.
I love you, Anne
, he’d told her before
kissing her
senseless
.

She watched him drive away
,
feeling a little lost when she could no longer see him
.
Beth strolled to her office, humming a happy little tune, her conversation with Vic before lunch entirely forgotten until she spied him glaring at her
.
She tried not to laugh but when he turned his nose up at her, she just couldn’t help herself.

“Vic, he was putting you on, I swear.”

“I’m supposed to believe that?”
 

“If it makes you feel any better, Sam
did
offer to make a non-fiction story out of his fairy-tale tonight.”

Vic’s face brightened at th
at
tidbit
.
“So he really was making it up?”

“Yes, and I fully intend to get even with him for it
,
too.”

“Judging by the dreamy look on your face, you did more than visit a restaurant for lunch
.
So where did he take you?
”

Beth was mortified
.
“Is it that obvious?”

“Doll face, all anyone has to do is take one look at your Sam when he talks about you to know he’s got an insatiable appetite
.
So what was it
?
His house, yours, or a sleazy motel?”

“None of the above
.”
She
grinned secretively.

“Then where?”

She
nodded towards her
office and Vic almost fell over in his chair
.
“You did not!”

“Sam doesn’t believe in the word no,” she said in a hushed whisper, “and I’m just a helpless female, so who am I to fight it
?”
With that, she turned and waltzed into her office.

Vic snorted
.
“Helpless, my ass!”

Beth was still laughing when she sat at her desk
.
She’d moved all her things back in place but couldn’t help staring wistfully at the spot where Sam had taken her less than two hours before
.
She pulled the file she was working on firmly in front of her but for quite some time her eyes kept straying to the edge of the desk
.

Finally, she forced herself to keep her attention on the file and was soon immersed in reviewing the assignment one of her
senior investigators
, Tom Sellers, had just completed
.
She’d written a short note praising Tom’s good work and clipped it to the file when Vic called her on the intercom.

“Gina’s here
.
Do you have time to talk to her?”

“Sure, send her in.”

Gina Durante was one of her more tenacious investigators
.
She was
intelligent
and so adorably cute no one ever suspected what she was really up to
.
Gina bounced through the door and plopped in a chair across from her desk.

Beth smiled warmly at her
.
“I thought you were still on assignment.
”
 

“I am
.
I just stopped by to give my research assistant some material to dig up information on
.
So,” Gina leaned forward, “who’s that gorgeous hunk of man-flesh I saw you with?”

Beth
’s heart swelled with pride.
“Sam Travis,” she said, “and his ego is big enough so I think I’ll refrain from telling him you said he was a gorgeous hunk.”

Gina’s eyes widened
.
“Sam Travis
?
You mean the corporate tycoon of SST Shipping?”

“Yes
.
To tell the truth, I didn’t even know it until last night when he told me
.
I thought he just worked there.”

“But SST Shipping was one of your first cases
.
How did you manage to miss that?”

Beth shook her head
.
“Gina, your thirst for knowledge is insatiable
.
What did you do, investigate Sweeney Enterprises before you hired on?”

“No,” she grinned, “I waited until I was actually hired
.
The resources were better from the inside.”

“So what else do you know that I don’t?”