GAMBLING ON LOVE (Travis Series) (8 page)

“Damn right, you should have
An
…
Beth, whatever your name is
.
So the whole time we were making love and I was calling you Anne, it didn’t occur to you I might deserve to know who it was I had in my bed
?
I detest dishonesty, and you’ve had plenty of time to
come clean with me
.
Tell me, what other little white lies have you told
?
Are you really a corporate investigator?”

“Yes
!
Everything else I’ve told you about myself is true
.
I’m not a dishonest person, Sam
.
I was just scared
,
that’s all.
”
When his expression remained cold and aloof, a stab of pain darted th
r
ough her heart
.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, desperately
trying
to hold back the tears.

“I’m sorry
,
too,” he said icily, “for believing you were any different from the other women I’ve been with.”

Beth flinched, taking his words like
a
punch to the gut
.
Her voice was flat when she spoke, though her trembling lips gave proof she was nearing a breaking point.
 

“Good luck with your contract, Sam
.
I hope it turns out as big as you think it will.”
 

She turned away from him and headed towards the side entrance, a heavy ache winding its way through her entire body
.
She walked slowly, hoping with all her heart he would call her back
. H
e never uttered a word
.
Beth pulled the door open and looked back to find him standing exactly as she’d left him
.
He hadn’t even felt enough for her to watch her leave
.

Her eyes pooled with tears as she blindly made her way to the elevator and down to the parking garage
.
You
should have known it wouldn’t work out
, she rebuked herself
.
She dug her keys out of her purse and fumbled with the lock
, bursting
into tears when they slipped out of her hand and dropped on the ground
.
She stooped to pick them up but Sam’s big hand closed around them first
.
Beth stood slowly, the tears blurring her vision, too afraid to speak, to hope.

“I’m still going to call you Anne,” he said firmly
.
“I can live with
Sweeney
, but to me you’ll always be my beautiful Anne.”

“I’m okay with that
.” She
beamed up at him
through a mist of tears
.
“So where do we go from here?”

“For starters
…
” He
moved forward and pressed her back against the car, delivering a fierce kiss to her lips.
 

“That was a good start,” she whispered breathlessly.
 

A hungry, feral look hovered in his eyes
.
“We’ll have to go to my room for the grand finale,” he said gruffly.

Beth smiled demurely and let him lead her through the parking garage
back
to his room
.
Sam didn’t disappoint her; the fireworks where spectacular.

 
 
 
 
                                                      *
**

Sam’s heart swelled
as he gazed
at the beautiful woman sleeping in his arms
.
Her lips were slightly parted and he had to fight the urge to kiss her
.
They’d made love until
nearly dawn
and she’d fallen asleep after
nestling
her
head on his shoulder and tucking herself next to him
.
Even after the long hours spent taking pleasure from her body, it still wasn’t enough
.
He wanted more,
needed more
, and fully intended to make love to her again as soon as she woke.

He’d stood outside the ballroom listening to the soft click of her heels as she walked away, forcing
himself
not to watch her leave or chas
e
after her
.
When
he heard the sound of the door latching behind her
,
he’d felt
a
sickening lurch in his stomach
.
He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d felt anything but relieved when a woman walked away
.
Hell, he couldn’t actually remember the last time one
had
walked away from him because he never stuck around long enough for it to happen
.

She was really going to do it, he’d thought in agonizing disbelief
.
Anne hadn’t cried or begged to stay,
despite
the raw pain
he’d seen
in her eyes before she turned away from him
.
Five years, she’d told him
:
 
five years since she’d given herself to another man
.
Whoever this man was, he had to have hurt her deeply
.
Why else would she have gone so long without getting involved with someone
?

Yet
,
she’d come to Sam willingly and he realized with a start how his rejection must have crushed her
.
She’d waited so long and the first man she felt enough for to share her body with again had turned her away as if it meant nothing
.
But it
had
meant something, he admitted to himself, more than he’d wanted it to.

Sam had closed his eyes for a moment,
recalling
the way she looked when he’d taken her to his room and made love to her
.
He saw her bright smile, smelled the sweet scent of her hair, felt the softness of her skin against his
.
Panic welled up inside him
.
He couldn’t do it
.
He couldn’t let her leave
.
He’d taken off at a dead run toward the parking garage elevators and it was only sheer luck that he’d caught the flash of her auburn hair as she disappeared into the elevator
.

He waited impatiently to see what level it would stop at
and
then barreled down the stairs, praying he wouldn’t be too late
.
He’d stopped for a moment after emerging from the stairwell, his eyes scanning the parking lot, and saw her walking dejectedly toward a little red sports car
.
A sharp pain tore at his heart when he realized the soft shaking of her shoulders meant she was crying
.
He’d walked swiftly, stopping behind her just as she dropped her keys and a wrenching sob erupted from her lips
.
He’d scooped up the keys, determined not to give her any opportunity to leave.

But he had her now
.
She belonged to him, Sam thought fiercely, and he would destroy anyone who tried to take her away from him
.
A hard look stole over his face when he recalled the bruises he’d seen on Anne’s arms when he’d pulled her dress over her
head
.
If he’d known Drake had hurt her like that when they were in the gardens, he
would
have done a lot more damage than
giving
the man a split lip.

He should have been scared to death at the feelings
Anne
elicited from him
.
Instead, Sam felt a deep contentment
.
The fact that he’d wanted her to spend the night in his hotel room should have been enough to tell him it was too late to pretend his heart was untouched by her
.
He rarely spent an entire night with a woman
; the
urge to bolt almost as soon as he finished having sex
wasn’t something he typically ignored
.
And he’d never brought a woman back to his room, let alone
invited
her to stay the night
.
Sam traced the delicate line of Anne’s jaw and smiled when she moaned softly in her sleep
.
God, she was beautiful.

He almost laughed out loud when he remembered the
defiant
way she’d refused to go away even after he’d so rudely put his briefcase in the seat on the plane
.
He saw
no fear in her eyes, no anxiety over incurring his wrath, which was usually the case when he spoke to people
.
He knew he was often too brusque, especially with those who didn’t conform to his demands immediately, but he didn’t give it much thought
.
It’s not that he felt he was better than anyone else
;
he was just used to getting his way and was instantly irritated when he felt someone was less than efficient in getting his bidding done.

And he’d admired the intelligence with which Anne had argued her point with that ignorant lawyer, Drake
.
She had fire and passion for things she believed in and wouldn’t be easily swayed to change her mind
.
He’d met plenty of women in the corporate world, but Anne seemed suspended between the sharp intelligence exhibited by business women and a softer, gentler side
.
She would challenge him mentally and excite him physically, satisfying him in ways no woman ever had
.

Sam pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and closed his eyes
.
For the first time in his life, he believed it was possible to fall in love
.
How would it feel to hear Anne say she loved him
?
Wonderful, he thought as he drifted off to sleep, absolutely wonderful.

 
 
 
                                                         
 
*
**

Sam opened his eyes and reached sleepily for Anne, frowning when he found the bed empty
.
He threw the covers back and hurried to the bathroom, a throbbing hollowness settling in his chest when he found it, too, was empty
.
She was gone, he thought despondently
.
Sometime after he’d fallen asleep, Anne had slipped out of his bed and left
.
Sam hit the wall with his hand.
 

“Damn,” he swore out loud.
 

He returned to the bed and dropped down on the edge
,
feeling cold and empty
.
He was still wallowing in a pool of self
-
pity when he heard a soft click as the card key was inserted, unlocking the door.
 

“Good, you’re awake
.”
Beth beamed at him
.
“I brought breakfast
.” She
set a large bag on the table
.
“I didn’t know what to get so I picked up a little of everything.”

“You came back,” Sam sighed with relief.

Beth looked at him in surprise
.
“Oh, Sam, I’m sorry
!
I didn’t even think to leave a note.”

“You changed your clothes
,
too,” he observed, giving the form
-
fitting sweats and cropped off t-shirt an appreciative sweep with his eyes.

“I always carry a few changes of clothes in the car
because
I never know when I have to run off somewhere on the spur of the moment.
”
Beth crossed the room and leaned over to kiss him
, letting
out a startled squeak when he pulled her down on the bed.

“Don’t ever do that again,” he growled softly, pinning her beneath him.

“I really am sorry,” she said contritely, pulling him down close enough for her lips to brush his when she spoke
.
“Is there
anything
I can do to make it up to you?”

Sam wasted no time divesting
Anne
of her clothing
.
He thrust into her with a fury
,
as if the fierceness of his lovemaking could brand her in some way, making her his and only his
.
Her slender hips rose to meet each forceful plunge, accepting his possession, welcoming it
.
He rode her hard and fast, the sound of her sexy, throaty moans driving him into a heated frenzy
.