Free Let It Ride by Katherine Garbera

table. Do you play?”
    “Not in the last few years.”
    “You didn’t think you’d be good at roulette, either,” he said in a low voice.
    She remembered the feel of him pressed against her back. Remembered his arms around her as he placed the bet. Remembered the excitement of trying something new and of having him by her side encouraging her to be more adventurous than ever before. She liked this new woman. And decided then and there to stop letting her fears rule her life.
    “I was only good with you by my side,” she said. The words resonated inside her, and she knew she was falling for Deacon Prescott, no matter that she’d known him only a short time. Her body and her soul said he was the one for her.
    He crossed to the pool cues on the wall and took two down. “Wanna play?”
    “Sure,” she said, reaching for one of the cues. Wouldn’t he be surprised when she learned she was a skilled player? After her dismal performance at roulette, she was looking forward to doing something that made her look good.
    “Want to make things interesting?” he asked. The devilish gleam in his eyes made her pulse quicken.
    “A bet?” she asked. In her heart she knew she should tell him she was very good at this game, but she wanted to see how far he was going to take this.
    “Yes.”
    “What did you have in mind? I’m not in your league—I can’t drop five hundred dollars and not worry about it.”
    “Why don’t we play for something you won’t mind dropping?”
    “I’m listening,” she said. She didn’t trust that gleam in his eyes. He moved around the table so that they stood side by side. He rested his hip on the pool table.
    “Clothes?” he said with a nonchalance belied by the narrowing of his eyes and the straining body part in his trousers.
    “Strip pool?”
    “Kind of. But you can wager items of clothing. Say, for example, you wagered your panties and lost. You’d still be clothed.”
    “Hmm. The loser takes off an article of clothing at the end of each game?”
    “I was thinking we could bet on the sinking of each ball.”
    She bit her lower lip. “You’re on. By the way, I want your pants first.”
    “Why?”
    “So I can ogle your legs,” she said.
    “Do you remember enough to play, or do you want me to show you a few moves?”
    “Maybe you better show me a few moves,” she said.
    Deacon leaned his cue against the table and moved behind her. Her positioned his arms over hers and spoke directly into her ear.
    “First make a bridge with your fingers,” he said, moving her hands on the green velvet tabletop until they were adjusted to his satisfaction. Normally she used her knuckles to rest the cue on, but Deacon made her form a bridge.
    When he pulled the cue back to start the break, she shifted her hips and deliberately rubbed her butt against his groin. She felt a shudder of awareness run through him, and the cue bounced on the table when he dropped it.
    She glanced over her shoulder. “You okay?”
    “Fine. Do you have the idea?” He stepped away from her and picked up his cue.
    “Yes,” she said, taking her cue and breaking the balls.
    “I can see you have played this game before,” he said when she neatly sunk a striped ball.
    “Maybe once or twice. But never for these odds. I’ll take your pants now.”
    He removed his belt slowly and set it on the table while he bent down and removed his shoes and socks. Then he unfastened his pants and slid them down his legs. The hem of his shirt hung to the top of thighs, but when he tossed her his pants, she realized he wasn’t wearing any underpants. She’d sadly underestimated her foe. And missed her next shot.
    “I’ll take your dress,” he said. Leaning over the table, he sank his solid colored ball and turned to her, waiting to collect his prize.

    Deacon had never suspected Kylie was capable of conning him. He liked it. He liked that there was more to her than he’d first glimpsed in the security camera. He liked that