Free Renegade Millionaire by Kristi Gold Page A

something.”
    She blinked then stared. “Where are we going?”
    â€œIt’s a surprise.”
    â€œSurely you don’t mean that hot tub.”
    â€œNope. I want to show you my favorite place.”
    Â 
    Joanna stared with wide-eyed wonder at a room that held every indoor form of recreation imaginable, including a freestanding basketball goal on one end. A pool table sat in the middle; electronic pinball games lined the paneled walls. The only thing that even hinted at adulthood was a bar that resembled something out of a saloon, complete with a mirrored background, shelves full of liquor and inverted glasses of every shape and size dangling from a row of holders above the counter.
    â€œThis used to be a formal dining room.”
    Rio’s statement brought Joanna back into the real world, or his world, as the case may be. “It looks big enough to be a ballroom,” she said.
    â€œTrue. The room didn’t have anything in it when I bought the house, so I turned the space into play town.”
    Play town was an accurate description, Joanna decided. Perfect, since it seemed Rio Madrid was still a little boy playing at being an adult—conservative doctor by day, adventurous adolescent by night. She’d known his kind before, been married to his kind, as a matter of fact. The kind of man that should be avoided at all costs.
    But she couldn’t avoid him at the moment since he was still holding her hand, looking as though he was awaiting approval on a job well done. Looking devastatingly handsome.
    Tugging from his grasp, she walked to the leaf-scrolled wooden pool table, obviously expensive, maybe even an antique, more than likely five times more costly than her car.
    She faced him and immediately noticed the pride in his expression. “Very interesting, Doctor. Is this what you do in your spare time when you’re not in the hot tub?”
    â€œYeah. It helps me relax.” He cocked one eyebrow. “Can I interest you in a game?”
    Oh, yes. Oh, no! “What kind of game?”
    He made a sweeping gesture around the room. “Take your pick, but I was thinking pool.”
    Now, this could be great fun, a chance for Joanna to play her own little game. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s been a long time. I’ve never been all that good.” Not quite as good as her dad, but she could definitely hold her own.
    â€œI’ll go easy on you.” His mellow, hypnotic voice made her think of slow and easy lovemaking. She suspected he would take his time, using his skilled hands, his mouth…
    She should be horsewhipped for thinking such things, but Joanna couldn’t deny that Rio Madrid was the kind of man that fantasies were made of. Nothing wrong with fantasies, she guessed, as long as she didn’t allow them to take flight into reality.
    Rio crouched at the end of the table, retrieved the balls from beneath and rolled them onto the felt surface. After he had them racked, he made his way to the cues hanging on the only bare space of wall. He grabbed two then came back to her. “Exactly how much experience do you have?”
    A loaded question, especially since he posed it as if it had nothing to do with billiards. She took the pool stick he offered and a deep breath, but couldn’t avoid brushing his hand, couldn’t ignore the electric current that his touch generated throughout her whole body.
    â€œAs I’ve said, it’s been a while.” Been a while since she’d played pool, since she’d made love, since she’d even wanted to make love.
    â€œI’ll let you break then. Give you a head start.”
    She could use one at the moment, but she inherently knew it would take little time for Rio to catch up.
    Determined to focus on the game, she rolled her shoulders to loosen up then walked to the end of the table, lined up the cue ball and studied the angle. Feigning ignorance, she asked, “Is this