Free Marooned with a Millionaire by Kristi Gold Page A

“Matches are fine. I’ll clear the table, you get the cards. We could probably use a couple of flashlights, too.”
    Jack could use a whole lot of strength, somethingthat became more than apparent after he followed Lizzie into the galley kitchen and reached around her to retrieve the cards from a drawer where Lizzie was tossing the paper plates into the trash bin. When she straightened, he brushed against her bottom, inadvertently, he’d like to believe, but he knew better. His personal barometer went on an upward climb. Time suspended in the close confines as he stood behind her, pressed against the curve of her buttocks much closer than he should. If he didn’t escape soon, he’d end up forgetting himself and his vow to concentrate on what was most important—safety, not sexual satisfaction.
    He took a step back and after they returned to the table, he handed her a flashlight and doled out what few matches were left in the box.
    Lizzie shuffled the cards like a Vegas dealer and when she was done, placed the deck on the table. “So what’s it going to be?”
    A long, hard night, Jack decided. “Your call.”
    She raised a thin eyebrow. “Exactly how good are you?”
    â€œAt cards?” If she hadn’t known the path his thoughts were taking, she certainly did now.
    She smiled. “Yeah, at cards.”
    He tried to affect nonchalance in light of the pressure building beneath his briefs. “I can hold my own.”
    Her laughter filled the cabin, a burst of buoyant exhilaration. “I am not even going to touch that.”
    â€œThat’s too bad.” Jack mentally chastised himselffor the innuendo, but it had vaulted out of his mouth before he could stop it.
    She inclined her head, a hint of wicked mischief reflecting from her blue-green eyes. “Maybe we should play seven-card stud in your honor.”
    â€œYou have high expectations, Dorothy.”
    â€œI have good instincts, Ahab.”
    He leaned forward, his hand resting within touching distance of hers. He really wanted to touch her, badly, and not just her hands. But he knew where it would lead, and why he needed to prevent that from happening. “Maybe we should keep this simple.” Sound advice in all regards.
    She laid the flashlight on the table to provide more light. “Okay. Five-card draw. You cut, I’ll deal.”
    Jack decided he should leave and cut his losses before he did something really stupid, like clear the table and take her right there without consideration of the storm or the circumstances. She was going to have a baby, and he was going to have one helluva time remembering that fact.
    Suppressing a groan, he cut the deck in three piles. Lizzie picked up the cards and began to deal, her sandy eyebrows drawn down in concentration. Once she was finished, she nailed him with a seductive look that made his pulse pick up a notch. “Just so you know, I’m not very good. At cards, that is.”
    Jack shifted in his seat. “Just follow my lead.”
    â€œOh, I intend to.”
    As suspected, Jack soon discovered that Lizzie was lucky and much more skilled than she’d claimed.She won four hands to his one and before long, he found himself down to his last bet.
    He turned his cards faceup and pushed them toward her. “I fold. Looks like the game’s over.”
    She stuck out her lip in a pretty pout. “Come on, Jack. The least I can do is give you a chance to win back your losses.”
    â€œI only have one match left.”
    â€œI could loan you a few.” She shuffled the cards again. “But I tell you what. If you lose this time, then I’ll find some way to collect.”
    He could only imagine what that entailed. “And how do you plan on doing that?”
    â€œWhy don’t you just take a chance and see?”
    He was already taking a huge chance, sitting here with Lizzie Matheson, wanting her more than any woman