Free Blackjack and Moonlight: A Contemporary Romance by Magdalen Braden

round handily. It didn’t make her like him more, but it did suggest that he was going to be a tough opponent.
    Her turn next. While her sheets were agitating in the washer, she powered up her laptop to brainstorm their first sex date.
    Venue. Here? His place? She was dying to see where he lived. Probably a sleek penthouse overlooking Rittenhouse Square, only maybe not on a federal employee’s salary. Chances were, she made more money than he did.
    She typed in best places in philadelphia to have a sexy date and got Jack’s list of best first dates. Stupid computer.
    She tried for a list of sexiest hotels. Ugh, it was all bed & breakfasts in the Poconos or Endless Mountains. What was up with people? She didn’t want romance. She wanted sex.
    Besides, hotels and room service were too much like traveling for her job. Generally speaking, it wasn’t sexy. You could sprinkle rose petals on the bedding all you wanted, but it was still just a hotel room.
    Okay, her place then. She could control the environment, going for straight-out sexy without the romantic overtones. No rose petals. A new bath gel might be nice.
    She needed a shopping list. Condoms, of course. Whipped cream? Too clichéd? Couldn’t hurt to have a canister on hand, just in case.
    Clothes. Elise didn’t care what Jack claimed—that silk robe very nearly had done the job. Layers could be even better. When he’d been in her house, dressed to the nines, all she could think about—until they began negotiating their deal—was how much fun it was going to be to undress him, piece by piece. She guessed he’d feel the same way.
    She made a note to stop off at her favorite lingerie store to get a new bra and panty set. Or two.
    Candles? Nah. Too messy and someone would have to remember to get up and blow them out. The way she wanted the night to go, neither of them would be able to move for a long, long time.
    Flowers? She thought about the arrangement he’d given her and sighed. If he had any idea how much she’d enjoyed them…then again, best if he didn’t. No flowers.
    Food. This was a thornier problem. Takeout or have something ready? Something ready. No phone calls, no awkwardness hiding behind the door so the delivery guy didn’t see too much flesh. Cheese, crackers, stuff for sandwiches, beer, maybe she’d pick up some wine if she was feeling charitable toward him.
    And something for breakfast. Definitely something for breakfast. The thought of the Honorable Jack McIntyre doing the walk of shame in his Saturday evening clothes gave her a particularly wolfish grin.
    Best of all was picturing him wearing no clothes at all.

Chapter Five
     
    Remember, stupid—it’s just sex. Jack’s new mantra, practiced with increasing frequency as Saturday had approached.
    It’s only sex. Biological urges. Physiology, not romance. Her bed was not the place to pour out his heart.
    He’d made a huge mistake at the end of their first date. He’d kissed her—just once—with all his love front and center. It felt so completely different from anything he’d experienced before, he wasn’t sure how he could go back to his usual mix of desire and technique. He’d relived that kiss countless times during the week. He’d thought of things she might have said, other things he might have done, dawning realizations she might have had, offers—of something other than “coffee”—that he might have made or accepted.
    In short, he’d driven himself crazy with the tantalizing prospect that kissing, touching, caressing, arousing, satisfying Elise would make her love him. It wouldn’t work that way, but he clung to the hope.
    Jack slowed his pace as he neared her house. It was a fine spring evening, the mild temperature promising more flowers and greenery with each new day. Frankly, even nature taunted him with blossoms and fruitfulness—products of a life cycle he couldn’t seem to manage.
    Who cared when it happened—there was no doubt he was in love with the