The Tycoon's Baby Revelation - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,26
“It’s just money.”
Sloane turned and looked up at him. “To you, it’s just money. But to me, it’s more than that. Its security and shelter. It’s power.”
He tilted his head slightly. “If you’re so sure that money can provide those things for you, why haven’t you married one of the rich men you’ve met over the years?” he asked. He didn’t add, “Why don’t you marry me?” Because…well, because…he wasn’t the marrying kind? Of course, if it were Sloane then…!
“Because I refuse to rely on any man for my security and shelter,” she replied stiffly.
“That’s admirable, but there are many women who would disagree with you.”
She shrugged. “Everyone chooses their own path,” she replied, looking around curiously. “I just think that I’m safer, and my sisters are safer, if we ensure our own security.”
He liked that about her. Hell, he liked a lot of things about her! Too many things, actually.
“Okay, so why not gambling?” he probed.
She looked around, appreciating the splendor of the elegant casino, but he knew that she was holding herself separate from all of it. She isolated herself, even from her sisters sometimes.
“Because it’s basically throwing money away, something I’m morally opposed to doing.”
He grinned, thinking that she was magnificent. “Okay, fine. Then you can watch me throw my money away. Let’s play.”
She shook her head, trying to push his hand away when he tried again to offer her some chips. “Nope. You’re on your own.”
He grinned and shook his head, then leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “You don’t really believe that I’m going to lose, do you?”
He felt her shiver. Interesting, he thought as his body reacted. Very interesting!
Sloane’s lashes fluttered for a moment before she replied, “Um…it’s your money. You do what you want with it.”
She folded her hands in front of her, trying to appear demure. But his eyes caught the sparkle of challenge. Challenge issued, he thought. And accepted.
“Let’s go,” he said, wrapping an arm around her waist to lead her over to the roulette wheel. “Here,” he said, forcing a chip into her hand. “Put this on the number you like best.”
“Nope,” she replied, trying to hand the chip back to him. “You do it. I don’t want to be responsible for you losing whatever that amount of money this might be.’
He chuckled, and kept his arm around her waist as he leaned forward, placing his chip on a number. Because he was basically wrapped around her, he didn’t even notice which number. When he was touching her like this, he didn’t care what he was doing, as long as he could keep touching her.
Sloane gritted her teeth, trying not to make a noise that might alert him about how she felt when he touched her. She couldn’t let him know, couldn’t reveal her true feelings. Especially when she wasn’t sure what her true feelings were. She hated that she shivered every time he touched her. But that didn’t really mean anything. She was just cold. Yep, that’s it. She was cold and he was warm. That sounded like a good enough excuse, she thought. The sleeveless black, crepe dress was simple and elegant, but it didn’t keep her warm. While Josh was hard packed muscles that emanated enormous amounts of body heat.
He moved back, standing behind her and, because of the crowd surrounding the roulette table, she could feel his body press against hers. Someone nudged her, trying to get a closer look as the ball bounced around the roulette wheel and Sloane moved closer to Josh. He understood what was going on and wrapped his arm around her waist again. She looked up at him, but he was watching the roulette wheel and she told herself that his touch was only because of the crowd. He was simply being protective. Yes, that was all it was, she thought. But even as she thought it, Sloane leaned closer and felt his hand tighten on her waist. It felt wonderful, she thought and pretended, for just a moment, that they were a couple instead of just employer and employee. It was an innocent fantasy, she told herself.
And it felt incredibly good!
Chapter 9
Sloane sighed as she stabbed another breaded, sauce-covered piece of shrimp, closing her eyes as the sweet and sour sauce hit her starving taste buds. “Oh, this is so good!” she sighed. “I don’t care that Rayne and Pepper get to sit down by the pool while you make me work, as long as you feed me.”
Josh