The Tycoon's Baby Revelation - Elizabeth Lennox Page 0,31

by my side last night. Perhaps you’ll win with me beside you. We’ll have to discover who is the better risk taker.”

The roulette ball bounced around. The roulette guy, Sloane wasn’t sure what he was called but he looked very stern as the ball bounced, the wheel spun, and everyone placed bets on the numbers on the felt table.

She watched Josh place the chip on a white number and almost choked on her gasp. “Wait! What are you doing?” she gasped.

“All bets final,” the man called, just when Sloane would have grabbed that dang chip right off of the table.

“What have you done?” she sighed, turning away, unable to watch.

“You need to just enjoy the excitement, Sloane,” Josh told her, his lips dangerously close to her ear. She jumped slightly, startled by his proximity. There were a lot of people around, but…could he know? Could he see how the subtle brush of his lips against the shell of her ear caused her to…?

Shiver.

Yes! He caught her reaction! And then…when she glanced up at him, Sloane watched his eyes dilate so that there was almost no green left, his eyes dark with…desire?

“Vingt Huit!” the guy announced.

“You won,” his lips whispered, huskily. She’d heard that grumbling sound several times over the past eight years and had always assumed it meant Josh was in a bad mood. But he didn’t look grumpy now. What did it mean?

“I won what?” she asked, her gaze dropping to his lips, wondering what it would feel like if he kissed her. Dangerous, pointless thought but…she couldn’t stop wondering about it.

“About ten thousand dollars,” he replied.

Sloane blinked. “Excuse me?” she demanded, and turned to look down at the table. Sure enough, where her single chip had previously rested, there was a stack of those square chips! “What?” she gasped, looking around? But the ball was spinning again. How long had she stood there staring up at Josh? Had anyone else noticed?

She started to reach out to pull those chips away, not wanting to lose any of Josh’s money.

He took her hand in his, pulling her hand back. “You can’t pull the bet now, Sloane. You’ll have to let it ride.”

The ball bounced and clanked, slowing and Sloane almost expired from lack of oxygen as she waited tensely for the ball to finally stop.

“Trente et un!” the man called out, and with a swoop of an L shaped-like cane, he pulled all of the chips away.

“Wait!” she cried, then stopped when she heard Josh’s bark of laughter. “But I didn’t mean to bet anything!”

“You win and lose,” he told her. He handed her another chip. “Here, choose another number.”

“No!” she gasped, curling her fingers around the chip, holding it close to her breast. “I won’t do it.”

He grinned when she frowned up at him, daring him. And of course, this was Josh, and he always dared. He placed another chip on the number twenty-six. “There. Your age. That should be good luck.”

She shook her head and backed up a step, right into his hard chest. His hands moved to her hips, resting heavily on her body and she shivered again. Sloane looked up at him over her shoulder, about to move away but his hands tightened, not allowing her to move even an inch.

“Stay where you are,” he ordered in that grumpy voice again.

“Why?” she whispered, then he shifted and she knew! She felt his body’s reaction and her mouth fell open, shocked that she could…that he would…!

“Vingt-six!” the man announced, startling them. All the other chips were whisked away, but Sloane’s chip remained. A moment later, twenty more chips were added to it.

“Good grief!” she gasped and pulled the chips closer, having learned her lesson on the last bet and not waiting for that speedy man to fling that metal ball once again.

“I’m not betting again,” she told him firmly.

“Fine,” he replied easily. Sloane might have sighed with relief, but she knew that look. It was a dangerous look. One that foretold he was going to get her to do something she wasn’t going to like.

Sure enough, he led her away from the roulette table and over to another table. “Have a seat.”

Sloane sat down, feeling a huge amount of relief. Sitting meant she was free from gambling, right?

Nope!

“Chips please,” he said to the dealer.

Immediately, the dealer pulled ten of the red chips out of her box and handed them to her, then slid an electronic tablet towards him. Josh signed the receipt as if he were buying