Desire Me Read Online Free PDF

mahogany-colored
     hair and her warm caramel eyes, she was nothing short of stunning. Though her darker complexion led him to believe she wasn’t
     originally from England, she had no accent to give him a hint of her homeland.
    Though he’d never seen her before, she certainly looked like a refined lady, but he wasn’t completely convinced. While she
     had the mannerisms down and the look just right, something was different about her. And he knew he had never seen her before,
     as she was not the sort of woman a man forgot.
    Initially Max had found her distracting, but after losing to her two hands in a row, he’d straightened his seat and kept his
     eyes off her tempting cleavage.
    Though she had won more hands than most of the men at the table that night, she was not an accomplished player. However, she
     proved, at times, difficult to read, almost as if she were an actress slipping into a role, and while in character, she became
     charming, flirtatious, and daring. But every now and then a veil would slip over her eyes, and Max would catch a glimpse of
     insecurity. He had yet to decide whether that was from the cards she held or something else.
    “I raise,” she said, her voice a warm, fluid honey. She arched a perfect eyebrow in his direction. “My lord,” she said.
    Max glanced around the table. He knew from Chilton’s smug expression that the man had a good hand. The old man had already
     laid down his hand, as had the young one. But what cards did the pretty miss hold?
    “Such a temptress,” Max said, never taking his eyesoff her as he dropped his coins into the betting pool. “I’ll call your
     wager.”
    Chilton’s brow furrowed, and he grumbled something incoherent, then backed out of the game. Evidently his hand, as good as
     it may have been, did not give the inebriated man enough confidence.
    They had another quick round of betting before the dealer called for their hands, and Max flipped over his cards. Two pair
     to her three of a kind.
    “The lady wins,” the man said.
    With delicate gloved fingers, she scooped the coins in her direction, then stacked them neatly.
    Chilton stood. “Enough of this foolish game for me.” He eyed the lady at the table, then looked at Max. “You’ve got a lovely
     playmate tonight, Lindberg. I believe I’ll retire for the evening,” he said as he slipped away, though Max spotted him finding
     a new chair at a different game four tables over.
    Max collected his new hand and eyed the cards. As if they had been dealt by a deity, Max looked down on four kings.
    Again the other two gentlemen folded, leaving the hand down to Max and the lady, the mysterious and lovely woman with the
     caramel-colored eyes. This time, though, he could not lose. He had a brilliant hand.
    She picked up a few coins, then paused over the center pot, glancing at her cards before slowly raising her gaze to his. “A
     different wager, perhaps.”
    Intrigued, Max nodded. “What did you have in mind?” Immediately his mind conjured images of all the sinful acts he could do
     to her body upon this very table. It would take hours for him to explore every delectable curve. He’d start at that sweet
     spot directly below her earalong the column of her neck. Then he’d work his way down.
    “Your map, Maxwell Barrett. I only want the map.” Her words came out slow and deliberate.
    Ah, she knew who he was, and she knew about his map.
    It was no great secret that he hid away. Still, he’d never broadcast it across Society. What would have been the point? It
     was popular to go in hunt of treasure or artifacts, but there was no scientific proof of the existence of Atlantis.
    He’d once thought the map would be the ultimate proof, but no one except the men of Solomon’s had paid much attention to his
     discovery. So now the relic simply hung on his wall. Why the interest now? And how had she known?
    Women talked, he knew that. And he’d had more than his fair share of women. And on