Desire Me Read Online Free PDF Page B

occasion, he’d had one of them bent over
     his desk, though he wouldn’t have guessed many would give much thought to an old map. It would be quite the knock to his pride
     that one of those women might have noticed any element of his decor when he’d assumed they were more pleasantly engaged. The
     idea nearly made him chuckle.
    It was on his tongue to inquire how she’d heard of his map, but more important was why she wanted it. “What does a beautiful
     woman such as yourself want with a dusty old map?” he asked.
    She smiled, and it transformed her face from merely lovely into something much more. Her sheer beauty was like a kick in the
     gut.
    She tugged on one of her satin gloves. “Perhaps I’m a scholar. Like yourself,” she said with a delicately arched eyebrow.
    “I’m an adventurer, not a scholar.” If she legitimatelyknew anything about him, she’d know that. “And you don’t look any
     more like a scholar than I do.”
    Her shoulders shifted so subtly, one could hardly consider the movement a shrug. “Then perhaps I’m merely curious. Do you
     accept the wager or not?” she asked.
    Max looked back at his cards, then slowly slid his gaze up to her. “Tell me your name.”
    She nodded. “Sabine Tobias,” she said.
    Somehow in the midst of their exchange, a crowd had developed around their table. Low whispers flitted around as well as the
     occasional jab directed at Max. If Max wasn’t mistaken, a side wager had been established on who was going to win their hand.
     That was the one thing you could be certain of in Rand’s Gaming, people were always looking for a wager.
    “Well, Miss Tobias.” Max leaned forward and leveled his gaze on her tawny eyes. “What do I get if I win?”
    “The pleasure of winning,” she said with a faint smile.
    Max shook his head. “I’m not certain that’s enough. How about a kiss?”
    The crowd around them cheered. Shock broke through her careful façade, and her eyes widened, but she quickly recovered. “I
     don’t believe I was offering any kisses,” she said. “How about if you simply get to keep your dusty old map,” she added, tossing
     his words back at him.
    Perhaps she knew more about him than she’d let on, or perhaps she knew more about the map than the average collector. He’d
     held on to that map for years despite several high-priced offers from other parties and one attempted theft. The map hadn’t
     been the conclusive proof he’d once believed it would be. His quest for Atlantis stretched across his adulthood and still
     he had not found it. But he was getting close. He could feel it.
    Miss Tobias sat quietly, but her pulse ticked impatiently in that sweet spot beneath her ear.
    “I believe you have a bet,” he said. “You win this hand, and I will give you my map.”
    She paused a moment, trying to gauge his meaning. “You know to which map I’m referring,” she said.
    “I believe I do.”
    “Then we have a deal.”
    “But if you lose,” he said slowly, “I get that kiss.”
    She opened her mouth to protest, but after a breath, she said nothing and merely nodded.
    “The wager has been set, now let us see your hands,” the dealer said.
    Silence surrounded them, and it was as if they were playing alone in his parlor. Miss Tobias flipped her cards, one by one,
     revealing three sevens and two queens.
    “A full house,” the dealer said.
    A slow, satisfied smile spread across the lady’s face, a cat with her bowl of cream.
    The pleasure of her smile was so enticing, so seductive, he was almost sorry he was going to win. Almost.
    First Max turned the two, the one card in his hand that didn’t matter, then just as she’d done, he slowly turned each card
     over.
    “Four of a kind wins,” the dealer said.
    The smile evaporated from Miss Tobias’s face.
    “Nicely done,” she said tightly. She came to her feet.
    “I believe we will cash out for the night,” Max told the dealer.
    Once they had stepped away from the