His Last Gamble Read Online Free PDF

was out of control.
    And she didn’t like it.
    Didn’t she?
    A small voice whispered like a genie from the depths of a bottle. Wasn’t it heady? Wasn’t it wonderful? To have a man like this one, interested in her? Wasn’t it just blissful? The voice seemed to come at her from all directions at once—her mind, her heart, the place where her dreams lived.
    As he pulled her closer to him, as she felt his hand slip down to rest suggestively against her buttocks, and she felt her insides become fluid with molten heat, she began to wonder.
    â€˜I don’t know if I’m in a garden. Or on a crowded avenue . . . You are here, so am I. Maybe millions of people go by . . .’
    Her head rested almost wearily against his shoulder. It was no good fighting it. It felt gloriously right to be here. To be held like this, by this man, dancing as closely in his arms as the laws of physics would allow, giddy with excitement and recklessness.
    â€˜That’s more like it,’ Payne said softly. And smiled tenderly over her head. What a contradiction she was. She seemed so unsure of herself, and yet she was easily the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
    And she was free and unencumbered. And she’d be on the island for the next week or so. Which was the perfect length of time for a blissful, guilt-free affair.
    â€˜But they all disappear, from view. And I only have eyes, for you.’
    The song came to a poignant end, and in a daze, Charmaine pulled away.
    Was she mad? This was the man who’d broken her sister’s heart, driving her to a suicide attempt. A man so callous he could, and did, regard women as nothing more than disposable items for his pleasure. And she’d nearly fallen into the same trap herself. But she was all right now. She was ready for him. The plan was back on track.
    She looked up into eyes that were now as soft and as grey as a wood pigeon’s wing.
    â€˜Dance with me again?’ he said softly, sure of her answer.
    Charmaine smiled coolly. ‘No. I don’t think so,’ she said calmly, turned and walked away from him.
    He watched her in silence for a few seconds, standing utterly still, then forced a wolfish grin to his face, ignoring the tiny kernel of hurt that had for some reason wormed its way to his heart.
    So she wanted to play rough.
    Well, if that’s the way she wanted it, he was always willing to oblige a lady.

CHAPTER THREE
    The beach was idyllic—a curving crescent moon of white sand, palm trees, an aquamarine, calm Caribbean sea, and glorious, glorious sunlight.
    As she nervously approached the
Jonniee
crew, set up midway on the beach, Charmaine could see that the junior photographer was already muttering ecstatic comments about the quality of light as he gazed into his light meter. Phil, the senior photographer, was already set up, surrounded by the paraphernalia of his profession. As the ‘silent’ partner, Charmaine had never really watched many photo-shoots before. Oh, she’d been present, in the audience, at nearly all of
Jonniee’s
fashion shows and launches, but firmly resisting all of Jo-Jo’s attempts to get her up on the stage afterwards to acknowledge the plaudits of the critics and buyers alike. But she’d never before seen the nuts-and-bolts business of photo-shoots. Only the glossy perfection of their results in magazines and on public billboards.
    Now, she watched the other four models surreptitiously. All seemed perfectly at ease in robes, lounging on deck chairs, waiting for the call to action. Fizz, a tall, stunning woman with ebony skin and tight curly hair and bone structure to die for, even seemed to be snoozing, two pieces of cucumber covering her dark, soulful eyes. Jinx, in contrast, was here there and everywhere, fixing her makeup in the mirrors, rooting through the outfits, generally buttering up Phil. Dee-Dee, a brunette with hair even longer than Charmaine’s was reading a