The Cost To Play (Slivers of Love) Read Online Free PDF Page A

him, she understood why.  He looked really good in the costume with his muscles bulging through the taut leather, his shiny black hair hanging from under the helmet, and those intense eyes gazing through the eye slots.
    The winners were all lined up on stage for a quick photo op and then the group began to disperse.  The samurai touched her arm beckoning her to follow him.  She trailed him into a corner and he removed his helmet.  Jayne’s eyes were wide when she realized Gambit, the Silver Samurai, and Dr. Toshi Yamaguchi were the same person!
    Toshi asked her, “What are your plans for tonight?”
    “I plan to go to the party and have a drink or two,” she told him waiting to see if he would ask her to dinner.
    “I am heading to my room.” He turned and began to walk away. “Come with me.”  It was said with such matter-of-factness that Jayne stood there blinking after him. He looked back to see why she was not walking along with him. He extended to her his hand in a quieter request.
    “What am I going to do in your room?”
    Toshi’s eyebrows went up, “I was hoping…me.”
    She couldn’t believe it. “You know you said that out loud?”
    Toshi moved closer to her. “Would it have more impact if I whispered it instead?”
    Jayne was disgusted with him. All of her admiration for his talent had flown out the window. She tried to step around him, but he extended his hand to stop her. “There is something about you that stirs my blood. I want to be with you. I am being honest by telling you what I want.”
    “It seems like you would want to know my name first, Professor. And you know what…?” she paused with her hand on her hip. “I was wrong about you.  You are not an asshole, you are a fucking asshole.”
    Toshi moved so quickly Jayne was startled. He stood toe to toe with her. His breath, caressing her cheek as he leaned into her ear. “Pirotess, Bling, or whatever you want to be called, you are amazing.  You are a talented artist and you are making me crazy, but I understand. There have been so many men that have lied to you. The truth is hard for you to accept.”
    “I can accept the truth just fine. I don’t accept you wanting to use me as a personal plaything.”
    He lowered his voice to a whisper, using a sensual and sultry tone. “I don’t plan to use you. I plan to give you hours of pleasure.” He said it in such a way, that her body said yes, but her mouth said, “thanks, but no.”
    She stepped around him and headed for the elevator. The idea of going to the party no longer seemed fun.  In the morning she would check out and head home. That jerk off had just ruined her night. She hoped he spent the rest of the night doing just that as well.
    Unfortunately, her wish for him would probably not come true.  A flock of women surrounded him. Some were subtle, while others were direct, using their bodies to gain his attention. She looked back at him once more and was surprised to see his attention was not on the women, but instead on her. Jayne’s brain was screaming at her to keep moving, but her body was crying, begging her to go back. She shook her head at him, then moved on to the elevator.
     
     

Chapter 5
                  On a cool and crisp Saturday morning in November, Jayne headed downtown to sketch by the Savannah River.  One of the things she truly loved about Augusta was the feel of the city.  Although it was the second largest city in Georgia, it was still run like a small town.  The quaint feel of the downtown shops and friendliness of the shop owners, made each person feel as if they belonged. The thing she hated about Augusta was the separation.  It was a guild town, and like hung out with like . Nurses who worked at a downtown hospital did not socialize with nurses who worked at an East side hospital.  Soldiers hung out with other soldiers, factory workers spent time with other people they worked with, and neighborhoods were divided by income and