Candace Havens - Take Me If You Dare

“She’s singing this song, ‘Soulmate,’ and it happens to be one of my favorites. It’s a few years old but I’ve always loved it.”

She was talking about the music. Jackson didn’t spend much time in the States, and while he had an MP3 player, he used it for downloading books, historical fiction and biographies.

“It’s nice.” It was an inane thing to say, but he wasn’t familiar with the artist. He did make a note that it was one of Mariska’s favorites. He wasn’t sure exactly why he found that necessary.

Keep your mind on the job, man.

Taking in the rest of the club, he twirled her around. There were a couple of bouncers near an entrance at the back. His first instinct was to hit the bar and get an invite, but the woman in his arms made him want to hold off a few minutes more.

It’s her favorite song after all. The fact that her fingers played a seductive rhythm on his neck had nothing to do with it.

When it ended, he took her hand and pushed through to the crowded bar. As he waited for the bartender to get their drinks, he listened to other patrons. One guy was talking about winning at the wheel. That meant a roulette table. They were on the right track.

Careful how he worded it, he spoke to the bartender in stilted Thai. He wanted the man to think he was a tourist who recently learned the language. Jackson asked if he knew of a place where a man could find a solid card game. Then he handed him a hundred-dollar tip. The other man pointed toward the back. “Tell them Kwan sent you.”

“Okay.” He pulled Mariska away from the crowd. “We’re going in, but there are some ground rules. Stay close and at the first hint of trouble we are out of there.”

As hard as he tried, it was tough to think of Mariska as a business partner. He had an overwhelming need to protect her. So much so that he considered scrapping their plan and taking her back to the hotel. He could handle this part of the job on his own.

“Jackson, I’m not an idiot.” Mariska’s frustration could be heard in her tone. “Trust me when I tell you that at the first sign of trouble I’ll be booking it like nobody’s business. Please don’t even go there.”

He glanced up to see the bartender watching them. To keep the man from getting suspicious he leaned down and captured Mariska’s lips. There was a tiny “oh,” from her but she didn’t fight him. Her arms snuck up around his neck as he further explored her mouth. She was sweet with a slight tang of the lime from her drink. More intoxicating than any alcohol he could have imagined.

Jackson lost himself in her. His brain shut down and his body responded to her in ways he hadn’t allowed himself in years.

This woman could be the death of me. The thought helped Jackson to finally pull himself away from her, but it wasn’t easy. “Ready?”

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.