Instant Attraction Read online

  the doorjamb to stay upright. She thought she was prepared. She was so very wrong. That smile was devastating. It lit up his whole face, made his eyes crinkle at the corners, and turned her into a puddle of unrequited passion.

  “No, but I play a mean game of poker. Do you play?”

  Madeline shook her head, disappointed. That cancelled her distraction idea.

  “Would you like to learn?”

  She felt an urge to blurt “No!” but grabbed it before it could be let loose. The proper lady wasn’t going to make the decisions this time. Proper ladies may not play poker, but Maddie Brewster was going to learn.

  After searching for thirty minutes, they found a deck of cards in her father’s old desk. Teague suggested they play in the kitchen since it was in the back of the house and relatively private.

  When they settled at the table, the lamplight threw a cozy glow over the room. Madeline watched Teague’s hands, fascinated by how quickly he shuffled the cards. His fingers were lithe and strong at the same time. She wondered how those fingers would feel on her skin, making her temperature rise degree by degree.

  Teague explained a game called five-card stud. The rules were a bit complex, but Madeline understood most of them. He let her play a couple of practice hands, and then they started to play in earnest.

  Madeline lost five hands in a row before she started to really enjoy playing the game. She won the next hand. Teague actually looked surprised. “Very good, Maddie. You’re getting the hang of it.”

  Madeline smiled. “I think I understand why gamblers like to play this so much. Can we gamble too?”

  Teague threw back his head and laughed. It was the first time she’d heard him laugh, and the rough, raspy sound of it did something strange to her equilibrium. “Don’t you think gambling is the root of all evil?”

  “No, I don’t. I’ve seen the root of evil, and it’s definitely not poker.”

  He looked like he wanted to respond, but he didn’t. He shrugged. “I don’t have money to play for.”

  Madeline watched his hands as he shuffled the cards again.

  “How about we play for truths?” he said without looking up.

  “Truths?”

  “Yes, each time one of us wins a hand, we get to ask the other a question, and the loser must tell the truth.”

  His hands shuffled faster. By the time the cards started flying off the deck, his fingers were a blur of motion. In a few seconds, five cards lay in front of her.

  “I’ll play for truths. There isn’t much I’ve got to hide, anyway.”

  Madeline lost the first truth hand.

  “Are you ready for the first question?” he asked with a small grin.

  “Yes, I’m ready.”

  “Why did you paint your house blue?”

  It was her turn to laugh. “I thought you were going to ask me what color my bloomers are.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Now you’ve spoiled it. That was my next question.”

  “I painted it blue because it is my favorite color, and I wasn’t allowed to wear anything that bright. After my father died, I indulged myself.”

  He nodded. “That answers why it’s so damn bright.”

  She laughed and waved her hands at the cards. “Deal again, Teague. I’m itching to ask you a truth question.”

  This time, Madeline won. She pondered her question for several minutes, earning a sigh and rolling eyes from the sore loser.

  “Why didn’t you say yes to my proposition to bed me?”

  He clearly hadn’t been expecting a personal question like that. The cards he’d been shuffling fell out of his hand like an explosion, raining down all over the table and floor. “I had to stop myself from saying yes too quickly.”

  Heat pooled low and insistent in her belly, and a throbbing began between her legs. “Does this mean you’re saying yes to my…proposal?” she asked. Her mouth felt as dry as cotton. “I mean, it sounds as if you’re going to say yes.”

  He stood abruptly, and she could see the outline of his penis clearly in his pants. My, oh my! That certainly was a large-looking organ. Much larger than ones in the drawings in the book.

  Teague let the rest of the cards fall from his hands and he came around the side of the table. The primal way he walked was enough to make her nipples pucker. He clearly wanted her. Her. Madeline Brewster!

  When he reached her side, he knelt down on the floor next to her and cupped her face in his big hands. “Why me?”

  She shrugged, somehow. “I need a big man. I’m not…petite or feminine like most women. I didn’t want my teacher to feel embarrassed by the size difference if I was bigger. You…you’re bigger than me. And…”

  “And?”

  “Just looking at you makes my body hum.”

  His pupils widened, and he licked his lips.

  He’s going to kiss me!