High-Stakes Passion by Juliet Burns

Malone. A white-trash guy with a mutilated leg, a guy who had betrayed his own family.
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    Guilt had a way of sucking the passion right out of a person. Audrey paced in her room and berated herself. She was on the same evolutionary scale as pond scum for lying to Mark Malone.
    But when Mark had kissed her, she’d responded with an intensity she’d never experienced before. His lips had sparked a trail of fire that had inflamed her entire body. His kisses had awakened her, as if she was finally alive instead of wandering numbly through a sham of a life. His strong arms surrounding her, he’d tenderly kissed her tears away. The concern in his eyes had made her knees weak.
    Tonight she’d caught a glimpse of a different man. There had been passion, yes. But there’d also been compassion.Here was the man who had braved five rowdy rednecks to rescue her. She’d not been wrong to hope he was still that man.
    Audrey finally went through the motions of preparing for bed, squeezing toothpaste on her brush. Let’s get real here. It was a pity kiss. Poor little fat girl staying at home because no one asks her to dance. Ooh, it hurt to be so honest. And she hated that he’d seen her so vulnerable.
    But hadn’t she seen him writhing in the throes of a nightmare, tormented and in deep pain? She’d suspected that underneath the drinking and belligerence, he hid a secret. Something besides the crushed leg had made him give up on life.
    That something was what she needed to find out. And the only way she would was by getting him to talk. The hands probably didn’t know, and though John and Helen might, they were too loyal to share Mark’s private demons with her.
    But could she betray him now?
    She wanted this promotion to staff writer. She was determined to be more assertive, to go after her dreams. The emptiness, the loneliness, of the past few years loomed in her future.
    She got into bed. Sleeping was impossible. She was restless. Edgy. Thoughts whirled through her mind. Her emotions were in turmoil. She’d been here almost a week. What was she going to do? Give up on her ambitions just because a handsome cowboy kissed her in a moment of sympathy?
    She heard raucous laughter coming from downstairs. Guess the guys were back from town.
    Men! It still infuriated her that they smoked and spit and threw their trash all over the place. If they had to play poker why couldn’t they—
    Poker! Of course. This way, it would be less of a betrayal and more like a challenge. Mark would have a choice. A simple, winner-take-all game. All she had to do was wait for a winning hand and the right moment, and force him to bet an exclusive interview. It would be a relief to be honest about why she was really there.
    She showered and dressed, purposely wearing the one blouse she owned with a low neckline.
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    Audrey figured she’d need all those acting skills she hadn’t used since her tenth-grade drama class to pull this scheme off. When the men turned to stare at her as she walked into the dining room, she almost lost her nerve. She tried to stop her voice from shaking when she said, “I couldn’t sleep. Mind if I watch?”
    A chorus of male voices answered, “Sure!” and, “Yeah!” at the same time. Dalt jumped up to get her a chair from the kitchen.
    Mark’s usual scowl grew even darker. Gone was the compassionate man from a few hours ago.
    â€œOh, thank you.” She sat across from Mark, folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. Her father had taught her that an important tool in winning a poker game was distraction. Might as well use the only asset she had. She was out to win.
    She felt the men’s gazes drop to her chest. “I used to play cards with my family when we were younger, and it was really fun.”
    With a small sigh of relief, she could tell her ploy was working with predictable ease. Both Dalt and Jim tried to coax her