“If I ever let ’em raise the stakes above a penny, I might have to. My niece is particularly bloodthirsty.”
“Is that Abby?”
“Yeah. You’ll have to meet her one of these days. She’s an angel, though I’ll deny I ever said it if you tell her. Just don’t play poker with her.”
The next flash of lightning lit the room as bright as noontime sun. Thunder shook the house and set Gracie to trembling just as violently.
Kevin reached across the table and clasped her hand. “Hey, darlin’.”
Thoroughly embarrassed, Gracie refused to meet his gaze. If the gesture had been meant to steady her nerves, it had backfired. She was shivering uncontrollably now, though the blame for it couldn’t be placed entirely on the storm.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
She finally dared a glance up and into his eyes. She saw compassion there and something more, the kind of heated look that inspired a renewed trembling all its own. She swallowed hard and wished desperately she were the kind of woman who could indulge in sex for the sheer fun of it. The offer—the desire—was plain enough on Kevin’s face, in his touch. No matter that the caress of his hand on hers was only slightly less innocent than a handshake, the vibrations it sent through her were pure sin. Her blood raced.
“I’m fine,” she said firmly, extricating her hand from his.
“Any idea why you’re so afraid of storms?”
“None,” she said, seeing no point in further denials. “It’s silly, I know. I probably saw some report on TV once about somebody getting struck by lightning or a house burning down and the image stuck.”
She glanced outside, hoping to see clearing skies. Instead, the vicious dark clouds went on as far as she could see, dumping out torrents of hard rain. “How long is this supposed to go on?” she asked plaintively.
“There’s no telling.”
“And the power?”
“Could be hours before it’s restored. Do you have anything in the refrigerator that’s likely to spoil?”
She thought of the pricey ice cream she’d discovered and become addicted to in recent days. It was filled with cherries and chocolate and nuts.
“Just some ice cream.”
Kevin’s eyes lit up. “Can’t waste that. I’ll get it.”
He came back with the carton and only one spoon. Gracie grinned at him and reached for both. “Thanks,” she said.
Kevin held the ice cream out of reach. “Back off, kid. Nothing gets between me and my ice cream,” he warned. “Especially this flavor.”
“It is my ice cream,” Gracie pointed out.
“And I’m a guest.”
“I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me that no one ever taught you to share.”
“Okay, okay,” he grumbled, scooping out a spoonful and holding it out for her.
Gracie reached for the spoon, but Kevin held on. “Just take a bite,” he said, as if he feared relinquishing the spoon would be the end of his claim on the rest of the carton.
Remembering the effectiveness of her tactic with the strawberry pie, a streak of pure devilment came over her once again. Rather than simply eating the offered ice cream, she wrapped her hand around his to steady it, then slowly began to lick the ice cream as if it were in a cone. She ran her tongue around the melting edges, then took the spoon into her mouth and sucked. She turned the eating of that little mound of ice cream into an erotic adventure, one step more dangerous than the strawberry pie he’d fed her.
Kevin’s skin heated more quickly than the burner on a stove. Beneath her clasp, she could feel his pulse buck. His breath fanned against her cheek and seemed to come more rapidly.
She took a very long time to finish, and only when she was done did she dare to meet his gaze. She was shocked by the raw hunger she saw in his eyes. For a second she feared she had unleashed something primitive and untamable in him, but he blinked and it was gone, replaced by that familiar, irrepressible grin.
“That was…” He hesitated. “…interesting,” he said finally.
Gracie was too stunned by the yearning thrumming through her to reply. She had to wonder just which one of them had been caught by the game’s snare.
Kevin dipped another spoonful of ice cream from the carton and offered it. “More?”
Her gaze rose to clash with his and she saw the laughter and the dare in his eyes. “Sure,” she said bravely. “Why not?”
She took a little less time with the second bite and the third. Somewhere around the fifth, Kevin glanced into the carton and realized what had happened.
“Why, you little sneak,” he muttered. “It’s gone. You ate the last of the ice cream.”
Gracie grinned at him. “Yeah, I did, didn’t I? Thanks for sharing.”
“Sharing? I never got so much as a single lick.”
“Really? I’m sorry.”
“I should go off and leave you to sit out this storm all by yourself.”
“But you won’t,” she said confidently.
“Why is that?”
“Because you’re a southern gentleman.”
“Something at the moment I am deeply regretting,” he said. “That’s what cost me that blasted ice cream.”
“Oh, no,” Gracie said. “That was lust, pure and simple. Watching me eat that ice cream was turning you on. Admit it.”
“I don’t think you want to go too far down that particular path, darlin’. Somebody might accuse you of being a tease. Somebody might decide to claim what you were so clearly offering.”
Gracie swallowed hard at the lightly-spoken warning. Some part of her wanted him to do exactly that, wanted him to take matters out of her hands and persuade her straight into bed. If he’d known how little effort it would require, no doubt he’d seize the opportunity.
But the sensible, practical side of her knew better than to open that particular door, knew that if she didn’t change the subject in a heartbeat, one of them was going to make a move from which there’d be no turning back. As long as Kevin stood squarely between her and the future she wanted for herself, she couldn’t
