His Last Gamble (6 page)

A sigh broke from her, was taken up by Payne, and suddenly the air was molten! She felt his tongue push her lips apart and he raised one hand to cup the back of her head, capturing her in a dominant embrace, as if afraid she might pull away. Liquid heat surged into her body as their lips fused. She moaned and felt her legs tremble beneath her, threatening to give way and dump her ignominiously into the sand.

As if he was aware of her sudden weakness, she felt his other arm come around her waist, pulling her towards him, trapping her against the rock-solid length of his body. One of the poles was ripped out of the sand letting the sheet fall to the ground and enabling him to pull her even more closely into his embrace.

Her nipples flared into tingling life as they were crushed against his hard masculine chest. She clung to him as the kiss deepened and deepened, threatening to drag her down into a whirlpool of sensation.

Stop it! Stop it! A little voice of sheer panic suddenly piped up in the back of her head. Isn't this exactly what must have happened to Lucy? This mad desire to give herself over
to
the man, regardless of the consequences? Hadn't this wonderful folly been the start of all her sister's heartache?

Wrenching her head painfully free of his hand and dragging her lips from his in an act of sheer hard-won willpower, she managed to take a step backwards. This made him stagger forwards before his superb sense of balance reasserted itself.

His eyes, which had been closed, suddenly snapped open to gaze at her, their grey stormy depths looking both heart-wrenchingly drugged and yet puzzled.

‘What's wrong?' he murmured softly, a small smile playing with his hard, cruel mouth. ‘Don't try and tell me you didn't like it.'

Charmaine dragged in a breath, then another, unaware that it made her breasts heave beneath the inadequate covering of the swimming suit. Unconsciously, she rubbed the back of her hand across her mouth, trying in vain to wipe away the residue of his kiss but succeeding only in making his eyes flash a warning, his irises the cold steel colour of a rapier.

But she didn't notice his hurt anger as she shook her head helplessly from side to side.

No, this mustn't happen to her. Not now. Not with this man, of all men.

‘No,' she said out loud, unaware she'd voiced her fears into actual words.

‘No?' Payne said harshly, the sleepy, amused
look
fading completely from his eyes, a harsh amusement quickly taking its place. ‘No?' he repeated softly, dangerously. ‘Then perhaps, if kissing disgusts you so much,' he grated, ‘you shouldn't go around kissing men willy nilly. It tends to give us the wrong idea.'

And with that he gave her a crooked, sardonic smile and walked away.

It wrenched at her heart to see him go, which in turn, made her go cold with fear. What kind of a hold did he have over her? And how had it happened? Because only people you cared about could hurt you like that.

Charmaine clutched the fallen sheet closer to her and looked around wildly, but fortunately, everyone was concentrating on the photo shoot.

All except for Jinx, who looked at her daggers.

* * *

The hotel boasted a small garden, but at two o'clock that afternoon, with the sun at its hottest, everybody was either swimming in the coolness of the sea, or taking a much needed siesta.

However Charmaine, who was too restless to sleep after the trials and tribulations of that morning's session, drifted about the flowerbeds, redolent with hibiscus and jasmine, and slowly moved meandered towards
the
big hedge bordering the Palace, with its promise of shade and cool grass. There she sank down onto the lawn with a weary sigh, and leant against the coolness of the green foliage with a worried expression troubling her lovely face.

How had things disintegrated so far, and how was she ever going to salvage them? Payne Lacey must think she was positively insane! First she kisses him, then she reacts like a wronged maiden in a gothic romance. And if the withering look he'd given her before he'd stormed off had been any indication, he was going to give her a very wide berth from now on.

After all, it wasn't as if he didn't have his pick of beautiful women with which to console himself. Jinx for one was on the lookout for a new lover. Even Charmaine could read the signs that said as much! She sighed again, then started as she heard his voice. It was as if thinking about him had conjured him up from the ether, and she tensed, instinctively wanting to run, until she told herself not to be so silly. He was obviously working in his precious gardens next door, and couldn't possibly see her. The hedge was far too thick.

‘I don't care. I don't like being made a fool of.' He sounded angry, and she wondered, grimly, if he was rehearsing what he might want to say to her, the next time they met.

But
the voice that answered him was definitely male and, what's more, placatory.

‘I know, I know, I've said I'm sorry. I never thought the gossip would spread so far.'

‘Oh come on, you know how the jungle drums work on this island.'

‘Sorry. Look, it got out of hand.'

‘I'll say!' Payne gritted, and behind the covering screen of leaves, Charmaine winced in sympathy for whoever was feeling the edge of his tongue. Payne Lacey in a temper must be a frightening sight.

‘Next time, don't drag me into your affairs.'

‘All right. Look, don't go on so. I'm sorting it out.'

‘I should hope so. Your wife deserves that, at least,' Payne all but snapped.

‘Let's leave Maria out of this, shall we? You know things between us are a bit . . .. fraught at the moment.'

Charmaine frowned. What was this? Was she actually hearing Payne Lacey, Payne Lacey of all men, defending a woman? And a wronged wife, no less, by the sound of things. Surely that couldn't be? The perpetual playboy, the love-them-and-leave-them Lothario of Barbados?

Charmaine shook her head. It made no sense. And yet, he'd sounded genuinely angry and genuinely concerned for the unknown ‘Maria'.

Yet again she felt uneasy, as the man she
knew
she must hate once more showed her the unexpectedly honourable and considerate side of his nature.

‘And whose fault is that?' Payne said sharply. ‘If your marriage is on the rocks, you have no-one to blame but yourself.'

Ah, now that was more the kind of thing she'd expect from him, Charmaine thought, with a sour smile. The man was both pitiless and heartless.

‘OK, OK. Anyway, I'm flying to England tomorrow. This situation has gone on long enough,' his friend replied tersely.

They must have walked slowly away after that, for Charmaine could barely make out Payne's response. Then the sound of their voices faded completely.

For a few moments, she continued to sit in the shade, miserably aware that her heart was beating like a drum, her palms were sweating, and she was gulping in air like a beached fish. And all because of his voice. Just because she knew he'd been there, just a few inches away.

Good grief, she had to get herself under control. He was the one who was supposed to be feeling all uneasy and giddy with desire. Not her! She was supposed to remain cool and calm and calculating.

She had to stop this melting feeling of desire every time he came near her. It would be disastrous if she fell into the same trap as Lucy.

Worse than disastrous, because she'd have
absolutely
no excuse—she'd be doing it with her eyes wide open!

* * *

That night, she dressed with extra care. Jo-Jo, herself, and the rest of the models were once more going to the Palace, but this time Phil and his helpers were eager to get some set up preliminary shots. With permission of course. Usually casinos didn't allow photographs to be taken inside the building, since the security men were always alert to potential robbers trying to ‘case' the building, and management was always on the look out for potential gamblers trying to work out how to beat the system. But Jo-Jo had told Payne that he could have all the negatives taken that night, and that Phil only wanted to get an artistic take on the background.

But Charmaine wasn't so much interested in work, but in how to repair the damage done that morning. And she knew she would have to look particularly stunning to win back Payne's favour.

She chose a tube of electric-blue silk shot through with silver as the opening salvo in the battle. One of her more daring creations, it was literally a tube of material, hanging from silver straps, and falling to mid-calf. All the shape came from the body underneath. When designing it, Charmaine had made a note that
it
must be made from pure raw silk, which would cling in all the places it touched, giving it form. The swirling threads of stiff silver thread made it sparkle in the light. With her pale blue eyes, and her silvery hair hanging down past her shoulders, it was perfect.

With it she wore strappy silver sandals and gorgeous, pagan-looking beaten silver and aqua-marine jewellery.

If this didn't make him want to give her a second chance, she didn't know what would.

* * *

Payne was watching a Japanese businessman lose his last hundred thousand pounds when they walked through the door.

The photographer immediately began snapping film, and he was amused to note that, even though they weren't for publication, Jinx managed to get in some of the shots. The redhead was wearing deep royal purple, a mere scrap of satin that barely covered her. Once he was sure that Charmaine had noticed him watching Jinx woo and charm (and yes, even manage to distract) some of the dedicated gamblers, he turned at last and let his eyes run boldly over her from top to bottom.

He hoped, from where she stood across the room of baccarat players, that she couldn't see the way his breath caught in his lungs, or the sweat that popped out on his forehead.

Not
that any red-blooded male would have reacted differently. She looked simply magnificent. Under the light of the chandeliers, the silver in her dress caught and flashed at him, as if signalling him in some code known only to lovers. It was certainly pulling him across the room as if she were a magnet, and he a mere iron filing. The rest of his body was feeling iron hard too, and he cursed this instant effect she had on him.

He was going to have to be very careful around this woman. She was the human equivalent of dynamite!

‘Hello Payne,' Jo-Jo said as he bore down on them, admiring the cut of the other man's dinner jacket. He wished he looked as good in tropical white. ‘Thanks for this,' he said, indicating the happily snapping photographer. ‘I promise you he won't disturb the gamblers.'

‘No trouble,' Payne said briefly, then snapped his fingers at a hovering waiter. ‘And speaking of gambling,' he said, smiling, ‘I thought the ladies might like a flutter.'

And with that the waiter lowered the tray, revealing not fluted glasses of champagne, but piles of chips—red, black, green and white.

Jinx, of course, was immediately there. ‘Payne, for us!' she breathed, widening her eyes and rubbing her arm against his. ‘How deliciously wicked.'

The other girls murmured too. Even the chronically bored Coral perked up. ‘Lovely. I
must
try my hand at poker,' she said, reaching out and grabbing a handful. ‘I've always wanted to!'

By the time the others had done the same there were very few chips left.

Charmaine couldn't have cared if they'd taken them all. Gambling just wasn't her thing. Besides, she was still trying to find her tongue and come up with a good opening line for Payne. ‘Sorry I kissed you,' just didn't seem appropriate somehow.

‘The greedy little darlings,' Jo-Jo drawled ruefully, watching his models eagerly making for the various tables, and then reached for the few meagre specimens left on the tray. Wryly he handed them over to Charmaine who had no choice but to let him drop them into her hand.

‘Oh no, Jo-Jo,' she murmured, looking uncomfortable. ‘Why don't you take them. You're bound to have more luck than me.'

‘Oh I don't know,' Payne said softly. ‘Sometimes Lady Luck recognises one of her sisters.'

Charmaine forced her eyes up to meet his. She tried for a puzzled-sophisticated glance.

‘Oh?'

‘Another Lady I mean,' he said softly. ‘Lady bountiful, perhaps?' he teased. ‘Or maybe Lady Godiva. With that wonderful blonde hair . . .'

Charmaine blinked. Wasn't Lady Godiva
known
for riding around naked on a white horse? She almost snorted. He should be so lucky!

Payne, eyes twinkling in response to her angry flush, reached out to push back a soft strand of hair from her cheek.

It was all she could do to stand still.

Beside her, she heard Jo-Jo give a soft sigh. He'd always been a romantic. And so must she be, if she was ever going to get Payne Lacey back in her sight she reminded herself grimly. It was no good just standing there like a statue, she reprimanded herself.

‘How kind,' she said softly. ‘But I've never placed a bet in my life. I'm not sure I know how.' She hoped she sounded as helpless as a lost kitten. It was, she was almost sure, the kind of thing Jinx would say, if she wanted to encourage a man to show how big and strong and gallant he was.

Then she saw Payne's lips twitch in amusement, and wondered if she hadn't overdone it somewhat.

‘Well then in that case,' he said, offering her his arm, ‘allow me to demonstrate.'

She tensed as she slipped her hand through the crook of his arm, and knew, without having to look up at him, that he was grinning like the devil at her.

Of course he'd seen right through her little-girl-act the moment the words were out of her mouth. It was no use. She was just no
good
at this sort of thing. Still, at least he was by her side, and hadn't simply gone off with Jinx. Which must mean that she hadn't totally put him off with her stupid behaviour this morning.