Chapter 34
“Checkers?” Amit repeated, blinking down at the lovely woman who had distracted him all day. “You want to play checkers?”
“Yes,” Marianna replied with an affirmative nod. The movement caused her ponytail to bob, adding to her fresh, vital appearance. “Or cards. Maybe, we could play gin? Or Uno?”
“What’s…” he paused, wondering if she was making up words just to mess with him, “Uno?”
Marianna bounced on her toes, causing his gaze to shift lower. Her breasts were so lush and perfect, it was difficult to think when she wore just a thin blouse and jeans. Because she didn’t plan on leaving the apartment, she hadn’t bothered to put on shoes. Her bare feet peeked under the hem of her denims, making her look…hell, every inch of her was sexy and adorable. He’d never thought those two words should be in the same sentence, but Marianna broke all the rules.
“It’s a card game,” she explained. Her smile suddenly dimmed in doubt. “But…sorry!” She stepped back and Amit lost the hands that had been holding his. “I know you’re busy. You probably don’t have time to play cards.”
Amit felt like he’d been slapped. He wanted her smile back and he would do just about anything to make that happen. “We’ll play cards, habibti ,” he announced. He turned and pressed a button. Almost immediately, a servant appeared in the doorway. “Would you find us a deck of playing cards? And…Uno…if we have it?”
The servant bowed immediately and walked away.
“Are you sure?” Marianna asked. “You have so many responsibilities. I just…!” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I just feel stuck here in your apartment, but,” she looked nervous, “I’m truly grateful for everything that you’re doing to help me stay hidden.” She tilted her head. “Do you still think your cousin is behind my kidnapping?”
He nodded and moved closer, already missing touching her. “It’s looking that way. I sent him on a trip to a small country in the middle of the Pacific to get him out of the way while we search his house. But we didn’t find anything helpful.” He led her over to the sofa and poured her a glass of chilled white wine.
“So, what’s the next step?” she asked, sitting down and sipping the wine.
He sat down next to her. He enjoyed the way her eyes flared with heat, but didn’t look further down at her breasts, not wanting to know. But he was fairly certain that she was just as turned on as he was. Would it always be like this? This constant, desperate need to touch her, to be inside her and feel her body clench around his?
He hoped not. It was driving him to distraction! Even the scent of her could make his body ache for more.
“The next step is to locate his hidden holdings and search there. We’re pretty sure that we’ll find something.”
“Is there any way I can help?” she offered.
He smiled, tucking a stray wisp of her hair behind her ear so that he could stroke a finger down her cheek. “I don’t think so, but I appreciate the offer.” He felt her lean into his touch and he bent to kiss her. But the servant appeared with a stack of cards and games.
“Thank you,” Amit told the man, who quickly set the stack down on the table and hurried from the room. Smart man, he thought. If the guy had lingered another moment, he might have been fired.
As soon as the door shut behind the servant, Amit turned to Marianna. But before he could lean in for a kiss, she stood up, lacing her fingers together in front of her and bouncing on her toes. “So, can we play?” she asked.
He stood as well, looking down at her curiously. “Is that really what you want?” he asked, noticing that her nipples were just as tight as his own body felt. She felt it. Why was she resisting the pull of desire?
“Yes!” she gasped and spun around on her bare feet, heading towards the table. For a moment, she sorted through the options, then she pulled out two decks of cards and turned back to him. “I think we should play ‘Mad Solitaire’,” she announced. “What do you think?”
Amit watched her for another moment, baffled by the sudden shift in her mood. He knew that she’d found her pleasure during sex. Hell, he’d watched her body writhe against his, felt her inner muscles clenching around his shaft. She’d damn well climaxed! So, why was she pretending that there wasn’t more of a pull for another round? What was holding her back?
However, when she looked at him now, he caught the pleading look in her eyes. Amit immediately relented, thinking that perhaps a game of cards would give him a clue to her mood. Surely there would be time to discuss why she was resisting his touch just now.