TEXAS HOLD HIM
Dorchester Publishing’s Leisure historicals
April, 2009
As if losing the war to the Yankees weren’t bad enough, Lottie Mason must get $15,000 dollars to protect her ailing father from prison. None of her friends have that kind of money and the only place she can think of to get it is from the thriving riverboat gambling enterprise on the Mississippi. Problem is, she doesn’t know a thing about playing cards. So she approaches the best gambler on the river to offer him a deal. She’ll pay him a percentage of her earnings if he’ll teach her to gamble.
Texan Dyer Straights has his own demons to fight and teaching Lottie poker is the last thing he wants to do. When Lottie’s pestering finally pushes him to the end of his rope, he makes her the most scandalous deal he can think of in order to scare her away…he’ll teach her the game if she’ll give him a night in his bed.
What he doesn’t know is, it’s an offer she can’t refuse.
Book Excerpt from TEXAS HOLD HIM:
Dyer was careful not to make eye contact as he ordered a whiskey like the others and pretended to contemplate his hand. Another round of betting raised the stakes even higher and saw a fourth man fold. Now was when the big money would start hitting the table. It was Dyer’s turn to bet or fold. He rubbed his chin in an apparent decision making crisis as Lottie returned with their drinks.
“Why, isn’t that the cutest thing?” she said from over his shoulder. “All your cards match.”
“Fold,” the other players said simultaneously, quickly throwing their cards to the center of the table.
A low growl erupted from somewhere deep inside his gut. He glared at Lottie, not trusting himself to speak.
Batting her eyes like a paragon of innocence, she said, “Did I say something wrong?”
Dyer stood and silently pointed to the door. She sighed and headed toward the exit while he took a few breaths to calm himself before following. By the time he made it to the deck he was no longer seeing red, but he was trying to determine if there was some way he could lock her in a cabin for the remainder of the trip.
Her expression was a little too humble to be believable. “I guess I did something I shouldn’t have.”
“You could say that.”
“Well, it’s not my fault, really.”
This should be interesting. “And how, exactly, is this not your fault, Miss Mace?”
“If I knew how to play the game, I wouldn’t make such mistakes.”
Dyer knew a veiled threat when he heard one. He was known to make a few of those himself. It wasn’t like he couldn’t handle her, but three more weeks on the riverboat was too long to constantly watch out for the little vixen, and it was time to put an end to this once and for all.
“All right, you win,” he said with a shrug.
“Really?” A smile broke across her face. “You’re going to teach me?”
He nodded.
“Oh, how wonderful! You won’t regret it I swear you won’t. Why, as soon as I start winning, you’ll get a percentage of my money. Of course, we’ll need to come up with some agreement on how much--”
Dyer stopped her with a shake of his head. “I don’t want or need your money, Miss Mace.”
She gasped, her eyes widening as though he was a gift from God. “You’ll do it for free? Oh, I knew somewhere inside you there was a true gentleman--”
His shaking head stopped her once again.
“I didn’t say there would be no payment, just that I don’t want money.”
Her smiled dropped, a wary expression settling on her once exuberant face. “What exactly do you want, Mr. Straights?”
He walked to her and lifted a curl from her shoulder, allowing it to wind around his finger, as her eyes grew bigger. He stepped close enough to see the pulse beating wildly in her throat before he leaned down to brush his lips against her temple.
“I’ll teach you to play,” he whispered. “If you’ll spend a night in my bed.” He ended his demand with a kiss on her ear before he stood back feeling rather smug.
There was no way little Miss Prim and Proper would agree to such a scandalous demand, but from this point on, any time she bothered him about lessons, he could remind her that a deal was on the table. It was perfect.
He waited for her response, bracing himself for the slap he was about to receive. Her face ashen, her lower jaw dropped, she stood stunned with shock, staring at him as though she couldn’t believe what he’d just proposed.
Then she regained her composure with a lift of her chin and said, “Agreed.”
Dyer froze. “You agree?” Where the hell had that come from?
“Yes.” She nodded, glancing away from him, a pink blush tinting her cheeks. “Under one condition.”
Dyer stepped back from her to lean against the rail. Something told him he’d better brace himself for this. “And what might that be?”
“I only pay you if I win the tournament in St. Louis. If I don’t win, than you weren’t much of a teacher, were you?”
He should refuse her stipulation. It would give him the perfect out, but there was something about the cocky little tip to her head and her implied challenge, that forced his mouth to overtake his brain. “Agreed.”
“Good, we’ll start in the morning.”
And with that she left him standing on the deck, wondering at exactly what point he’d lost control over this situation.
