He released a frustrated breath. The woman was too stubborn for her own good. There was no way it could be a fair game. Not when he was a professional and she had no idea what she was doing. So what was he supposed to do?
Trying to go the fair and honorable route hadn’t worked, and his conscience wouldn’t allow him to take advantage of her inexperience. But it appeared elephants would start roosting in trees before she backed down. The way he saw it, there was only one thing he could do that might come close to solving the problem.
Shaking his head at the ridiculousness of the entire situation, he stepped across the hall and knocked on Taylor’s door. He couldn’t believe what he was about to do, but there wasn’t any other choice.
“Is something wrong?” she asked when she opened her door.
She looked absolutely adorable in her lime-green midlength gym shorts and a hot pink T-shirt with butterflies screen printed across the front. On any other woman he wouldn’t have found the outfit all that appealing, but Taylor somehow managed to make it look sexy. Real sexy.
His mouth went as dry as a Texas drought when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. “No, nothing’s wrong,” he finally managed as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other in an effort to relieve the pressure beginning to build behind the fly of his jeans. “I’ve been thinking that if you insist on playing cards for the ranch, you’re going to need someone to give you a crash course on how to play.”
“The only person I knew who could play well enough to teach me how to beat you at cards was my grandfather,” she said, shrugging one slender shoulder.
He nodded. “And since that’s no longer possible, I see no other alternative but to teach you myself.”
Her eyes widened and he could tell she was thoroughly shocked by his offer. “Excuse me?”
“It’s the only option that makes sense,” he insisted, wondering if she had finally driven him over the edge. Even he was finding the idea absurd. “We both know you can learn all you need to know about the rules of the game and the ranking of the hands from a website. But it can’t teach you what to expect when you’re facing me across the table in a live game.”
“Do you think I’ve lost my mind?” she asked, laughing. “Why would you want to help me learn to play a game that I fully intend to win? And what guarantee would I have that you’d be honest about what you teach me? For all I know, you might teach me something that will ensure that you come out on top.”
“First and foremost, your grandfather was a good friend. I’m making the offer to help you because of the admiration and respect I had for him. And secondly, contrary to what you think of me, I have a conscience and a set of ethics I live by.” For reasons he didn’t quite understand himself, he was determined to set her straight about his morals once and for all. “When we play for the ranch, I want it to be a fair game and one that we both have a chance of winning. Otherwise, you might as well pack your bags and head back to L.A. now.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you think you’re that good, huh?”
He grinned. “I know I am, babe. That’s why I’m willing to help you out.”
When she started to nibble on her lower lip, he reached out and placed his finger to her mouth, stopping her. “Lesson number one. Stop worrying your lower lip when you’re trying to decide what to do. That’s one of your tells and lets me know that you’re unsure.”
“I have more than one?” she asked.
Staring down into her expressive green eyes, he nodded. “When you think you have the advantage, you smile.” He cupped her face with his hands. “And when you think I’m going to kiss you, your eyes widen slightly in anticipation.” He slowly began to lower his head. “Just like they’re doing right now.”
As he covered her mouth with his, Lane knew he was flirting with disaster. They were rivals for the Lucky Ace and she could very easily accuse him of trying to use their attraction to convince her to sell him her share. Or worse yet, she might think he was trying to win her trust only to betray it later when he taught her how to play poker.
He didn’t like either prospect, but there didn’t seem to be anything he could do to stop himself. Every time he got within arm’s length of her, all he could think about was kissing her the way she was meant to be kissed—and a whole lot more.
Tracing her lips with his tongue, Lane coaxed her to open for him. When she sighed softly and allowed him entry, he didn’t think twice about deepening the kiss to stroke her inner recesses. Never in all of his thirty-four years had he tasted anything as erotic or sensual as Taylor’s sweetness. When she circled his neck with her arms and leaned into him, he pulled her more fully against him and the feel of her lithe body pressed to his had him harder than a chunk of granite in less than the blink of an eye.