Page 11 (2/2)

The baroness was small, slim, beautiful She had a delicate oval face fraave her a decidedly angelic appearance, although her eyes, slightly tilted at the corners, were not completely innocent

Beautiful girls were a dime a dozen, but she touched him; with her serious expression, her dark brown brows pulled, the deep furroeen arched brows

Cristiano watched now as the young baroness stood just inside the door, not nervous or uncertain, just focused She wore a look of utter concentration, an expression of grave concern, and Cristiano was certain this is what Joan of Arc must have looked like before battle as she en’s side

Cristiano had never liked Johann, would never like Johann, and had deliberately sat at this table so he could play the baron Cristiano had discovered en didn’t kno to play cards, couldn’t gaa bled And he was ht

Bleeding out

Bleeding dry

Cristiano scooped up a handful of chips,the ante by two hundred and fifty thousand pounds It wasn’t a se Over five ht Johann’s loss to Cristiano’s gain

Eyes narrowing, Cristiano watched as Sa loose blond tendril slide forward on her shoulder, dangle across her breast He envied the curl Longed to take it, twine it around his fingers and then dip it between her full breasts

Cristiano reached for his whiskey, sipped it, let the heat and fire war Samantha She made him feel—curious, carnal, intent on possession

She crouched now at Johann’s side, her velvet cloak pushed back on her shoulders, her slih

Her hands didn’t belong on Johann’s thigh

Her hands belonged on his

Cristiano’s gaze e revealed by the plunging neckline of her white evening gown Leisurely he let his gaze travel up, along the smooth column of her throat to her firm rounded chin and jaw, the curve of cheekbone and the worry in her blue eyes The worry was also there in the faint line between her perfect arched brows, as well as in the press of her lipsticked mouth, her beauty delicate and yet painfully pinched