A slight smile formed on her lips. Gunner wasn’t one to turn down a night of passionate lovemaking, no matter how tired he was. She grabbed her overnight bag and carried it into the bathroom. Once he saw her in her new lingerie, sleep would be the last thing on his mind.

  Fifteen minutes later, Trinity stood in front of the bathroom mirror, showered and feeling sexier than a Victoria’s Secret model looked. She loved the way the soft material hugged her curves and stopped just below her butt. Giddiness rattled inside her when she imagined Gunner’s reaction. If she turned him on when fully dressed, she had no doubt that her skimpy outfit would have him energized and ready to make love in no time.

  Trinity took one last look in the mirror and strutted into the bedroom. The soft light sneaking through the partially opened bedroom door revealed that Gunner was in the living room. Hmm, I thought he was tired.

  “Gunner?” she called out before walking into the living room of the two-bedroom suite. She found him standing in front of the refrigerator, with the door wide open and him staring inside. She cleared her throat. When he glanced up, she strolled across the width of the living room, making a few twists and turns, ensuring that he got a good look at what he was getting tonight.

  She stopped and struck a pose.

  Gunner’s gaze raked slowly down her body. For the first time, Trinity couldn’t tell if he liked what he saw or not. Normally there would be a slow smile or a sexy grin lighting up his features. But right now, his expression was blank.

  “You don’t like it?” she asked, hating how whiny her voice sounded. “I thought maybe...”

  He stayed where he was, across the room. Her heart sank. She folded her arms over her chest, wishing she could crawl into a cave and never come out. What had she been thinking? Clearly he preferred to be the aggressor, and here she was trying to seduce him.

  She turned to head back into the bathroom.

  “Wait.” Gunner crossed the room to her. He placed his hand on her arm, but pulled it back just as quickly. “Sweetheart, I love the outfit. Thank you for modeling it for me.”

  Anger soared through her veins quicker than she could rein it in. “I wasn’t planning to just model it for you. I thought you’d be interested in seeing what was underneath it, but apparently not.”

  “Come on, Trinity.” He turned away, snatching his baseball cap off his head and tossing it to a nearby chair. “I told you I was tired and just wanted to get some rest. It’s been a long day. Hell, it’s been three long days. Until tonight, I wasn’t even sure I was going to still have a chance at the final table this year.”

  “But, Gunner, you’re back on top. What’s the big deal? You still have a couple of weeks—”

  “What do you mean, what’s the big deal? The big deal is that this is my job, my livelihood. Anything can happen in the next couple of weeks.” He paced in front of her but stopped. “You’ve witnessed it yourself. A player can be leading one day and in fifth place the next. I can’t afford to take that chance.” He rubbed his forehead. “All I’m asking is for you to understand. I just need to relax so that I can get back on track.”

  “Fine! Get some rest.” She stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

  * * *

  Gunner cursed under his breath. Not only was he feeling like crap because of the way he played tonight, but now Trinity was mad at him. He could’ve handled things better. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

  He went back to the refrigerator and popped open a can of apple juice, taking a long gulp. A vision of Trinity in her skimpy outfit floated around in his head. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe, but he wasn’t strong enough. He lacked self-control when it came to Trinity. If he had touched her... He shook his head and sipped his juice. In order to get his head back into the game, he had to keep his hands off Trinity. She was sexy in regular clothes, but having her scantily clad in see-through lingerie was definitely his kryptonite.

  Gunner took his juice into the living room and plopped down on the sofa. He couldn’t seem to get tonight’s game out of his head. He had played like crap, definitely not like a man who wanted to win the championship.

  He glanced toward the bedroom when he heard Trinity bumping around. Part of him wanted to go and check on her, but the other part of him knew it was a bad idea.

  Instead of camping out on the sofa, he decided to go to bed. Rarely did he doubt his poker-playing abilities, but his stomach was in knots trying to figure out how to balance his love for poker and his love for Trinity. Right now, he was on track to win the PPO championship. It would be one of the biggest accomplishments of his career. And that’s where his focus needed to be.

  Turning off the television and all but one light, he grabbed his drink and stood at the door to their bedroom, and debated on entering. I’m not in the mood for an argument. He turned and went into the suite’s other bedroom.

  * * *

  The next day, Gunner pulled into the garage and pushed the button to let the overhead garage door back down. Trinity couldn’t believe that they had spent the twenty-minute ride back to his house in almost complete silence.

  He removed their weekend bags from the trunk of the car and went into the house, not bothering to wait for her. But what had she expected? When he ignored her seduction efforts the night before, she thought that maybe he needed the night to regroup. He seemed really upset about the way he’d been playing. Yet this morning, she awakened to his same sullen attitude. He hadn’t even joined her in the shower, which was something he had done most days over the past few weeks. She thought that after grabbing lunch and then heading home, he would be in a better mood.

  They needed to talk. She had had about all that she could take from his funky attitude.

  She stormed into the house, slamming the door behind her. When she didn’t find him in the kitchen, she marched up the stairs.

  “What is your problem?” she demanded when he walked out of her bedroom, now with only his bag. Considering they’d been sharing his bedroom, this made her even angrier. Apparently, he was letting her know without saying the words that they were no longer sharing a bed. “You acted like a jerk last night. I put up with it, trying to give you some space, but I’ve had enough.” She followed him into his bedroom. “Did something happen while we were at the tournament? Did I do something? Did I say something that offended you? What the heck is going on?”

  He dropped the bag abruptly and spun on her, catching her off guard. Instinct had her stepping back and getting into a fighting stance. Gunner looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

  “You honestly think I would strike you?” His voice held a tinge of shock and disappointment. “I would never, ever, put my hands on you to hurt you.”

  She shook her head and dropped her arms. “I know. I know. That was a reflexive move.” She stepped toward him, her hands on his chest. “I need to know what’s going on.”

  “Sweetheart.” He cupped her cheek with his hand, and then quickly dropped his arm. “There is nothing going on. Except my chip count fell way down this weekend and that’s something I can’t afford.”

  When Trinity approached him, he turned and grabbed his bag, placing it on the bed. Maybe she was being overly sensitive, but it seemed as if he was pulling away from her.

  She watched as he unpacked his bag, placing some things in drawers and others in the dirty clothes hamper.

  “Is there anything I can do to help?” She leaned against one of the bedposts at the foot of the bed, running her hand over the smooth cherry wood. “I know I’m not great at poker, but maybe there’s something I can do to help you practice.” She immediately thought of their game of strip poker and an idea popped into her head.

  She approached him with a lustful smile, hoping to lighten the mood. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head against his strong back.

  “Why don’t we play a game of strip poker? Then maybe we can relax a little in that swimming pool that you call a bathtub.”

  He patted her hand and pulled away from her. “Not today. Right now, I just want to get settled and regroup. Maybe another day,” he said over his shoulder en route to the master bathroom. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He closed the door, leaving Trinity staring after him.

  Tomorrow? Was he honestly planning to spend the rest of the afternoon and night holed up in his bedroom?

  * * *

  Fifteen minutes later, Gunner sat in his sauna, his eyes closed, and his head resting against the wood-paneled wall, sweat pouring down his body. He knew he had disappointed Trinity, but he couldn’t help it. He kept replaying his last poker game over in his mind. By the end of the night, he had gotten his chip count up, putting him in third place overall, but it wasn’t good enough. He wanted to be in first place going into the next couple of weeks of the tournament. He should have been in first place. He could blame some of it on the cards not going his way, but he knew the real problem.

  The last month and a half of traveling around the country and living with Trinity had been wonderful. Unfortunately, spending so much time with her had taken him off his game, especially once they became intimate.

  Gunner stepped out of his sauna and grabbed a towel. Standing in front of the mirror, he wiped the sweat from his face and stared at his reflection. He looked tired. Hell, he was tired and frustrated. Besides that, the woman he loved was probably feeling neglected, and he wasn’t quite sure what to do about it.

  He stepped into his walk-in shower, hoping that the cold water would wash away some of the uncertainty floating around in his mind.

  Chapter 17

  Days later, Trinity sat at the kitchen table, picking over her dinner. She hated eating alone. The smothered fried chicken and rice was good, but not having anyone to share it with was downright depressing.

  Gunner, holed up in his game room for the past two hours, hadn’t shared a meal with her in days. She had even set a time for dinner, thinking that just maybe it would make a difference in whether he came out of his room or not. Apparently, spending time with her wasn’t as important. Why she expected this day to be any different from the past few days was a mystery.

  Covering her face with her hands, she wanted to scream. How could I have been so stupid? What was I thinking? She had done everything she vowed not to do. She slept with a client, foregoing professionalism. She fell for a gambler and, worst of all, she fell in love with Gunner.

  Her heart tightened inside her chest as sadness fell upon her. She had never felt so lonely in all her life. After breaking so many of her rules during this assignment, she had hoped it would lead to a happily-ever-after.

  Unable to eat any more, Trinity took her plate to the sink. Lately, each conversation she started with Gunner fell flat after only a few words from him. Now she was tired of trying. Tired of trying to get him to talk to her. His disinterest was too much like what her mother went through with Trinity’s father, with the nights alone, her father’s sullen moods, and poker dominating all of his attention. The only difference was that Trinity wasn’t scrambling around in search of money to pay the mortgage or looking for lunch money for her kids.

  She finished putting away the food and cleaning the kitchen. With only a week and a half to go of tournaments, she was more than ready to return to her life in LA.

  “Sorry I missed dinner.” Gunner walked into the kitchen and kissed her on the cheek. Trinity’s heart leaped from his nearness, but gone were the days when he would wrap his arms around her and grind his hard body against her derriere. “Time kind of got away from me.” He grabbed a soda from the refrigerator, opened it and then sifted through the mail that sat on the breakfast bar.

  Sadness enveloped her in a tight hold. What happened to “I love you and I can’t imagine living the rest of my life without you”?

  She kept her back to him as she wiped down the counter, hoping to hide the hurt that she was feeling on the inside. Within a week, things had changed between them and she didn’t know if she could handle much more of his blasé attitude.

  She grabbed her glass of white wine from the table and headed out of the kitchen. “Your plate is in the microwave.” Trinity walked past the breakfast bar and accidently knocked her handbag from one of the bar stools. That’s just great. She set her glass down and stuffed everything back into her bag, but stopped when she spotted the green emerald next to the leg of the bar stool.

  Picking it up, Trinity sat back on her haunches and held the gorgeous stone up to the light. She twirled it between her fingers as a niggling feeling settled in her gut. Where have I seen this before?

  “Trinity?”

  She heard Gunner’s voice, but ignored him. She had a feeling that there was something important about the gem. She just couldn’t figure out what it was. Then out of nowhere, a burst of recognition settled in her mind. “Oh, my God,” she said just above a whisper. “I think I know who’s behind the attacks.”

  “What? Who?” Gunner grabbed hold of her elbow to help her stand, but she shook him off, not ready to let go of the disappointment she felt toward him. She knew it was childish, but she couldn’t help it. He had practically ignored her for the past few days and the sooner they caught whoever was behind the attacks, the better. It was time for her to go home, and time for her to get Gunner out of her system.

  Gunner shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans, but removed them when she handed him the emerald.

  Watching as he held it up, turning it back and forth, Trinity hated that things couldn’t have turned out differently between them. Her heartbreak was her own fault, though. She shouldn’t have ever gone against her better judgment, first getting involved with a client and worse, a gambler. She shook herself, getting back to the matter at hand.

  “What’s the guy’s name who toys with a brass-looking key ring while playing poker?” When Gunner looked confused, she said, “You know, the guy who you slammed against the wall a few weeks ago. What’s his name? I haven’t seen him at the last couple of tournaments.”

  “Who? Simon...Simon McCallum?” Gunner returned the jewel to her outstretched hand.

  “Yeah, that’s him.”

  “Hold up, wait. What does the emerald have to do with anything and why do you think Simon’s behind the attacks?”

  Trinity pulled out her cell phone and dialed her brother’s number before returning her attention back to Gunner. Staring into his gorgeous brown eyes still made her weak in the knees. Of all the people she could’ve fallen in love with, why’d it have to be him?

  “I found this near the bathroom where Jeff was attacked. I forgot all about it until now, but I’m almost positive that it belongs to him. If I remember right, the last time I saw him toying with the key chain it was missing a stone. He might not be behind the attacks, but he fits the witness’s description and he walks with a limp. As of right now, he’s a person of interest.” Trinity turned away from Gunner when Maxwell answered his phone. “Max, I might’ve stumbled upon something regarding the case. Can you check out Simon McCallum?”

  * * *

  Gunner watched as Trinity headed toward the stairs, talking on her cell phone. The possibility of Simon being behind the attacks was crazy. He might be a jerk sometimes, but he had just as good of a chance as anyone to win the PPO. Why would he risk it? Gunner shook his head. It can’t be Simon. It doesn’t make sense.

  Gunner opened the microwave. Spotting the plate of food, he closed the door and heated his meal. He had mixed feelings about the case possibly being solved. On the one hand, he wanted whomever was responsible, whether it was Simon or someone else, caught. On the other hand, once this person was caught, Trinity’s duties would officially be over. He didn’t miss the way she had pulled away from him when he tried to help her stand. He played the past few days around in his mind and he could see why she would be mad at him. So engrossed in getting his head back in the game, he had all but ignored her.

  The microwave timer chimed and he pulled the hot plate out and took it back over to the breakfast bar. He inhaled, closing his eyes as the amazing aroma wafted from the meal. If Trinity was anyone else, he would be leery about eating any parts of the dinner, afraid that she’d done something to it, like spit in it. But she wasn’t the vengeful type. If she were, he probably would’ve known it already.

  He cut into the chicken and stuck a piece into his mouth, savoring how the meat practically melted in his mouth. Man, this girl can cook. One of many things he loved about her. Eating his meal, all he could think about was how much of an idiot he’d been. Part of him knew he needed to make things right with Trinity, but the other part of him thought she should understand why he needed a little space. He had never been a good communicator, and this was one of many things he needed to work on if he were going to make things right with the woman he loved.

  Gunner finished off the meal and stood to take the plate to the sink. The moment he reached for the faucet, he heard Trinity on the stairs. Setting the plate down, he walked out of the kitchen, but stopped short.

  “Hey, hey, what’s going on?” He blocked her path, not missing the tears in her eyes and the luggage in her hands. “Where are you going?”

  “I have to go.” She tried moving around him, but he wouldn’t let her. He removed the suitcases from her hands and set them down.

  He held on to her arm to keep her from grabbing the luggage. “Talk to me. If this is about my behavior—”

  She shrugged out of his grip. “It’s too late, Gunner. I’m going home.”

 

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