Sizzle and Burn

used in human sacrifice.”
    “Yuck.”
    “Tell me about it.” His mouth kicked up a little and his eyes darkened with intimate mystery. “Think maybe we could both use a little distraction?”
    She was suddenly a bit breathless again. Her pulse leaped. Energy crackled silently in the atmosphere.
    Out of nowhere, common sense reared its boring head.
    He knew she was attracted to him, knew she was vulnerable tonight. He planned to use the sexual energy that flared between them to manipulate her. If he thought she was that easy, he could damn well think again.
    “What kind of distraction did you have in mind?” she asked, putting as much ice as possible into the question.
    He took his hand off the doorjamb and showed her the deck of cards he was holding. “How about a little blackjack?”
    Braced for a blatant seduction line, she was thrown off stride for a couple of seconds. She pulled herself together with an act of sheer willpower.
    “You’re suggesting we play cards?” she asked, bewildered.
    “Thought it would take your mind off other things.”
    “I was going to turn on the television,” she said weakly.
    “In my experience, that doesn’t work well. Too passive. You need something that makes you concentrate a little but not too much because you’re too edgy to do that.”
    She pushed her initial suspicions aside. He wasn’t here for sex. He knew what she was going through tonight. What’s more, he was going through something very similar.
    “You’ve been here and done this a few times yourself, haven’t you?” she asked.
    “The dreams go with the territory for sensitives like you and me. When I’m on my own I usually pour myself a couple of glasses of scotch and play some solitaire.”
    “I know an herbalist back in Oriana. He mixes up a special herbal tisane that I use. But I didn’t bring any with me.” She glanced hesitantly at the deck of cards in his hand. “I sometimes play solitaire, too.”
    He didn’t say anything just stood there, waiting.
    “Okay,” she said, feeling more reckless than she ever had in her entire life. “Let’s play some blackjack.”
    He moved into the room. She closed the door. Abruptly they were enveloped in darkness. The sense of intimacy was almost overpowering.
    She switched on the lamp that stood on the table near the window. In the warm glow the bed—just another piece of furniture earlier in the day—now loomed very large. She was uncomfortably aware of the tangled sheets and rumpled pillows.
    Inviting him into her room had probably been a very big mistake but she could not bring herself to ask him to leave.
    Zack walked casually across the room. He didn’t appear to notice the bed but she couldn’t seem to get her mind off it.
    She seized the bedspread and yanked it up over the pillows. The maneuver did nothing to reduce the aura of sexual intimacy that pervaded the small space.
    Zack flipped on the gas fire. Instead of sitting down at the table, he lowered himself to the carpet in front of the hearth and sat cross-legged. He shuffled the cards.
    “Let’s make this interesting,” he said.
    She held her breath. “How?”
    “We’ll play for real money.” He removed his wallet out of his back pocket and took out some bills. “My stake is twenty bucks.”
    So much for wondering if he was going to suggest a game of strip poker.
    She went to the table, opened her purse and took out her wallet. She counted out twenty dollars in ones and fives. With the money clutched in her hand she turned back to him.
    It dawned on her that, attired in her nightgown with only the knee-length robe for modesty, she could not assume a similar cross-legged position. After a few seconds of close thought, she sank down onto the carpet and folded her legs, mermaid-style, to one side. In that position the robe covered her in what she hoped was a decorous fashion.
    Zack dealt the first cards, one each, facedown.
    She peeked at her hole card. It was the queen of hearts.
    Zack dealt the next two cards, one each, faceup. The jack of diamonds for her. His up card was a three.
    “Hold,” she said. She shoved a one-dollar bill under the cards.
    Zack shrugged and dealt himself a third card. They both looked at the red ten. He flipped over his hole card. Another ten.
    “Busted,” he said
    She smiled. “I’ve always been pretty good with cards.”
    He looked amused. “Yeah, I can see that.”
    He scooped up the cards and shuffled again.
    She watched his hands,