Jess was tapped out, but held what she felt was a winning hand. If she could win, then she wouldn't have to gamble any longer but be able to buy back her family's land stolen by carpetbaggers after the Civil War. She felt the man's soft brown eyes on her and realized too late, this man wasn't a greenhorn after all, but a professional gambler. Those eyes caressed her, and she studied his hands holding the cards, wondering how they would feel on her skin. This man was affecting her differently than any man had before, and it was clouding her judgment. Still, she needed to stay in the game.

Crooking a smile at her, he reminded her that to stay in the game, she needed to match his bet.

She had only one thing to bet with, her body, she had never done that before but she held a straight flush, felt confident of winning, and felt he was bluffing. She bet one night, and he took the bet, and then laid down a Royal Flush, the only hand that would beat her Straight Flush.

Beaten! Jess was reminded by the lusty look in the gamblers eyes it was time to Ante Up! She asked herself why she had taken such a gamble.

Wade Hampton had watched the beautiful Jess Clayton since he'd come into the Saloon, never had he seen a woman he wanted so badly. Her sapphire eyes, delicate ankles and curves in all the right places, his little Queen of Hearts. She bet only one night and he bet her, she would want him to stay. But after the indescribably fantastic night they had shared, he left the next morning. To her sorrow, he was gone, as he had agreed before she woke. Neither had experienced a night as fulfilling as they had had together, nor one that would change their lives so dramatically. Wade swearing to become more than a gambler, but a man worthy of her love, and Jess, left with the entire pot of Wade's winnings reclaimed her family's heritage.

It would take a year for them to find each other again, and in that year, many things would change for them both. In the end, they both would Ante-Up, but who would the ultimate winner be?

Once again, Ms. La Croix has woven an intricate story with her characters lives grabbing the reader's emotions from the start. Beginning in a saloon in the old west, she holds her reader's attention throughout the story as if they too were sitting at the gaming table, a part of game and the story. Dealt into a set of circumstances that whet their erotic desires from the moment they meet, her characters undeniable magnetism bring them together in dynamic conflict at the poker table as each strive to emerge the victor. Jess and Wade's attraction through out their poker game builds their sexual tension to a sizzling climax that leaves them both in a Royal Flush of love. A wonderfully sensual and erotic tale that will not gamble with your heart and proves love at first sight is possible. Reminding us, love will find a way to beat the odds, and Ante-Up to the challenges life puts in the way of happiness.

Overall rating:
Sensuality rating: Explicit

Reviewer: Orange Blossom
October 15, 2004