“Bets are one stack minimum. You got that?”
“Yes, actually I do, but I’m not here to gamble.” Joi’s tone was cocky and matter of fact, which East liked. She didn’t seem to be the type to take shit, at least not from him. And that wasn’t normally the case, so he found it cute in a sense.
With a newfound motivation to break Joi’s bad attitude, East looked her up and down again, smiling to himself while he offered her a straight face. “Aight, cool. You can bet with me. You’re my personal guest tonight.”
“Uh, no thank you, sir.”
“Why not?” he quizzed, lifting one brow as he stared down at her.
The angle at which he was standing allowed him a nice visual down the slouched silk shirt she wore. It pooled just above her tiny breasts and tied in the back with thin strings that extended from each side, stopping just above her navel, leaving a golden brown trail of her skin. Her clothes covered just enough to be casually sexy but not enough that he would immediately want to fuck her and get sidetracked with the idea.
“Because this is illegal. I’m already risking a lot by being here. I’m damn sure not going to be a participant. What if a cop shows up?”
East smirked and nodded. “There are two over there at the poker table losing right now, so don’t worry about it. Just bring your scary ass on. You’re with me tonight.”
He turned to walk away without waiting to see if Joi was behind him. She groaned out a sigh of frustration but followed. How could she not when she was still tipsy off the smell of his cologne and high from the sight of him?
Once she made it to the table where East sat in one of the black vinyl and metal folding chairs, she stood next to him, looking around. It wasn’t until then that she understood how serious it was because she noticed a few ballplayers and a few faces she remembered from the VIP at Presidential. Once she located Nyelle, who was seated next to Vega grinning like a girl on a mission, she gave her attention to the table where she was standing, assuming her girl was good for now. That meant she only had to be concerned with herself.And him.
“If you’re not betting, you have to sit with me. Only players get a seat,” East stated with his eyes on the table as he watched the dealer pull cards from the stack one by one and issue them around the table.
“Sit with you?” Joi questioned with a slight frown.
East lifted the corner of the card, which was face down, then gave her his attention. He tapped her thigh and motioned his head toward his lap.
“Uh, no. I’ll just go over there with Ny.”
“And sit in her lap? Because the same rules apply over there. If you aren’t betting, you don’t get a seat at the table.”
Joi gritted her teeth and looked around. She noticed a makeshift bar in the corner, and when East realized what she was thinking, he gripped her waist and pulled her into his lap. She fell against him hard, so it took a minute to steady herself. In the process, Joi’s hand pressed right against something solid. When she snatched it away, East smiled.
“That’s about all this skin you have on display, Grinch. Don’t be offended.” He brushed a finger across the small of her back.
Joi shivered from the sensual touch but didn’t get to embrace it long before East used both hands to position her better. Once he was comfortable with her in his lap, he placed one hand on the side of her thigh and glanced at the second card that had just been dealt.
“You play Blackjack?”
“I know how, but I don’t really play cards. I don’t have time for games.” She issued the statement with sort of a double meaning, and because East was smart, he immediately picked up on it. He pushed out a smile.
“Should I take a hit?” he asked, looking up at Joi then down at his cards. He already knew what he wanted to do but was going to allow her to make the call.
“It’s your money. You decide.” East gripped her thigh, causing Joi to adjust in his lap just a little more.
In doing so, she felt something else hard, but it was on his side.A gun.She was antsy while he was in total control, unbothered in a sense, other than the solid mass that sat beneath her. East dealt with a lot of women. Most of which the average man would be intimidated to approach, but women who produced a hard dick didn’t mean shit to East. He had experienced enough in his life that he could be around them without losing his cool.
Joi was fine as hell and seated in his lap, which caused a physical reaction, but East was still very much in control. Something he learned at a young age. Women used sex as a way to get what they wanted and East had never been a fan of manipulation. For that reason, he practiced patience regardless of how his body reacted to a woman. Thinking with the wrong head could get you fucked up.
“Nah, you tell me what you think.”
Joi rolled her eyes and checked out the cards. An eight of hearts was showing, so she peeked at the card that was face down, which was an eight of clubs.Sixteen. She glanced around the table and all eyes were on her. The four other men, the dealer, and East.
“Yeah, take one more,” she instructed. The odds of getting a card five or less was good.
East chuckled. He hadn’t planned to take a hit, but he went with it. The dealer watched with his eyes until East nodded at Joi.
“You heard her. Let me get one more.”
The guy next to East was sitting at fifteen, while the two other men had busted. They all waited, watching like hawks until the dealer placed the seven of clubs down in front of East.
