“I don’t need to distract you to win,” Bellamy laughed, waiting for Vesper to finish her turn before Bellamy threw down an absolute monstrosity that Vesper had no way of beating, even with her Kamatian. Bellamy might have been right—Vesper had clearly underestimated how good Bel actually was.
“Why do you keep cheating if you’re not actually bad at cards?” Vesper grumbled while Bellamy claimed another winning set. Bel shrugged, like there was no thought behind the cheating anymore.
“Why gamble on luck when I could have a guaranteed win?”
“But you’re… never mind.” She did not need to point out that Bellamy was still clearly not winning enough. That cheating might actually be more of a gamble since she kept getting caught and then forced to pay back the house, deepening her debt.
In fact, it wasn’t actually any of Vesper’s business anymore, and she didn’t care. Bellamy’s eyes flicked up tomeet hers briefly before she refocused on the game at hand, letting whatever Vesper had been about to say slip right past them, unspoken. They lapsed into temporary silence, both too focused on the game at the moment.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Vesper
Vesper hadn’t realized how long they’d been playing until the sun started to set and the cards got harder to see. Based on the stack Bellamy had acquired on her side, Vesper was losing. Badly.
Bellamy hadn’t gloated once, hadn’t rubbed it in Vesper’s face. In fact, she’d barely even acknowledged her lead. No snide remarks or anything. It had been an oddly pleasant conversation. Almost normal. Normal enough that Vesper had relaxed a bit. They’d started joking more, like they used to.
Vesper couldn’t let the normalcy of it all distract her—not like she could win at this point anyway. Even with the Kamatian she’d been hoarding, it would take a fucking miracle for her to pull it off.
In fact, Bellamy had almost seemed?—
Bel smacked her final card down, ripping Vesper out of her speculation. A smug fucking smile on her face. Vesper looked down at the table.Shit.She lost. Bellamy played the only four card combination that instantly terminated the game, and Vesper hadn’t been able to catch up before that.
Not that she actually thought she could.
Bellamy stood abruptly and sauntered over to Vesper, her hand dragging across the table. Well, so much for her not gloating.
“I win,” Bellamy said, smiling. She paused right in front of Vesper and tapped her lip in thought. “Hmmm, what do I want from you?”
“You get the bed for the night,” Vesper reminded her, but she knew it was useless. Bellamy made up her own rules.
“That was whatyouwanted. We agreed, winner gets whatever they want from the loser.” Bellamy’s conniving smile deepened, and Vesper mentally ticked off another regret to add to her ever-growing list. She straddled Vesper, wrapping her arms around Vesper’s neck. “Fuck me,” she murmured.
Vesper laughed. “No.”
“Our arrangement was whoever wins?—”
“Our arrangement,” Vesper interrupted, “was awfully close to gambling. I’d say you lost the bet, and I’m still not gonna fuck you, Bel.”
“It was just a game between friends with a fun little incentive. That’s not gambling.”
“We’re not friends.”
“You were gonna take the bed if you won,” Bellamy pouted, ignoring Vesper’s jab. Vesper shrugged, the weight of Bellamy’s arms moved easily with her. Of course she would’ve taken the fucking bed. That bench wasn’t the worst, but she certainly wouldn’t have called it comfortable. “So, then I get to take something from you.”
“You cheated,” Vesper accused.
“I didn’t,” Bellamy whispered back, quietly admitting, “I’d never cheat with you.” As if Vesper would ever believe that lie.
“Fine,” she ground out. “But I’m not gonna lose my bonus. Whatever you want can’t impact the bet.” As much as she hated to admit it, the game had actually been fun. It involved a bit more strategy and planning than she had remembered, and it killed half the day without Bellamy trying to fuck her again.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d played Illusori. Itmight have been a few years. Whenever it was, it had definitely last been with Mazz. Another little tidbit that Vesper was absolutely not going to tell Bellamy. She didn’t need to fuel her jealousy, especially not with how bad it had gotten the past couple days.
“Kiss me,” Bellamy whispered. She studied Vesper’s face intently, eyes darting all over. Vesper could see her desire, her worry, her fear. Bellamy thought Vesper would say no again. Vesper should say no. It might not impact their bet—just a kiss—but it felt more intimate knowing it wouldn’t go further.
The light from the sun vanished, and they were encased in darkness. The hum of the trolley echoed off the walls of the mountain they were now traveling through. Bellamy was still on top of her, waiting. It was easier now that Vesper couldn’t see her, to give in. Shit. Vesper already couldn’t stop thinking about it. Might as well dig her hole even deeper.
She moved slowly, her hands feeling up Bellamy’s sides until she found her neck. Cupping the back of Bellamy’s head, Vesper drew her in closer. Everything was slow at first, tentative, a surprise, despite them both knowing it was coming. Bellamy didn’t know if Vesper would—she shouldn’t have. But she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. Couldn’t even bring herself to add it to her list of regrets.
