Still, as a tiny flame of rage simmers in my stomach, annoyed with the idea of her trying to play me for a fool, my dick hardens at the sight.
I clear my throat and pay her bet. The river reveals a two of diamonds. She glances at me for a beat, and my breath catches in my throat. Even when I know what she’s doing, her game is still dangerous. After a moment of deliberation, she places a massive bet, one that’s three times the size of the total pot. It’s a textbook move. Trying to throw me off, acting like she just got a better hand.
She might consider this her circus, but I’m not one of her monkeys.
My chips clink as I push them all-in, determination coursingthrough my veins. “You should have really accounted for the fact that not everyone will fall for your charm.”
My tone is low, but her mouth twists into a devastating smile, one so different from all the fake ones she was flashing all night. “And you should have really accounted for the fact that there’s one more ace in the game.”
Before her words register in my brain, she pushes her own stack all-in and reveals her cards.
An ace and a four of diamonds.
My heart thuds in my ears as I realize what happened. I lost. She has a straight flush, which beats my full house.
She doesn’t wait for me to turn my cards over, already asking for a cash out while I’m stuck staring at her cards with disbelief. The dealer counts her chips, and I sense her stepping down from the chair.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, interrupting the shock. The screen shows a text, this time from Andre, one of my men. He’s one of my most trusted employees, and while I typically respect him, my nose now huffs with irritation. They need me. Again.
I huff a breath, running a hand over my face. Manicured nails wrap around a black chip right in front of me, turning it with the precision of a professional.
“Come on, I’ll buy you a drink.” I feel her breath on my neck as she whispers it.
The motion shoots straight to my dick, heating me from the inside.
There’s a choice to be made. Deal with a work crisis, only to have a new crisis appear. Or have a drink with the mysterious, gorgeous woman.
Poker wasn’t the magical cure for my mood, but some time with a woman like her just might be.
CHAPTER 2
Alex
Iadd a little swing to my hips as I walk to the bar, certain he follows me. Turning around to see if he does would be silly, but I’m pretty sure I feel his energy radiating from behind me.
Buying men drinks isn’t something I do, especially after I’ve emptied their pockets, but something about this man urged me to do it.
He’s attractive, no doubt. The angles of his face are sharp and masculine, his dark hair a beautiful mess from him running his hands through it. His suit looks to be more expensive than the 5k he lost tonight, and it fits his wide shoulders perfectly. A hint of tattoos peeks from the open collar of his shirt, along with a few strands of chest hair. Still, what drew me in was the look on his face. The somewhat lost, pensive look. One that reminds me of myself all too well.
So I asked him for a drink.
This is so far from what I had planned for tonight. My goal was to check the place out, ask around if anyone saw Sophie. I’ve been worried sick about her for two months until I found that flyer on the coffee table in her apartment. I noticed it right away, trained to keep my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.The note said she was okay, but I still had no clue where the hell she actually was. The flyer was from this casino, which could have been a coincidence, but it was the only clue I had to follow.
The night started well. Harmless fools were falling right into my charm, and I was just about to dig deeper with my questions. Thenhearrived.
I reach my hand to pull out the bar stool, but he’s quicker. My lungs forget to breathe before I climb onto the stool, placing my little black clutch onto the bar and crossing one leg over the other. His eyes stick to my leg peeking out from under the high slit, and a sense of satisfaction blooms in my belly. He moved me off my axis when he came to the table, and my competitive side came out swinging.
He orders his drink, pulling me out of my thoughts.
The server looks at me next. “Umm, I’ll have the same.”
Deep brown eyes of the man sitting next to me widen under the thick lashes, a smirk lifting his lips. “Really?” There’s a hint of an accent present, something about the way he rolls ther.
“Yup. Is that a problem?” I raise the black chip I took as a souvenir. “I’m the one paying, after all.”
A smile overtakes his face, one that shows his gorgeous white teeth. “No problem at all.”
The server returns with two shot glasses filled with see-through liquid. He man lifts his glass in the air, and I do the same.
