Page 47 of High

Santi snorted. “He didn’t have to say he thinks you’ll lose. He wouldn’t have suggested the game unless he was convinced.”

Thio scowled and Santi laughed. He leaned in closer again. “Your pride has always been your weak spot, primo, and Odin wants that last seat filled by someone with money to lose.”

“You do it, then, Santi,” I said, and Thio gave me a soft squeeze. It was difficult keeping a straight face as he slid his hand down my back to cup the side of my hip, close to my asscheek. His groping was almost indecent, yet not. I held my breath, shocked by how much I wanted him to keep going, even though we were attracting some attention. At the bar a group of bikers who were dressed up, but still wearing their jackets, let out a loud burst of laughter, and I glanced there, momentarily distracted.

“Like I could afford to buy in,” Santi murmured.

“How much is it?” I asked.

“Only fifteen thousand,” Killough said smoothly, stepping toward us, though still far enough away that his guards didn’t decide to shuffle closer. “We play on credit and pay up within twenty-four hours.” He raised his split eyebrow in Thio’s direction, and I got the feeling a new pissing match was starting. I snuggled into Thio’s side, hoping he would feel me against him and care less about all this crap. I stroked my hand along his stomach and he trapped it there.

“Fifteen? That’s barely anything at all. We should make it thirty.”

I eyed Thio. He had money, and as far back as I could remember, we both always had, but I wouldn’t have flushed that much cash over a card game, friendly or otherwise. How rich was Thio, exactly?

“Let’s go, hermoso. You can be my good-luck charm.” He flashed me a toothy grin.

“No, no one but players,” Santi said. “Otherwise certain parties get distracted.” Thio shot me a quick look. His nose wrinkled a little and I had to laugh. I didn’t want him to leave, either, but he was clearly sucked into this card game already.

“Thirty is reasonable,” Killough said, and behind him his boyfriend shook his head, but seemed amused.

“I’m fine. It’s okay. Go play.”

Thio leaned in and pressed his mouth lightly to mine. I moaned against him as he slid his tongue past my lips to flutter against the tip of mine. More than anything I wished we were someplace he could touch me… maybe do more than we had already tonight. “You’re sure?” he asked as he pulled away. “I have a feeling there’s some reason Odin wants me at that table, so I should go.”

“Other than to take your money?” I snickered, and he pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“Probably.”

“I’m not alone. Go.”

He nodded, and my heart hammered as he stepped away from me. We hadn’t really been split up since he’d come to rescue me, and I hated watching him leave, feeling a little like a dog my mother used to own when I was small. The pup would stand in the window anytime she left the house, waiting for her. It wouldn’t move an inch until she came back through the door.

Thio and Santi walked toward the archway out of the packed room, but they stopped to talk to Arlo on their way. For a second I worried. I really didn’t understand why Thio had gotten so angry at Arlo. He hadn’t done anything to me, and he was just being the same old Arlo I remembered. It had been strange and really disturbing to see Thio furious over Arlo only talking to me because we’d always been friendly. On the other hand, it was sweet that Thio cared enough to be jealous.

He was crazy, though, to worry about Arlo. I didn’t want him; I only wanted Thio, and I tried not to get offended about the fact he might not trust me. Thio didn’t think I would cheat, or at least, I thought he knew better. Maybe there was more going on between Thio and Arlo I didn’t understand? I sighed, hating how much I’d missed in the last five years. Had they grown further apart?

Arlo smiled at something Thio said and left with the small group of men who were invited to the card game, so he must have been going to play as well. That was good. Maybe they could work their problems out, and Thio could stop being mad at Arlo.

My heart pounded like I’d been running when the noise from the party seemed to rush in on me, and I sighed a little. Rafael stood nearby, but without Thio here, he didn’t have anything to say to me. It had been nice just taking up space with Thio, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be by myself much from now on, and I didn’t want to be the type of boyfriend who couldn’t do anything on his own.

Huffing, I crossed my arms and walked over to a recently abandoned white leather couch. I sank into the soft cushioned seat and leaned back, furious at my body for acting like something scary was happening. At least I wasn’t getting all weird and wobbly. “I’m only at a party,” I grumbled under my breath. My heart raced on anyway.

“You good? I don’t want to leave Thio without decent backup.” Rafael appeared at my side and hesitated. I was glad I hadn’t jerked away in fear because he’d startled me. Instead of asking him to stay like I wanted to, I waved a hand at him.

“Yeah. Keep him safe.”

Rafael didn’t wait for more than that from me. He nodded at a few of our men standing together along one wall across the room. There were more than thirty people, at least, between me and them. They stared at me as Rafael left, but didn’t come closer. I shrugged that off. I wasn’t sure they liked me, or maybe they only liked me as much as Thio was willing to make their lives hell if they didn’t keep me safe. Rubbing my face with my hands, I tried to shake off my tiredness. I was ready to go back to the rented apartment and crash, but we would probably be here for hours now.

Killough’s boyfriend wandered in front of me with two drinks in his hand. He’d changed his clothes from when we first arrived. I tried not to gape at the red jeans he wore. They were tight enough I could tell he’d tucked his dick to the left. The shirt he had on was so thin his nipples were visible, and the collar he wore matched his outfit. He held a glass out to me. The guards across the room straightened, but I shook my head in their direction and they didn’t seem to be in a big hurry to intervene.

“I would never hear the end of it if I took that from you.” I nodded at the glass, and the man swirled it so the drink glimmered.

“It came from the bartender, direct. I don’t have so much of a death wish that I’d poison you in Pleasant Beach. Besides, my boss would not be pleased if I stirred up shit, and I always try to make him happy.” He smiled at me. I eyed the collar around his neck, instantly interested. I took the drink from him and traced a line along the collar of my shirt.

Licking the corner of my lips, I forced myself to look into his eyes. “What exactly do you two use that for?”

He laughed and sipped his drink. “It was a gift from Sloan, and he likes the look of it. I like the way it hugs my neck. As for what we use it for….” He waggled his eyebrows. “What do you think? I’m Conall, by the way.”