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Feeling luck was on my side. I counted out a stack of twenty chips and put them all on three again. I told myself it was only twenty bucks.

“What are you doing?” Jonesy asked with warning in his voice.

“I’ve got a feeling,” was all I could say, my heart beating wildly. I watched the woman who’d congratulated me put three chips on top of mine.

The dealer launched the marble. I stared at it as it rounded the wooden track before finally bouncing to settle again.

“Number three, again!” the dealer said. The table erupted in excitement, with people saying things like ‘holy shit’ and ‘oh my God.’ The dealer seemed nonplussed by it all. But in my excitement, I spun around and threw my arms around Jonesy, who wore a look of disbelief.

“I can’t believe that hit again,” he said, hugging me back.

“Three years, babe…three years,” I replied, giving his cheek a kiss.

With all the commotion, the pit boss walked over while the dealer counted out my winnings in high-denomination chips. With twenty-one chips on number three, I was paid out over seven hundred and fifty dollars. I stopped her before she pushed the chips my way, and I pushed the chips I still had toward her.

“Color in, please,” I said, knowing it was the smart thing to do. I was not going to get greedy. Walking away with not only what I’d started with but five hundred and fifty dollars of the casino’s money, I was beyond satisfied with over eight hundred dollars in chips.

The woman who had three chips on my number was paid her winnings, and she smiled at me again. “Thank you, dear. I wish you more good luck tonight,” she said.

I tossed a ten-dollar chip onto the felt as a tip, and the dealer thanked me. “I think Lady Luck and I are done tempting fate in the casino, but I know my luck in other ways will continue,” I replied with a wink, patting Jonesy’s arm. I felt him stiffen at my remark, but I was feeling too good to care.

“I can’t believe what you just did at that table,” Jonesy said. “You realize you walked away with almost what our room cost for the night?”

“Then we’d better get up to that room and make good use of it,” I replied, walking to the cashier’s cage to cash in my chips. He snickered with a devilish grin and a raised eyebrow.

13

JONESY

After Craig had cashed in his chips, we headed up to our suite. He buzzed with energy as we rode the elevator to our floor, and I was happy for him. He’d been so eager to scratch his gambling itch, and I had to admit I was surprised when he stopped.

“You surprised me when you colored in and took your winnings so quickly. I expected you to keep playing longer,” I said once the elevator doors opened on our floor.

“I knew if I kept playing, odds were I’d lose it again. Actually, walking away with what I’d won was more exhilarating,” he replied, hooking his arm in mine as we walked down the hallway. I used the keycard to open the door, letting him enter ahead of me. Once the door closed, he pounced.

“Oof,” I grunted as he pushed me against the closed door.

“I wasn’t able to thank you properly in the casino for having Onyx throw her luck my way,” he said heatedly.

“I would have been slightly embarrassed had you done this in a crowded casino.”

“I could see that. But from what I’m feeling, I think this pricey suite will have to do,” he replied, cupping his hand over my growing arousal.

“Mmmhmm, fuck,” I moaned as his palm rubbed over the tight fabric.

“Kiss me,” he said, clutching the back of my head and pulling it down for our lips to meet.

He locked his mouth to mine and pushed his tongue between my parted lips, skimming my teeth, and the more he kept that up, the more I knew our clothes would soon be shed. And not neatly folded.

“I need you tonight. I want you to take me to that large, luxurious bed in the other room and have your way with me,” he begged, pulling me by the waistband of my slacks. I offered no resistance as he stripped off his sports coat and walked backward toward the bedroom. He threw it over the back of the sofa, as I did the same.

Still pulling me by my pants, he worked the buttons of my dress shirt with one hand until the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed. I let him pull my shirt out, and he peeled it from my shoulders, dropping it to the floor.

I cupped his jaw with both hands and tipped his head up, gently kissing his willing mouth. His eyes were closed, but his hands roamed my pecs and abs, eventually wrapping around my back. I pulled him tight, but with only one of us shirtless, I needed to remedy that. Releasing his face, I copied what he’d done to me.

His eyes opened but remained hooded as he dropped his chin to follow my hands. I deftly undid each button of his shirt, finally slipping it off his shoulders. He then pushed me back with minimal force.

“Wait. I really need to do this,” he said, digging the money he’d won from his pants pocket. With a swift flick of his wrist, the bills flew over the bed, landing haphazardly on the bedspread.