“I will answer it,” he said. “If you will answer a question for me.”
She stared at him for a moment, and then nodded.
“Fine.”
“I come because it is…fun,” he said, but it didn’t sound like he knew what that was. “Now you—why are you here tonight?”
“My friend Lexa was on the list,” she said.
“No,” he said. “That is the answer to a different question. Why are you here tonight?”
She considered his question, and then said. “It seemed rebellious at the time.”
“And now you aren’t so sure?”
“Oh, I am sure it is rebellious,” Persephone said, she dragged her finger along the surface of the table. “I’m just not sure how I’ll feel about it tomorrow.”
“Who are you rebelling against?”
She looked at him and smiled. “You said one question.”
His smile matched hers and it made her heart beat harder in her chest. “So I did.”
Staring back at those endless eyes, she felt he could see her—not the glamour or even her skin and bones, but the core of her, and it made her shiver.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
“What?”
“You’ve been shivering a lot since you sat down,” he observed. She felt her face redden and she suddenly blurted, “Who was that woman with you earlier?”
He looked confused for a moment and then said, “Oh, Minthe. She’s always putting her hands where they don’t belong.”
Persephone paled. “I…think I should go.”
He stopped her with a hand on hers. His touch was electric, and she gasped at the contact, pulling away quickly.
“No,” he said, almost commanding and Persephone glared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“What I mean to say is, I haven’t taught you how to play yet.” His voice lowered and it was mesmerizing. “Allow me.”
It was a mistake to hold his gaze because it was impossible to say no. She swallowed and managed to relax. “Then teach me.”
His eyes burned into her before falling to the cards. He shuffled them, explaining, “This is poker.” She noted that he had graceful hands and long fingers. Did he play piano? “We will play five-card draw and we’ll start with a bet.”
Persephone looked down at herself—she hadn’t brought her clutch, but the man was quick to say, “A question answered, then. If I win, you will answer any question I pose, and if you win, I will answer yours.”
Persephone grimaced. She knew what he was going to ask, but answering questions was far better than losing all her money and her soul, so she said, “Deal.”
Those sensual lips curled into a smile, which deepened lines on his face that only made him look more attractive. Who was this man? She guessed she could ask his name, but she wasn’t interested in making friends at Nevernight.
The man explained that, in poker, there were ten different rankings, the lowest being the high card and the highest being the royal flush. The goal was to draw a higher rank than the other player. He explained other things, like checking, folding, and bluffing.
“Bluffing?”
“Sometimes, poker is just a game of deception…especially when you’re losing.”
Hades dealt each of them five cards. Persephone looked at her hand and tried to remember what Hades had said about the different ranks. She laid her cards down, face up and the man did the same.
“You have a pair of queens,” he said. “And I have a full house.”
“So…you win,” she said.
“Yes,” he replied, and then claimed his prize immediately. “Who are you rebelling against?”
She smiled wryly. “My mother.”
He raised a brow. “Why?”
“You’ll have to win another hand if I’m going to answer.”
So, he dealt another and won again. This time, he didn’t ask the question, just looked at her expectantly.
She sighed. “Because…she made me mad.”
He stared at her, waiting, and she smiled. “You never said the answer had to be detailed.”
His grin matched hers. “Noted for the future, I assure you.”
“The future?”
“Well, I hope this isn’t the last time we’ll play poker.”
Butterflies erupted in her stomach. She should tell him this was the first and final time she would come to Nevernight.
He dealt again and won. Persephone was getting tired of losing and answering this man’s questions. Why was he so interested in her anyway? Where was that woman he’d been with earlier?