Chills beat up my arm as I allow him to guide me toward the casino. I’m not much of a gambler, which I told Pike, and he said neither was he, but since we were in Vegas, he thought we needed to at least play a game or two.
I agreed. We were here, might as well.
“What are you thinking?” he asks, his lips still close to my ear as we make our way through the hotel.
“How your hand feels on my back,” I answer, the alcohol making it impossible to mask my thoughts.
“How does it feel?”
“Good,” I say. “I wish it was guiding me back to your room instead.”
I glance up to him and catch the way his eyes turn a deeper shade of brown from my confession. “We’ll get there.”
“Is that a promise?” I ask him.
“Trust me,” he whispers. “You’re not leaving my goddamn sight tonight.”
And just like that, more chills.
“Then lead the way.”
“With pleasure,” he says, guiding me with the slight pressure of his hand.
We make our way past a bank of escalators that lead to conference rooms, through a block of slot machines, and straight to the poker tables.
“Take your pick,” he says.
I scan the tables, observing the dealers and all the players, as well. Given what I’m wearing, I need to take advantage of that, so I point to a table to the right that is full of men, dealer included.
Pike smirks. “As long as you know I’m the one you’re spending the night with.” God, it’s a good feeling to feel desired. Beautiful.
“Don’t worry, there’s no competition. But don’t get jealous if some of them get an eyeful.”
His hand curls around my side and his fingers trace the waistband of my thong. “What kind of eyeful?”
“Nothing you haven’t already seen tonight.”
“Good,” he answers before taking me over to the chosen table. He pulls out a chair for me.
The men all look up at me and I shyly wave. “Hello, care to count me in?”
“Depends,” a man wearing a visor says. “Have any money to deal in?”
From behind me, Pike sets down a fifty-dollar bill. Oh, hello, wasn’t expecting to be throwing down that much, but okay.
“Change for fifty,” the dealer says before taking the bill and giving me some poker chips.
“Oh, look at these. I like the purple ones.” I hold them up to Pike, who smiles down at me.
“Are you joining?” Visor guy asks Pike.
Pike shakes his head. “Nah, just going to watch my girl here and stare at her glorious cleavage. Got a problem with that?”
Pike’s hands curl over the back of my chair. Visor’s eyes zero in on Pike’s hands, and then he looks back up at him. With a shake of his head, Pike says, “Good.” He then leans down to my ear and asks quietly, “Do you know how to play?”
“Yeah,” I answer.
“Good. Are you too drunk to realize what you’re doing?”
“Borderline.”
He chuckles, and the sound tickles my nerves, sending more chills down my arm. “Then I should probably get you another drink.”
“Might be ideal.” He goes to leave, but I grab his hand. “Stay here.”
His eyes search mine before he turns back toward me and places his hands on my chair again. “I’ll get us drinks later.”
The dealer calls for everyone to ante up. He deals us all two cards and then flips over two cards in the middle.
“Wait, is this blackjack?” I ask, confused.
The men at the table roll their eyes while Pike squats down next to me. “The cards in the middle are for everyone to play off.”
“Oh . . . interesting.” I pick up my cards and see that I have two sevens. There’s another seven in the middle. Beginner’s luck? I think so.
The men throw some chips into the pile in the middle. I join in, because three of a kind is a great hand. At least I know that.
Dealer throws down another card in the middle. We bet. I throw down some chips. Another card from the dealer. More chips, and before I know it, I’m all out of chips and hands are being called.
Wow, fifty dollars gets thrown around pretty quickly.
Visor shows his cards—two pair.
I give him a small clap.
Mr. Stirs His Drink shows off a pair of queens by tossing them on the table.
Doctor Scratches His Head folded last round, so then it comes to me.
With a smile on my face, I lay down my sevens, and the table erupts in grumbles while the dealer pushes the chips toward me.