Page 7 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

Not many people would have dared to challenge him so directly.

"Did you really expect me to agree to that?" he asked.

Jasmine sighed dramatically, leaning back against the plush cushions. "It was worth a try." She fixed him with an assessing look, her head tilted to the side. "I hate being cooped up here with no windows to the outside, and I really don't understand why Margo gets to be up there while I have to stay down here." She pouted. "I will sign whatever NDA you want me to sign, and I will not breathe a word about the celebrities getting married on this cruise." She put a hand on her chest. "I swear it. I'm just dying of curiosity. I want to hobnob with the rich and famous and experience the glitz."

The woman didn't seem intimidated by him even in the slightest, which made Kian doubt her self-preservation instincts, but at the same time there was something refreshing about her irreverence and lack of fear, even if it was all an act.

Was she flirting with him? Or was she just using her charm to soften him up?

She was undeniably beautiful, and there was also a spark, a vibrancy to her that he found appealing in a completely nonsexual way.

Was that the affinity that Amanda had talked about?

Probably. It couldn't be anything else.

Kian was a happily mated male, bound heart and soul to Syssi, and the only thing he could feel for Jasmine was friendliness, which most likely stemmed from affinity.

Perhaps Jasmine was feeling that, too, but was misinterpreting it as attraction. If she were an immortal female, she would have sensed his bonded status immediately and never dared to approach him with even a hint of flirtation.

He waved at the deck in her hand. "Shuffle the cards, and let's play."

Jasmine shook her head. "We need something to wager, and I don't play for money."

That was strange. If she was as good as everyone was claiming, then she could make a killing playing poker professionally.

"Ever?" Kian asked.

"Ever. It's dangerous. I play for fun."

He supposed that it could turn dangerous if she played with the wrong kind of people. Criminal types were usually sore losers.

"That's smart. What do you usually wager with?"

"Chips, popcorn, crackers, grapes, etc."

"I'll get some chips." Amanda pushed to her feet and walked over to the vending machine.

While Jasmine shuffled the cards and Amanda collected bags of chips from the dispenser, Kian was tempted to delve into Jasmine's mind and search for a hidden agenda.

It would be so easy to reach out with his power, to slip past her mental defenses and pluck the truth from her consciousness. Except, it was against the rules to thrall a human without just cause, and curiosity didn't count.

5

AMANDA

"Iwin." Jasmine pumped her fist in the air and gathered her winnings, several flavors of Pringles Grab & Go packed in small individual containers.

Kian shook his head. "I'm positive that I wasn't telegraphing anything. How did you know that I had a crappy hand?"

Poor guy. He didn't even know how bad he was.

"You are a terrible poker player." Amanda patted Kian's knee. "You took one look at your cards, and your eyes narrowed like you wanted to shoot lasers at them and incinerate the useless hand, and the cloud over your head didn't clear as the game progressed, so Jasmine and I knew that you kept getting bad cards."

"I was narrowing my eyes not because I was angry at my cards but because I was looking at Jasmine and wondering if she had an amazing memory and incredible math skills. Usually, those are needed to be a good poker player."

Jasmine laughed. "I'm terrible at math. My memory is okay, but nothing special. It was just intuition and observation." She pushed to her feet. "If you'll excuse me, I need to visit the ladies' room." She glanced at Amanda. "Do you want to come with me?"

"No, thank you, darling." Amanda smiled. "I'll wait for you here. The truth is that I should be heading back to the party, but I want us to play one more game so Kian can win back the chips he lost."

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