I smile. “All right. That’s why I wanted to come out, you know? I thought we could spend a little more time having fun before we go home.”
“I am having fun with you.” He looks away and then back at me.
“Me too,” I murmur, before biting into a piece of melt-in-your-mouth steak.
Declan seems to rally after a couple of glasses of water and food, and we go to the casino after we leave the restaurant.
I take his hand, leading him immediately to the Blackjack table.
“You’re playing against me?”
I grin. “Sean and Finn taught me how to play. What, you scared I’ll win?”
He snorts and puts down money on the table to bid.
I get a face card but then so does the dealer, so I narrow my eyes.
“Hit me,” I tell the dealer, and wonder of wonders, he gives me an ace. I try my best not to let it show on my face, and Declan bets against me.
The dealer takes a hit and stands at twenty, while Declan is at nineteen.
I show my card.
“Blackjack, for the lady!” the dealer says, pushing the chips toward me, and I cheer.
I’ve won about ten thousand dollars since we were the only ones in the round.
I grab up the chips, cackling.
Declan puts a hand on my arm. “That was just beginner’s luck. Let’s go again.”
Three hands later, I’ve lost all my money and another three hundred dollars, and I’m flagging. Other people have come to the table, and Declan is fleecing them for all their worth, but I start to see the casino workers kind of watching us.
I stop bidding and head over to Declan, placing a hand on his arm and gesturing to the guards standing around.
“That’s it for me,” Declan says, winning his final round. The crowd boos, but Declan grabs my elbow in one hand and his winnings in the other and swiftly takes me to cash out.
As we wait for the money to be counted, guards are still eyeing and pointing at us, and my heart starts to race.
Declan grabs me and the bag of money and we start to jog toward the elevator. When we close the doors, the guards head our way.
My heart is beating out of my chest. “Are we in trouble?”
“Not if they don’t catch us.” Declan winks at me. “I’ll call the twins, get them to grab our things.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to the Four Seasons.”
“But…your credit card—” They have his card on file at the hotel.
He grins. “Not mine, sweetheart. I don’t book under the Burke name. That’s trouble waiting to happen.”
“You’re trouble waiting to happen,” I murmur, but I am so turned on right now I can barely stand myself.
I’ve grown up among mobsters and thugs, but never a card shark. This is exciting, and I can’t deny that it’s making me hotter and hotter.
We go to the parking garage instead of upstairs, and Declan makes the call to Sean.