Page 15 of Champion of Cards

Larisa laughed. “That woman shoving her tits in your face. It’s basically an invitation to talk to her…and see where it goes.”

“You can’t just cut right to the chase because…” Kingsnake tried to find the right words. “It’s complicated. You have to do a dance—”

“I don’t know how to dance.”

“Metaphorically. Flirt back and forth. Wait for her to touch your arm or something…and then invite her back to your room. Now, if you get that far with a woman, this is what you need to do—”

“I know this part.”

“You do?” Kingsnake asked.

“I’ve seen you guys enough times to know exactly how it goes…”

Kingsnake stared at me for a few seconds before he leaned back in his chair. “Fair enough.”

The waitress returned with my lasagna. “The plate’s hot.” She set it on the table in front of me, having dark hair like Larisa and dark eyes. She was petite, over a foot shorter than me as a human, and while she was slender, she was curvy on the top and the bottom, which pleased me.

“Not as hot as you.”

Kingsnake cringed at my attempt.

But she smiled. “What’s your name?”

“Fang. Yours?”

“Denise.”

“Denissse.”

Kingsnake shook his head, trying to get me to stop.

But she still seemed charmed by me. “Nice to meet you, Fang.”

“So…you want to fuck?”

“Oh shit,” Kingsnake said under his breath.

Denise stilled at the question, like she couldn’t believe I’d said that. Then she walked away without saying a word.

Larisa chuckled when she was gone.

“What?” I asked. “What did I do wrong?”

Kingsnake sighed. “I told you it’s a dance. You can’t just cut to the chase.”

“Why?”

“You just can’t.”

“Why?” I repeated. “Viper said humans fuck for pleasure. I’m just asking if she wants to fuck for pleasure.”

“It’s more complicated with women,” he said. “They need more of an emotional connection.”

“What’s an emotional connection?” I looked at Larisa.

“It could be a conversation,” she said. “Or chatting over a glass of wine…”

“That sounds like a lot of work,” I said. “Kingsnake doesn’t make any effort with you, and you’re always agreeable.”

---