Page 2 of Reluctant Surrender

He huffed. “Fine. Show your hand.” He gestured toward me with his long fingers.

I fanned out my cards. “Full house.”

His grin fell.

“What?” I asked, looking down at my pair of tens and three kings. “I got it right, didn’t I? It’s a full house.”

“Yeah, you got it right.” He laid down his three sevens. “You can stop with the innocent act.” His voice dipped low into an authoritative tone as he stood up from the table and reached for his belt. A warmth spread through my body, pooling between my legs and he hadn’t even taken off his pants yet.

His fingers pulled at the leather strap, unbuckling his belt then moving to his button and zipper. Heat rushed to my cheeks as his thumbs hooked into the top of his jeans and he pushed them down. He wore a pair of black boxer briefs beneath and the hard, long, thick outline of his dick became evident.

I diverted my eyes to the table and gathered up the cards again. “New hand,” I announced and shuffled the cards.

He retook his seat and grabbed the deck from me, the warmth of his fingers sending a current of arousal through my body as they brushed against me.

Fuck. I needed to get laid and quick. I could not be thinking about Lukas Kaczmarek in this way. He was trouble.

“My deal,” he said, shuffling the cards again.

“Maybe we should play for socks,” I said softly. “Just in case?”

He dealt our hands. “If you lose this hand, off goes that little t-shirt of yours.”

“And if you lose?” I asked, raising my eyes to his.

A glint in his blue eyes made the breath in my chest hitch. This wasn’t the first time we’d been alone. We’d flown to New York together to celebrate my cousin’s marriage to his brother, but it had been different before. We’d been friendly, but distant. This was quickly moving into a dangerous territory.

“I won’t,” he vowed.

I glanced down at my hand—a ten, jack, queen, and king. All I needed was a nine or an ace.

“I’m sure you’re right.” I smiled. If we were wagering like normal, I’d be able to get him to fold especially after winning the last two hands. But since it was my shirt on the line, he probably wouldn’t be tossing out his chances.

I threw one card down.

“One card?” he asked in disbelief. “You’re going to rely on one card to keep your shirt on?”

“Yeah. It’s all I need,” I said, holding my hand out for my card.

He shook his head and handed me the card. I placed it face down in front of me while he took three cards and shuffled his hand around. His full lips pulled into a confident grin.

“Four of a kind, aces.” He folded his hands over his chest. “Okay, now you.”

As I reached for my card, his phone danced on the table. He flipped it over to look at the screen. “I have to take this.” He stood from his chair and headed to the front of the plane while answering his phone. Immediately he broke into Polish, his voice getting harsher as he continued his talk.

The muscles in his back moved with his movements, and his ass—fuck, I needed to stop looking at him like he was an option. Because he wasn’t. We could be friendly. Have a drink if we ran into each other, but nothing more.

He disappeared into the small room that served as a bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Figuring the game was over, I flipped over my card.

Two of hearts.

Well. Damn.

Chapter 2

Maggie

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