Page 53 of Reluctant Surrender

The dealer swallowed, obviously fighting a smile. “Yes, ma’am. You’ve won the hand.”

“Oh, look, Lukas. I won!” I leaned over the table and gathered up the chips.

Lukas laughed at my act, but put his hand on my thigh beneath the table. “One hand, angel. You won a hand.”

I stacked up my chips. “That’s right. Now, what do I get when I win the whole night?” I picked up the ten thousand dollar chip for the next ante.

“What do you think you deserve?” he asked.

“Hmm.” I tapped the tip of my finger against my lips. It had to be something good, something he would never give me otherwise. “If I win, you’ll tell me who that guy was in the cellar.”

He stared at me for a long moment, analyzing me to see if I was joking or not. I was not.

“You’re sure that’s what you want?”

I nodded. “Absolutely.”

“Then may the best player win.” He winked and gestured for the dealer to start the game.

We battled out every hand. It was a tug of war, one winning a hand then the other. The chips piled up on his side, then just as easily were swept to me.

“I hear your mind working, don’t even think it,” Lukas muttered beneath his breath as he studied his cards.

He was harder to beat than I had originally thought he would be. My techniques weren’t getting the job done. If we kept at it, we’d be there all night without either of us being declared the winner.

“I’ll take two.” I smiled up at the dealer and slid my cards face down across the felt.

“Just two? You sure?” Lukas taunted, tossing down his three that he wanted.

“I’m positive.” I casually picked up my cards and filed them away in my hand, curling my toes inside my shoes the whole while.

“Good. Is it my turn to wager?” he asked the dealer, knowing damn well it was his bet to make.

“Yes, sir.” The dealer gave a nod.

“I think, since it’s late and the lady is getting tired, we’ll just go all in.” He put his cards down and using both hands shoved the piles of chips into the center of the table.

“All in?” I asked, eyeing my cards again and wiggling my toes.

“Yes, angel. Whoever wins this hand wins the night.”

I looked over my cards at Lukas. “It’s not that late, are you sure?”

His smile spread wider. “Oh, I’m positive.” He waved at my chips. “Are you in or do you fold?”

If I folded, I’d be alive for one more round. I had a good hand, a solid hand that anyone would feel confident betting high on, but this was Lukas. He could have nothing or he could have a royal flush. When he wanted to remain unreadable, he was good at hiding his expression. And so far, even though I’d looked long and hard, I hadn’t discovered any of his tells.

I knew his body well enough to know when he was about to lose his control and come, but I couldn’t figure out if the man was bluffing at a hand of poker. It infuriated me.

I twisted my wrist to glance at my watch. A minute after midnight. We still had a thirty-minute drive home, only because of Lukas’ disregard of posted speed limits, and I needed to get up for work in five hours.

“Any day now, Maggie.” Lukas picked up his drink and downed the last bit of it.

“All right. If you really want to lose so badly. We can go all in.” I cupped my stacks of chips and dragged them across the table to sit beside his.

“Very well. Bet has been called. Mr. Kaczmarek, show your hand, please,” the dealer said.

Lukas slowly fanned out his cards, one by one, until all five were showing.

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