Page 42 of Trick's Trap

“Really?” she asked, a corner of her mouth lifted.

“Oh, yeah.”

Lifting her cards, the amused expression on her face melted away to nothing. Poker face securely on, she dropped two cards on the table, which he quickly replaced.

She won with three of a kind. He removed his tie with a flourish, tossing it aside the way a stripper would.

Two pair.His left shoe, which was quickly followed by the right.

“Are you sure you’re not throwing this game?” Tahlia asked when a straight cost him his shirt.

“Nope.” He laughed, glad he’d kept up his sparring routine with Liam this week. His pecs were as defined as they were ever going to get. He wanted to be at his best around her.

“My goal was to get both of us undressed. Or, if I’m being honest, just you.”

Tahlia snorted. “How’s that plan working out?”

“Not good,” he admitted.

She hummed, taking his pants with the next hand. By the time she laid down a flush against his three of a kind, he was down to his boxers and the sock.

Well, this hasn’t gone as planned. But Trick wouldn’t be Trick if he didn’t make the best of the situation.

Time to go big or go home.

“Feel free to close your eyes,” he teased, still incredulous at how badly this had gone for him.

Trick stood and turned his back. He peeked over his shoulder with a wink as he slowly dragged the waistband of his shorts down, exposing his pale ass.

He wiggled. “You might not want to stare directly at this. I skipped the run to Turks and Caicos this year, so this area hasn’t gotten a lot of sun. There’s a chance you might be blinded by my extreme paleness. But I am toned, something that might be better demonstrated by feel,” he joked, flexing his glutes as he surreptitiously replaced the shorts with the sock.

He rose, mimicking the exaggerated bend and snap Reese Witherspoon popularized in one of her movies—hand movements included.

Tahlia’s laughter was so loud he didn’t hear the door opening.

“What the hell are you doing?” Liam asked.

Trick whirled. His brother was standing in the open doorway, a sheath of papers in one hand and his phone in the other.

Crap.

“He’s losing at strip poker,” Tahlia offered helpfully.

Liam’s habitual scowl faded as he broke into an ear-to-ear grin. “You’re losingagain?”

He lifted his phone and quickly snapped a pic. “Calen has to see this,” he chortled.

“Hey asshole, don’t even think about it!” Trick hurried to the couch. He clutched one of the throw pillows in front of him, tossing another at his brother’s head.

Liam batted it away, tossing the papers on the nearest chair. “Sign those before tomorrow. They go out first thing in the morning.”

He was gone before Trick could think of a sufficiently acerbic comeback. When he turned back to the table, it was empty and the connecting door was standing open.

Calm down,Tahlia ordered herself sternly. She’d been caught up in Trick’s lighthearted game just now, but the minute Liam walked in on them, it was as if she’d been doused with cold water.

You need to get over this.She was allowed to have a life. There was no one stopping her anymore.Except you.

Rubbing her arms, she shifted to the window. The sun was starting to go down, but the lights in the neighboring high-rises were already turning on.

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