Page 61 of Queen Of WildCards

SPADE

Thecompound was abandoned and silent whenIpulled into the garage, grinning like a loon at the new door and the latest signBlackJackhad stuck to the middle of it on the inside.

Please,AtLeastOpenTheDoorIfYou'reGoingToStealACar

Hehad a funny bone or three in his body and could be quite the jokester when he felt like it, andIhad to applaud his sarcastic humor.

Jokerand the good doc would take their time, or soIexpected, soIsat down in the kitchen and started eating the leftovers he'd left in the fridge whileIwaited.Imaginemy surprise when they pulled in mere minutes after me.

Hemust have been bursting at the seams to fuck her if it only took—Iglanced at my phone screen—seven minutes.

Ipointedly ignored them as they entered the kitchen through the garage door, shoveling the pasta more urgently in my mouth asJoker'seyes found me and then traveled down to the inconspicuous containerIwas busy emptying and rolled his eyes with a sigh.

Mallorydanced across the kitchen like the hounds of hell were on her heels, and from the wayJokerlongingly stared after her as she busied herself in the fridge, rooting around for food, no doubt.

Athought occurred to me, andIblinked, stunned our stupid asses hadn't thought of it already. "Sweetheart, when was the last time you ate?"

Ithad been a few days since we'd kidnapped her, andIwasn't sure if any of us were used to thinking of anyone else as far as nutrition, in a pattern of takeout when and where we had time to grab it.AndIcertainly hadn't gotten her anything recently.

Therewas no hiding the flush of embarrassment on her face as she peeked over the rim of the door, then ducked back down. "Uhhh,Jokerbrought some food back to his room last night, so—"

"Imean a real meal, sweetheart, not snack food."

Shedidn't answer me, soIslid off the stoolIoccupied, dumped the now-empty container in the trash, and stalked over to her, crowding her with my body. "Doc."

Shefroze like a deer in headlights, turned to face me, and blushed deeper. "Afew days."

Fuck, we had been starving the poor thing.

Wehad a no-delivery policy to keep our location anonymous, so ordering something was out.Ilet my mind stumble through different ideas, settling on the most obvious one. "We'llgo out to eat, then.Onme."Ishot a look at the poor fool who was too busy being lovesick over a girl he'd doomed to possible death to noticeI'deaten his meal for the night. "Jokercan come, too, sinceIsort of ate his dinner."

Hereyes flicked from the lovesick puppy to me, weighing her options.Food,Iwould imagine, was quite the temptation, considering she had to be starving for something good, andIhappened to have an in at just the perfect spot.Hell,Icould even haveAceandBlackJackmeet us there, so we could all replenish our energy stores.

Finally, she sagged against the fridge door, shutting it slowly. "Fine,I'lllet you take me to dinner.Butwhat doIwear?Mychoices are . . .limited."

Ihad plans for her that didn't involve pants, andIwould be damned if she thwarted them.She'dcome to appreciate and enjoy my particular brand of foreplay, of thatIwas sure.

"Puton a dress."

* * *

Jesus,Mary, andJoseph, kill me now.

Itturned out that the good doc hadn't packed any dresses, butJoker'scloset of castoffs from one-night stands was rife with choices, so he invited her to peruse it.Unfortunately, he'd been through a recent phase of girls so skinny you could snap them in half, so the options were not quite the perfect fit.

Infact, the dress she wore now had been the only one that would fit over her hips, and she fuckingspilledout of it likeNiagaraFallsover the fucking cliffs.

Shestood at the bottom of the stairs, running her hands down her sides in an effort to smooth the bodice that clung to her like a second skin.Ittook every ounce of control for me not to turn her around, bend her over the stairs, and rail the dogshit out of her where she stood.

Hereyes were hesitant as she searched mine, futilely tugging at the bottom hem of her skirt. "Isit okay?Clearly,I'mnot his usual type," she growled as an afterthought, shooting a glare that could melt steel over her shoulder atJoker.

Hehad the good sense to look embarrassed, butIjust howled with laughter. "Sweetheart, his type is two-legged with a pussy.Don'tworry about it."Ireached out and took her hand, spinning her around while she struggled to stayinthe damn thing.

Theshelf built for her bust was a size or two too small, the waist a teensy tight, and the skirt too short, but fuck all ifIcared.Shecould have dressed in nothing at all, andI'dhave had no hesitation about showing her off naked as the day she was born in the middle of any of these uptight five-star restaurants.

Herlegs went on forever, and thank heavens she fit the shoes that went with the dress.Whoeverhad left this ensemble behind inJoker'sroom had obviously not wanted any reminders of the man she'd tangled with the night before.

Eitherthat orAcehad seen to her dismissal.

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