Page 80 of For a Price

“You can use your imagination for that.”

I roll my eyes and then motion at the cards he’s shuffling. “Then let’s get started. I can’t wait to end up butt-naked on your carpet.”

“Don’t worry, kitty cat. That’ll be soon enough.”

Roman deals the first hand like we’re at a casino in Vegas. His hands move quickly, the cards practically a blur. I scoop up my hand and then carefully fan them out for my eyes only.

The first trick plays out exactly how I anticipated—Roman scores the higher combination of cards, earning points while I’m forced to make a decision about which article of clothing I want to remove.

I stand up and hook my fingers at the waistband of the leggings I’m wearing, then wiggle out of them. Roman watches with rapt attention on me and nothing else. His eyes darken tracking the leggings as they slide down my bare thighs and pool at my ankles.

He looks wolfish, like he could take a bite out of me any second.

His lustful gaze is welcomed.

It’s a distraction at a time where I’ve been stuck in my head more than ever. I decided I was going to mind my business and keep my nose out of trouble. I wasn’t going to hack into any more phones and I wasn’t going to meddle trying to save JC and the others. But within minutes of making up my mind, I was presented with the next dilemma.

Do I tell Roman what I overheard Polina say?

It could be anything. She could’ve been talking about a surprise birthday party for all you know.

A surprise birthday party? For Roman? Seriously?

…and what if you tell him and it blows up in your face? Mind. Your. Business.

But Roman said he’ll always watch out for me.

People say one thing. They usually do another.

The back-and-forth argument has been going on in my head for hours. Every time I even somewhat broached the subject during dinner, Roman happened to steer the conversation in a different direction.

If I were to guess by his behavior, he has no clue about anysekretsbeing kept from him. It might be a crucial piece of information he needs to know…

“Devochka,” he says, pulling me from my thoughts. He raises both thick eyebrows. “It’s your turn to play a card.”

“Oh… sorry. Um, what about this one?”

He grins, then slaps down his next card. “King trumps Jack. I win.”

“Of course you do. I’m about to be naked in no time.”

I carefully peel off my sweater next, leaving me in only a t-shirt and underwear.

Luck finally comes my way with the third trick, where I best Roman and score some points. He tugs off his crewneck shirt like it’s nothing and tosses it aside.

The next few tricks play out the same. Roman wins a hand and then I win a hand. I strip off only one sock per loss as he shakes his head and tells me I’m cheating.

“You never said the socks are a package deal,” I point out, twirling the sock I’ve taken off on my finger.

Roman laughs. “Leave it to my kitty cat to find a loophole. Your turn to deal.”

The next hand I lose, we’re in the same predicament. Except Roman intends on making one of the special requests he’d mentioned earlier. He calls me over using his index finger.

“Roman,” I whine. I’m in my panties while he’s in his boxers. Somehow, I feel even more half naked than he is. I slide into his lap like he’s requesting, my skin heating up immediately.

He palms my ass and hips and peers into my face. “Do you know I was thinking about you all day, devochka?”

“Are you trying to distract me from the game?”

---