Page 61 of Diem

Silently I sat in the chair opposite and watched as he played with the cards. Eventually, he glanced up and back down before saying, “You in?”

Nodding, I pulled my chair closer to the table and grabbed the chips he handed to me.

Diem’s pretty peepers met mine and he said with an intensity that made me pause, “I play for money. But for you, I’m willing to make an exception.”

“How so?”

“Strip poker,” he said with a devilish grin, and my insides liquefied on the spot. Holy shit.

“Not exactly fair. You’re overdressed,” I rasped. Was Diem hitting on me? No way, right?

He smiled, and the sheer debauchery in his eyes sent a shiver down my spine. “That’s fine. When you have no more clothes to give, we’ll trade favors.”

“Favors?”

“Mm, all pleasure,” he purred.

Staring into his eyes, I saw nothing, but heat and I knew it was stupid, but I craved Diem, I always had. So, I nodded silently and almost smiled when Diem let loose a long breath of air.

He dealt deftly, and I stared at my cards. Although I’d never been too interested in poker, I knew the basics, enough to hold my own anyway. Diem bet to stay in the game, and the next few cards were laid out until I lost, and Diem turned to me with a fiery expression.

Sucking in a breath, I pulled my shirt over my head shakily, revealing my red bra underneath. With a smile, Diem dealt the next hand and lost. It was my turn to watch greedily as he removed his shirt. My fingers tingled with the need to trace them over his chest, bulging with muscle and covered in beautiful tattoos.

The next round, I took off my pants and sat in my panties and bra, both ridiculously shy and needy. When Diem followed and removed his pants after the next hand, I practically moaned out loud. Although to my disappointment, I couldn’t see much from where I was sitting.

At the next hand, I lost and with a pulse of something I couldn’t define, I removed my bra and dropped it to the floor.

Diem’s eyes burned through me, his greedy gaze taking in my nipples, now hard and aching.

By now, I wasn’t playing the game to win, and I stood eagerly when it was my turn to remove my panties, slowly pulling them off and bending over with a smirk when Diem gasped behind me.

His lust made me feel powerful, heady, like a fucking goddess, except when I turned to him, I realized with so little clothes, I had nothing to hide behind. Before I could nip this in the bud or, I don't know, flee into the night, Diem glanced at my thighs and his brows furrowed.

“What happened?” he asked before his head whipped up and he stared at me with wide eyes.

Shakily, I collapsed in my seat and covered my burning cheeks. It was stupid of me to do this because now my weakness was revealed. What did I think was going to happen if I ever had sex with my obsession, though? I could be so stupid, sometimes.

“Sweet?” Diem said but I shook my head, only meeting his gaze when he grabbed my hands and pulled them away from my face. “Why?”

Searching his gaze, I finally admitted, “I don’t know how to explain it.”

“Try,” he rasped, and I sucked in a breath before exhaling slowly. “Okay, well, sometimes, when everything gets so full here,” I touched my chest. “This makes it go away.”

He followed my hand when I pointed before touching the slim silvery lines on my thighs. Would he be disgusted? I know I was, every time I looked at the evidence of my inability to cope. I truly couldn’t put it into words, but those scars started as self-inflicted wounds that took the burden I carried every day and made it bearable.

The feathery light caress raised goosebumps on my legs and his nostrils flared before he sat back in his seat at the table. Defeated, I moved to rise when he picked up his cards and said, “You in?”

“Y-yes,” I said, hope a brutal burn in my heart as the game commenced. I searched for any sign that he was repulsed but if Diem didn’t want me to know what he was thinking, it was impossible to decipher.

When Diem lost next, he removed his socks with a wink and I relaxed, forgetting my scars as the game continued, the silence heavy with anticipation.

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until Diem won the next hand, and turned to me with an expectant expression, saying, “C’mere.”

Pushing back my chair, I walked toward him on shaky legs, sucking air into my lungs when he reached out and traced his finger down my belly and over my mons before dipping between my folds.

Moaning, I tipped my head back and reveled in the feel of his finger pressing inside me. He pumped twice before pulling away and I glanced up as he licked his fingers.

“Mm,” he said with a wicked smirk.

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