Page 76 of Dangerous Pursuit

“I think you should always have to pleasure me on our way somewhere if this is what happens,” I say with a smirk.

He kisses me again. “God, I love you. How did I get so damn lucky?” He stands, helping me up with him. “Let’s get cleaned up and back in there before we get forfeited.” He must see the panic in my eyes because he immediately smirks and says, “Kidding. I’m kidding. We still have five minutes. You’re okay.”

We enter the room on time, and my cheeks go scarlet, feeling like everyone knows what we did. Jackson kisses me and wishes me luck again before we sit. Oh well, I’ll never see these people again anyway, I suppose. I just hope a few more of them go out quicker than they did in the first session. It’s time to step up my game.

Another hour goes by until three big chip leaders are at our table, me being one. Two of the small stacks go all-in by all their chips forward, and lucky for me, I’m on the button—the last player to place a bet. They probably think I won’t call, each one hoping to double their stack by taking the other guy out, but too bad for them—I happen to have a pair of kings.

Now I need to decide how to maximize this play with the other chip leaders. Or maybe I just want to bet high and force them out, leaving only the short stacks to compete with.Decisions, decisions.I settle on luring them in for another turn by simply calling the all-in amount. It works, and after two of them place another bet following the turn, I decide to raise, causing them to fold and adding a few more chips to my stack.

The three of us remaining flip our cards over since no more betting can take place with all their chips already in play. They both groan when they see my hand, but in my mind, it’s never over until the last turn. Seeing one guy with a low pair means that if that card or any of his other cards come up, my kings will lose to a three-of-a-kind or two pairs. It wouldn’t significantly affect me, but I’d certainly rather take both players out. One guy stands, anxiously awaiting his fate. The dealer flips it, and I sigh in relief while the guy standing pounds the table with his fist.

“Fucking hell. Who is this damn chick, and who let her in? This is bullshit!”

Jackson is out of his chair and in the guy’s face in two seconds flat. “I’d shut your fucking mouth if you know what’s good for you.”

“Jackson, don’t,” I plead. “It’s fine.”

“What did I tell you about that word, Mia? It’s not fine; he doesn’t get to disrespect you just because he’s a sore loser.”

“Listen, asshole, mind your own business,” the guy snaps.

Jackson whirls on him. “Sheismy business, so why don’t you tuck your tail between your legs and leave before I drag you out myself.”

“Whatever, man, settle down. I’m out of here. Your bitch isn’t worth fighting over.”

Thwack!Jackson punches him square in the face.

“Jackson, stop!” I yell, even though, based on the rage in his eyes, I’m pretty sure it goes unheard.

“Son of a bitch! You broke my nose!” the guy shouts.

Two guys hold Jackson back. “I’ll break more than that if you say another fucking word,” he snarls.

The other players urge the guy to leave, distracting him from provoking Jackson further. After a few tense moments, he starts walking away. “You can all fuck off” are his parting words as he leaves the room. My shoulders sag in relief.

The room settles down, and some guy tells Jackson that he’ll be asked to leave if there are any more problems. Jackson answers that there won’t be if no one else disrespects his girlfriend, making me roll my eyes. Luckily, with those two out and some others around the room, it’s time to choose new seats and consolidate down to two tables, giving us a ten-minute break.

As soon as Jackson and I reach the hallway, I lay into him. “You can’t punch everyone who says something bad about me. I deal with jerks like that all the time. I’m used to it.”

“You shouldn’t have to be used to it, Mia. It’s not okay, and it won’t happen on my watch.”

“I don’t need you to come to my rescue. Outside of our bedroom fantasies, I’m a big girl, Jackson, which means if I need your help, I’ll ask for it.”

“Mia, it’s my job to protect you.”

“No. It’s my job to protect myself. Now behave in there. Otherwise,I’llbe the one making you leave. Those guys will probably hear about this now and add more to my total. Don’t make it worse.”

“Fuck them, I’m paying it off anyway. I won’t stand by while someone treats you like shit. Sorry, sweetheart.” He leans in and kisses me on the lips before walking back in.

I blow out a breath of frustration as I follow, wondering how I missed it that he’s just as stubborn as me but seems to have the upper hand.

Ugh. Here’s to hoping no one else says any shit about me.

Luckily, no one does, and the remainder of the night goes smoothly. Jackson and I end up at the same table for the second round, and just like last time, he’s having good luck tonight with the cards. We try to avoid playing the same hands because neither wants to take the other out, so we dance around, watching for any signs of who has the better cards. It’s affecting how we play but has no major impact other than failing to grow my stack as quickly as I could otherwise.

At the third and final break, before we combined into the final table, Jackson pulled me aside and told me to stop worrying about him and play as if he were any other player, telling me to take him out if it came to that. He said if he noticed I wasn’t playing to win against him, he’d make me regret it later. The way he said it almost had me do the opposite just to see what he had in mind.

But in the end, I did play to my full capability, and as usual, the players at the final table witnessed me play enough that I’d earned their respect as a worthy opponent. Jackson finished in fourth place, winning double his buy-in, and proceeded to watch while I finished my best night yet and came out victorious.

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