Page 13 of Kings Against the World

His men hover uncertainly for a second longer before they make good on his orders. Moe retracts his pocketknife. The chunky motherfucker pinning Strauss to the wall unhands her, giving her a rough shove toward me.

She wobbles in her high heels and slashed shirt, like she’s forgotten how to walk. Her shock’s genuine—she can’t believe Boone’s let her go that easily.

“Cool,” I say, giving a nod. “Glad we could reach an understanding. Uh… let’s go, babe.”

“Now just a second. I told my boys to release her. I didn’t say anything about you leaving.”

Fuck.

Shit.

Damn.

“I’d say this is a cause for celebration, wouldn’t you? We’ve cleared the air. Everybody’s on the same page. Why don’t you two kiss?”

“Kiss…” I repeat, then I glance sideways at Strauss. The look on her face matches the funny flip my insides give.

This is a chick who doesn’t even want me breathing the same air as she does, let alonekissingher.

But we don’t have time to stall. Boone and his guys are watching and I’ve vouched for her. I’ve said she was my girl, so now I’ve got to prove it.

A second-long hesitation passes before I go for it, hooking an arm around Strauss’s waist and drawing her toward me. My mind immediately goes blank as soon as our lips touch. Instinct swoops in and leads the way, making me forget we’ve got an asshole like Boone and his cronies watching us in this moment.

I kiss her like most women like to be kissed, cupping the side of her face and applying the right amount of pressure.

She’s stiff against me for the first few seconds. I can sense her urge to shove me away and probably cuss me out.

But then she seems to remember we’re in this together and her body relaxes against mine. Her hands slide up my chest and she falls into sync with me, the kiss growing in passion as she parts her lips and I introduce a little tongue.

Making out in front of a crowd wasn’t on my bucket list for Houston, but I’d be a straight-up liar if I said I’m not enjoying myself.

Strauss’s lips are as soft and full as they look. There’s something instantly addictive about feeling them against mine, like we happen to fit together.

Who would’ve ever guessed it? That me and an uptight, stick-in-the-mud chick like her would be such natural kissing partners?

We switch up the angle, going even deeper, until Boone clears his throat. I pull away with my pulse buzzing in my ears.

“My bad,” I say. “We, uh, we got carried away.”

The corner of Boone’s mouth quirks. “That was… hot. How’d you manage a catch like this, Oz?”

He adds a gruff laugh that the others quickly join in on.

The sound’s ominous and exactly what I’d expect out of Boone.

I squeeze Strauss’s hip, keeping her pinned at my side. “We’ve been together a while. Long distance.”

“Well, I guess I was wrong. You two reallyarelovebirds. There’s no snitch here. I’m glad that’s cleared up, right boys?” He glances over either shoulder to nods from the others. Digging a fresh cigarette out of his pocket, he lights it up and takes a long drag of it, blowing smoke. “You’re probably confused about what the fuck’s going on. You came here for the tournament, then you hear it’s canceled and I’m out here interrogating fucking bottle girls.”

“You have your reasons.”

“We’ve got an informant in our ranks,” he explains, sticking the cigarette back between his lips. “Somebody’s feeding info to Houston PD. Rumor was they were gonna turn up tonight for a big crackdown.”

I keep my expression neutral, though on the inside, my heart races. Strauss is damn sure not a real bottle girl, but she’s FBI. Not part of Houston PD. Is this a test or does Boone have his information wrong?

“That’s too bad,” I say after a beat goes by. “I was looking forward to it. Drove six hours.”

“I’m happy to hear you say that, Oz. ’Cuz we’re pushing it elsewhere,” Boone goes on, grinning wide. His cigarette hangs loosely out the corner of his mouth. “Vegas… where it’s easier to go underground. It’ll be better. More competitors. Bigger potto win. And, of course, who can forget all the other goodies that come with these tournaments?”

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