Page 20 of Seduction in Spades

Hell, twelve years as a SEAL and it takes one woman to make me crack. I lean against the counter and stare at my reflection in the mirror. I went through some of the harshest interrogation trainings in the world. I can put on a fake smile and act like Avery’s betrayal doesn’t affect me. That I didn’t fall for her and her lies after one night of passion. That I’m not pussy-whipped, as Ryder likes to say about anyone who obsesses about a woman the morning after.

Although it’s been a week, and I’ve been obsessing about her every morning, I wake up with a painful hard-on.

She wanted one night. She got one night. I won’t giveAvery Baxteranother minute of my attention, especially while she so blatantly flirts with Ryder in front of me. I reach for a towel and blot at my gray slacks, but it’s useless. I’ll need to run up to the penthouse to change. Trey, Ryder, and I usually keep a clean shirt and tie in our offices, and gym clothes in a duffle, but an entire wardrobe change we keep in our shared place on the top floor next to Drake and Nora’s penthouse.

Squaring my shoulders, I put on my stone-cold face and go back into the conference room. Avery’s laugh hits me first, followed by the citrus and spice scent of her hair.

“I’m going to head upstairs and change. Drake, you need anything else from my report?” I avoid looking toward Avery, but I can feel her eyes on me.

“You’re good with security for the high-stakes tournament this weekend, right?”

“Covered.”

“Anyone flagged on the list?”

“Christopher Hawke. My men have been briefed. If he blinks the wrong way, he’s out on his ass.”

Hawke served some time and paid hefty fines for counting cards down at Foxwoods. He claims to be rehabilitated and even volunteers in prisons teaching the wrongs of cheating. His father is one of Drake’s former professors at MIT and he asked us to give his son one more shot.

It’s the equivalent of sending a recovering alcoholic to hang out in a bar. I don’t understand why Hawke’s father called in this favor. Doesn’t seem like good parenting to me. As long as he doesn’t cheat or cause a scene, I’m willing to give him a second chance.

“Shit. I forgot he signed up for this one. I’ll be sure to make my rounds. Text me when he shows.”

I nod and tip my chin to Trey and Avery. “Enjoy your lunch.” I don’t let any emotion or expression escape my face.

“I guess I’ll see you around,” Avery says with a smile.

“I doubt it.”

“Damn,” Ryder says behind me, following me out the door. “What’s up your ass? Still the woman with the golden pussy?”

“I’m over her. Let it go.”

Ryder being Ryder, starts singing the song fromFrozen.Shit, it’s hard to keep a straight face around him.

“Did you see the fucking legs and tits on Trey’s sister?” Ryder presses the elevator button for me.

For a split second, I almost forget my mission to pretend not to care about any and all things Avery. Instead, I shrug. “All I noticed was the hair on my balls burning from my fucking coffee, and my laptop almost getting destroyed while you carried on like a fucking teenager way out of his league hitting on Trey’s sister in front of him. You’ve got a death wish, man.”

We ride the elevator in what I wished was silence. It’s never quiet with Ryder around.

“How many body parts do you think Trey would cut off if I asked Avery out?”

My stomach clenches and I resist the urge to tighten my hands into fists and slug him. Instead, I let out an uninterested sigh. “Probably just your dick.”

Ryder covers his crotch with his hands. “Think it would be worth it?”

“To sleep with Avery and then never have sex again?”Yes.“Fuck no. No girl is worth that.”

“Always the voice of reason.” Ryder pats my shoulder as we exit the elevator to our shared penthouse.

The three-bedroom corner apartment is perfect for us. Trey never stays here, preferring the quiet solitude of his house just outside the city. Ryder often brings women to one of the rooms on the twelfth floor, never to the penthouse or his condo down in the Seaport District. Drake’s the only one who lives at Four Aces permanently.

It’s nice to have a closet of clothes and a bed to crash in when working six or seven straight twelve-hour days. Those are pretty normal during the busy season, and we’ve done our fair share of twenty-four-hour shifts as well. Especially the first year we opened.

Now that we’re in year three, the casino is starting to run itself, with the exception of a few hiccups. Nora’s been on Drake’s ass about working more normal hours, but since she can work wherever and whenever writing articles for an online newspaper, it doesn’t impact their relationship too much.

“You sure you’re okay, man?” Ryder opens the door to the penthouse and tosses his keys on the kitchen counter.

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