Page 33 of Seduction in Spades

Hell.Imiss her.

“Are you up for a group dinner tonight?”

“Tonight?”

“Tuesday is usually slow for you four. I’ve been working on getting Drake to cut back hours. You three need to do the same.”

“Sure. Takeout at the penthouse?”

We’ve had meals together, and that’s usually the drill.

“No. A restaurant. I’m pretty sure Four Aces will survive for a few hours without all four of you here.”

Since we oversee different operations, she’s absolutely correct. In the two years we’ve been open, we have yet to hang out somewhere other than the casino.

“Sure.”

“Excellent. I made reservations at the Yard House.”

That’s in Avery’s neighborhood. If I suggest inviting her it will only bring suspicion to Trey’s already protective hold over his sister.

We spend the next hour going through charts and graphs, and another hour modifying some of the advertising campaigns marketing came up with for our winter tournament.

“I’m going to head upstairs and shower before we go out to dinner.” Drake closes his laptop and buttons his suit coat when he stands.

“Bullshit.” Ryder picks up our glasses and brings them to the sink. “You’re going upstairs to get laid andthenshowering before heading out to dinner.”

Drake doesn’t even bother to hide his shit-eating grin. We won’t admit it, but I’m pretty sure all three of us are jealous of his and Nora’s relationship. We’ve each busted them more times than we care to count getting down and dirty in Drake’s office, in the back of The Club, and in their penthouse.

He used to have an open-door policy, but Trey, Ryder, and I no longer barge in without pounding on the door before using our keys to their penthouse.

“Jealousy looks ugly on you, man.” He gives Ryder a rough slap on the back and heads out of his office whistling some stupid tune.

“You think you could handle having sex with only one woman for the rest of your life?” Ryder asks, rinsing off the glasses and tipping them upside down to dry.

Just because we have people who clean the office for us doesn’t mean we leave it a pigsty for them. For four—now three—bachelors, we’re tidy. Ryder can’t stand a dirty dish in the sink, and I don’t like clutter.

Trey is a minimalist, so it’s hard for him to make a mess with nothing. His desk isn’t overly orderly though. Papers are everywhere, yet he says he knows where everything is.

“Sex with only one woman? Forever?” I pretend to contemplate. A few weeks ago, I would have mocked Drake right alongside Ryder.

Now that I’ve had a taste of Avery Baxter, yeah, I could totally be satisfied with only having sex with one woman for the rest of my life.

“The pussy would have to be solid gold.”

“You’re a sick fuck.” Trey pushes his chair in and drops his laptop in his bag and leaves.

Ryder smirks. “He’s extra touchy these days. I don’t think he likes me anymore.”

I loosen my tie and pack up my bag. “Maybe you should stop joking about Avery.”

“Who says I’m joking? His sister is hot as fuck.”

“Ry. Don’t go there. She’s Trey’s sister.” Selfishly, I want him to shut up before I’m tempted to punch him. It wouldn’t be the first time we fought over a girl.

A busted lip and a swollen eye in high school wasn’t all that uncommon. It’s how we settled things when we both had the hots for the same chick. The last man standing won, no hard feelings.

“Trey’s easy to rattle. It’s fun.”

---