Page 38 of Seduction in Spades

“Sorry, Aves. Duty calls. Ryder and I gotta bolt. Nolan will get you home safely.” Trey kisses her forehead.

“The museum is too boring for you?” she teases.

“Something like that.”

Ryder rests his arm across her shoulders, and surprisingly, Trey doesn’t react. “Don’t be too hard on Nolan. He’s no replacement for me, but he’ll do the gentlemanly thing and walk you home.” He kisses the top of her head and steps away.

Confusion and shock are etched on her face as she looks from Ryder to Trey, clearly expecting her brother to snap at Ryder or warn me to keep my hands to myself. He does neither and gives me a subtle nod before storming off.

“What was that all about?” Avery turns and studies me.

“They’re not happy about having to go back to the casino.”

“Or are they not happy about leaving me with you?”

“A little of both. Come on.” I lead us to the staircase and keep myself one pace behind her so I can casually look over my shoulder to see if Donohue’s men are more interested in Trey or Avery.

I sigh with relief as I watch them follow Ryder and Trey. They can handle themselves, as long as the goons don’t play dirty.

It wasn’t long ago when Eddie Donohue wanted revenge on Drake for kicking him out of the casino. We have a zero-tolerance policy on hard drugs, and he’d already been warned once. When I discovered him snorting lines of cocaine in the bathroom, I personally escorted him out.

Instead of retaliating against me, he went after Drake. Eddie was an idiot and thought killing Drake’s lady friend would send a message. We kept Nora under lock and key in the penthouse, which ended up working out okay for her since she could continue with her job as a freelance writer.

Avery, however, won’t stay locked up as willingly. She’s only been at her job for a few months, and she’s made it more than clear she wants her independence from everything, including emotions.

Staying at her place is the only solution. Kinda ironic that Trey would be on board with that, but she won’t. Granted, if he knew I was sleeping with her he’d cut my balls off and shove them down my throat to prevent any further sexual activities, and then he’d let me guard her.

We walk through a few exhibits, and I listen as Avery reads some of the background and chatters about her lack of knowledge in the art world.

“You’re quiet,” she says to me as we head down the stairs.

“Sorry. Thinking about work.”

“Do you ever not think about work?”

When work is Avery? No. “It’s complicated.”

Not a lie and is way too close to the truth. I hold the door open for her and we exit the museum.

“Does my brother know about us?”

I let out a huff. There is nous.“Does he know I’ve given you more orgasms in the past two weeks than you’ve had in the past year? No.”

She elbows me with a laugh. “I regret ever telling you that.”

“But you don’t regret the orgasms.”

“Are orgasms ever regrettable?”

Any that aren’t with Avery? Yes. I’m smart enough not to reply and make a casual scan of our surroundings. The sun has almost completely disappeared, and the sidewalks are somewhat sparse in this area. It’s mostly college students and medical personnel who are coming or going, many with their faces in front of their phones.

I haven’t picked up on any unusual figures lurking or following, but I won’t let my guard down.

“No reply. That tells me you have some regrettable orgasms. Too many one-night stands like your BFF Ryder?”

“Maybe in my younger years. The Navy kind of put a damper on my wild ways, and I wasn’t around to babysit Ryder. Hence him still acting like a twenty-year-old in a thirty-one-year-old body.”

“Hence? Now you’re sounding your age.”

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