Cash glares at me and hands me his entire briefcase of cash, grumbling about me being a brat. I smile triumphantly and hand over the money in exchange for chips, my stomach fluttering at Cash’s actions when Kian starts dealing cards.
I’m sure these guys are good at poker. They may even be great.
But I’m better.
And they’re about to find that out.
Two hours later,Beckett groans as I rake in the last of his chips.
“How the fuck did you do that?” Kian asks, staring at me in disbelief.
I did, in fact, take all their money. Every last chip.
Beckett puts the pile of real cash we used to buy in on the middle of the table and pushes it toward me. Two-hundred-and-fifty-thousand dollars.
I suppose technically I owe Cash the fifty thousand I took from him, but then again, I think I’ll keep it. Purely to rub salt in the wound.
“Just like you guys, I grew up in the world of gambling. But I was kept in the background. Always watching. Always observing.” I shrug like it’s not a big deal. Like it doesn’t bother me that my father had Jacob join him at poker games, but I could never because there’s no room at the table for girls. At least that’s what he always says.
Cash clenches his fist on the table, reading me like an open book. It’s unnerving as hell.
“You should never be kept in the background,” Cash growls forcefully, startling the hell out of me.
I stare at him for a long moment, unsure of what to say to that. Cash continues to surprise me, and it’s starting to make me question my own opinions of people. To be totally fair to myself, though, he did kidnap me the first time we met, so I think judging him right off was acceptable.
When I finally look away, he tells his brothers he’ll walk them out. They all say goodnight before walking out of the room, leaving me reeling with a huge pile of cash in front of me.
I spent the evening with Cash and his brothers, and I had the best time I’ve had in years. And none of them made me feel like I didn’t belong at that table with them.
When I’m about to head up to my room, Cash returns alone. I swallow heavily when he closes the French doors behind him, shutting us in together.
Heat blooms between my legs as he slowly stalks toward me, the air crackling around us.
“What are you doing?” I ask, glancing around the room like someone might pop out to save me.
Cash stands tall, his shoulders back and head held high. “I’m trying to decide whether I want to fuck you right on top of that poker table or if I want to take you upstairs so I can spread you out on my bed and worship you slowly.”
The air gets caught in my lungs, and my nipples bud under the thin fabric of the shirt. Blood rushes in my ears, and I grab the edge of the table to keep myself from swaying.
He stops a few inches away and lifts his hand, brushing the back of it over my peaked nipple before he cups my chin. I silently gasp and drop my head back slightly to look at him.
We stare at each other, his fingers sliding over my cheek to my neck, which he grips firmly. His eyes blaze with a mix of whiskey and arousal, and I hold my breath, waiting for what he decides to do next.
“Fuck it,” he growls. “I can’t wait.”
Then his hands are on my hips, lifting me onto the table with ease while hundred-dollar bills scatter as I lean back. He rips at my shirt, yanking it over my head, and I obediently lift my arms for him, without thinking twice.
I need this.
I deserve this.
It won’t be long before I’m a distant memory in Cash’s life, but for the moment, I seem to be his whole world. And I’m going to enjoy every second of it.
“Jesus Christ,” he groans as he stares at my breasts. “You are so fucking perfect, it should be illegal. That’s why God gave you a smart mouth, isn’t it? To make sure all the weak-ass men can’t handle you. Good thing I’m not an average man, kitten.”
He seems like he’s talking to himself, so I don’t respond other than moaning when he palms one of my breasts, rolling my nipple between his fingers.
“Kiss me,” he snaps.