Page 44 of D'Vaire or Nothing
“Okay, spare me the damn details,” Owen groused. “We already know you three are the only ones in our little group getting laid tonight. We don’t need you to paint us a picture.”
“Let’s sit down and enjoy the show,” Artair suggested. If he were lucky, the karaoke portion of the evening would be fun but fast so Artair could climb into bed with his mates and celebrate the miraculous love they shared.
∞∞∞
Beta Donnell Ursus Arctos’s gaze met that of the man he adored, and they both grinned. In the living area of the suite were five mage elementals, and they were all asleep. The television was blaring cartoons, and toys were strewn around. It was early, but the evidence suggested the elementals had played hard.
Careful not to wake them, Donnell led Aqua Superus Josh Arturus-D’Vaire to their private room. He shut the door behindthem and found a lockmage staring at him with curiosity blazing in his beautiful teal eyes.
“What’d you forget up here?” Josh asked. “Let’s grab it and go play some poker.”
“You have two decisions, Joshua.”
“I do?”
Donnell pulled a new pack of cards out of his pocket that he’d bought in the shop downstairs earlier, while the mages were getting their elementals fed and settled.
“Either we go downstairs and sit with a bunch of our extended family as I teach you some basics of poker, or we stay here to play by a unique set of rules.”
To Donnell’s delight, Josh flopped onto the bed and shoved off his shoes. “We’re staying here. Tell me about the rules.”
Reaching out to prevent Josh from peeling off his suit jacket, Donnell cupped his chin and tenderly kissed the row of seashells the mage-warlock hybrid had had tattooed on his temple before they met.
“You might want to keep that on,” Donnell suggested.
Josh frowned. “Why?”
“Because you lose if you wind up naked first.”
“Oh, hell yes, strip poker,” Josh crowed. “Let’s get started. Can I tell you what I want you to take off? Because I seriously need to spend as much of my night as possible staring at your furry bear chest.”
“No, I get to decide. So do you.”
“Fine, but I’m starting with my socks if you’re going to deny me those fanfuckulous pecs.”
To keep things fair, Donnell slipped off his shoes and climbed onto the bed opposite Josh. A table would’ve made things easier, and there was one close to the window, butDonnell was far more interested in getting his mate naked than ensuring their poker lessons lasted for long.
“Do you want some rules?”
“Yes, give me some fuckity rules. I need to start winning so you lose the clothes.”
“We’re going to modify things a bit, so don’t wander into the casino tomorrow thinking this is how it works. First thing you do is the ante. For our evening, the ante will be simple. Announce what you’re taking off if you lose the hand.”
“Okay, okay,” Josh said. “You can start. I gotta take a second to think this through. I need to be strategic and shit.”
“Fine. If I lose this hand, I will remove my suit jacket.”
“Good. One step closer to getting that chest of yours bared. Hmm, you make smart choices, so I’ll copy you to start. My suit jacket goes first too.”
“Perfect,” Donnell replied, wiggling a little to get comfortable. His mind was already conjuring a fantastically nude Josh writhing beneath him. It was causing his bear to roar with approval, but it was probably too early in the game to have a hard cock. Too bad Donnell’s body wasn’t listening.
“What’s next?”
Realizing he was doing nothing but letting his gaze wash over the handsome man Fate had given him, Donnell gathering his scattered wits and dealt each of them one card face down and two up.
“This is a version of five-card stud. Now that the initial cards are visible, you can place a bet. We don’t have poker chips, so we’ll use kisses. Little busses are for a decent hand, while a more vigorous one signals that you believe you have something good. But unlike normal rules, there is a penalty if you kiss too much and have a shitty hand. The other person gets to exact revenge.”
Those witchy teal eyes met Donnell’s, and Josh’s tiny overbite was visible as he offered the bear a rakish grin. “What kind of revenge?”
