Page 23 of Taken By the Vampires
He leaned back in his chair, sprawling his long, lean legs beneath the table and chuckled. He arranged the cards in equally long and lean fingers, swapping one or two around. “We’ve only been playing around, Ella. You’ll know when the real game starts.”
The shiver coalesced into a chill. The cards in my hand faltered. I straightened them at the last seconds, squaring my shoulders. I’d dealt with worse. Xander was a bully. An alpha and the only way to combat an alpha was not to show any weakness. “When the real game starts, you may find you won’t like being on the losing side.”
Xander’s eyes flew to my face but I refused to look away, even though I felt it like an actual physical thing. If I’d dealt with Gary all my life, I could deal with Xander.
But they weren’t the same, were they? Gary was an infantile jerk who cried to Daddy when he didn’t get his way. Xander exuded raw power, no tears shed. Just a certainty that whatever he said, would be obeyed. I wanted to avert my gaze, to seek relief from his focus, but if I did that, then I really would lose this game.
One side of his mouth tipped up and for a moment the seriousness lifted like a winter breeze gusting summit clouds off the peak. I blinked, startled by the change. A minute reaction but one that lessened the intensity of the moment. His eyes dropped to the cards, but the severity on his face had diminished. My breath expelled with softening lungs. I couldn’t help but feel I’d passed some test.
“Okay, everyone needs to add into the pot and then we can start. The first few rounds we’ll be teaching Ella, and then when she has a good handle on the game, we’ll start properly. No cheating, you two,” Davon said.
“Since when do I cheat?” Cassius asked.
“Ever since I’ve known you. Keep an eye on him, Ella. The only way he wins is by cheating,” Davon said.
“I don’t cheat. I’m a very skilful player.” Cassius tapped his forehead. “Up here, Ella. All strategy.”
“Was it strategy when you played for clothing instead of chips with the Marquees?”
“Ah, yes, she had a lovely pair of…” Cassius glanced at me, and cleared his throat, “…hands…and when she wore nothing but her silken underthings, I took the pot without drawing another card. She couldn’t follow me out into the polite crowd without revealing her…attributes.”
“I hope you don’t mean you took herhoneypot,” Davon said.
Cassius shook his head, feigning innocence. “Indeed not. She was a married woman, after all. But also very good at this same game. It was the only way I could win my hand. And I did. Brilliantly!”
I couldn’t help my giggle. I covered my mouth with my hand, but it spluttered out anyway. I tried to stop it, but the more I tried, the harder it was. Davon’s rich chuckle joined mine and soon Cassius joined in and after that I couldn’t stop.
Davon and Cassius regaled me with tales of card games and how badly Cassius tended to swindle people, claiming it was all part of the game. Their tales were getting more and more absurd and each one more hilarious, my sides started to ache with using unfamiliar muscles.
“It feels so good to laugh,” I said.
“You should laugh often,” Davon told me, his eyes still crinkled in amusement.
I sighed. “Sometimes life gets…”
“Complicated,” Xander said.
I regarded him for a moment. He hadn’t laughed with us, but his presence felt a little lighter while we were joking. He’d been listening.He understood.
There was a softer side to Xander, after all. I was about to comment on it, but stopped myself. He’d gone out on a limb to show it to me and he was a man who didn’t easily wear his emotions on his sleeve.
I just didn’t quite know what to do with the fact he’d allowed me to see it.
Chapter Sixteen
It took me some time to learn the game and I was down to one chip before I started winning some back. I wasn’t completely sure if either Davon or Cassius lost in order to keep the game afloat, but I knew that Xander wouldn’t go to those depths. He might be hard to read most times, but he was honest to a fault. I was guessing he’d take it as a personal affront to think he wasn’t playing by the book. I just had that feeling about him.
We played through dinner. Cups of tea and cake. The snowstorm outside raged in darkness. We played until I yawned so hard my eyes watered. Cassius laid down his cards. “I think we have tired our guest out.’
“I’m fine. I can keep going.” My comment was interrupted by another yawn.
“We’ll teach you a different game in the morning. Just as much fun,” Davon said.
“As long as we don’t play for clothes, I can’t wait.” To my surprise, I was looking forward to it, clothing notwithstanding.
On the other hand, it might be fun to play for clothing. Or losing it.
I didn’t voice my opinion out loud. Although we’d had fun, there was an underlying restlessness that simmered and at the slightest provocation, I knew it would erupt. Everyone was on their best behavior and I didn’t want to upset things any more than I already had.
