Page 41 of Wild Card (Advantage Play 1)

A soft moan escapes me while my eyes roll into the back of my head.

Shit, he’s talented. And he didn’t even do anything.

“Only with you,” he admits quietly. His fingers flex into my bare skin along my hips before releasing it. Stepping back, he continues talking like he didn’t just rock my world with the potential of another encounter like the night before. “So, did you get what you came for?”

My brows furrow. Uh, no?

“The money?” he clarifies with a tilted smirk.

“Oh.” That. “Umm, yeah. Although it feels a little weird to admit that to the casino owner.”

A deep laugh is pulled from him at my honesty, bringing a light blush to my cheeks. “If you didn’t tell the truth, I’d just call you out on it.”

My face scrunches up before agreeing with a roll of my eyes, “You’re probably right about that.”

“I’m always right,” he teases. “Were you able to work out your nerves? What had you feeling so anxious that you needed to call me in the first place?”

“No reason.”

“Lie. Tell me the truth. If I’m going to let you come in here and swindle money from my dealers, then you need to tell me why.”

“Let me swindle your dealers? My dear friend, I believe I’ve swindled them in the past without your permission. Just sayin’.”

“Truth.” He shakes his head. “But you asked to come to my casino earlier today, and I think it had more to do with seeing me than the loose rules I have for my blackjack tables.”

He’s right. Even though I hate to admit it to myself, let alone him, I can’t deny the truth. I wanted to see him. I just can’t decide how stupid I am for following through with it.

When the elevator doors slide open, he ushers me into the same hallway from where we first met before crowding me against one of the gray walls.

“Start talking, Ace.”

Why his Neanderthal ways are a turn on, I’ll never know, but it doesn’t stop me from digging my teeth into my lower lip and clenching my hands at my sides to stop them from pulling him closer to me and putting both of us out of our misery.

Rule #6 takes a second to scream that I’m an idiot before I lick my lips and reveal to him the truth. “It’s nothing crazy. I just have a friend who was acting weird. We’re close, but our relationship isn’t exactly conventional.”

He quirks his brow in interest, and I laugh. “Not like that. I just mean that even though we’d kill for each other, we’re pretty quiet about our personal lives. It’s hard to explain. She was acting weird today, but she disappeared before I could ask what was going on. It left me feeling helpless, and when I feel helpless—”

“You search for control in any way you can.”

“Yup. Which includes—”

“Blackjack,” he finishes for me. With the gentlest of touches, Kingston lifts my chin and places a soft, open-mouthed kiss against my lips. Sighing, I close my eyes and soak up his touch. The knowledge that I’m slowly becoming addicted to his mouth is troubling, but I push it aside.

“I’m glad I could give you the control you were craving,” he admits.

“You sure about that? I would’ve pegged you for a guy who doesn’t like to give up control to others.”

He takes a step closer until the toes of his loafers brush against my beat-up Chucks. “You have no idea. In my profession, giving up control is giving up power, and I think we both know I don’t relinquish it without getting something in return.”

I laugh. “That, I can believe.”

“And what do you think I want?”

Biting my lip, I drop my gaze to our shoes and hedge, “I think I can guess.”

“I think you can too.” His breath fans across the top of my head as I dig up the courage to look back up at him.

“Come on, Kingston. Show me a little of that control you were just boasting about. Patience is a virtue, isn’t it? Or would this be more of a self-discipline kind of thing?” I ask while tapping my chin in thought.

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