Page 42 of Wild Card (Advantage Play 1)

“Why, Ace, I don’t know if I should be offended or proud that you’ve questioned my self-discipline.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because you’ve willingly stepped into a private elevator with me while knowing I could have my way with you. I’m currently displaying the self-discipline of a saint by not pushing you up against this wall and taking what you so innocently revealed to me last night.”

Clearing my throat, I mutter, “I didn’t reveal anything.”

“Lie. I can practically smell the innocence on you, Ace, and it’s a lethal scent.”

With a smile, I ask, “Are you saying that if I won’t let you have me, you’ll die?”

“Possibly,” he mutters, bending down and hovering near my lips. “Now tell me, Wild Card, will Punk Rock Ace knee me in the balls if I kiss her again?”

“Possibly,” I tease, my gaze bouncing between his hypnotic eyes and tantalizing lips. “Are you willing to risk the future generations of the Romano lineage to find out?”

A wicked grin spreads across his face as he inches closer.

“Possibly.”

Closing the last millimeter of distance between us, he presses his lips against mine then tugs the wig off, dropping it near my feet as my brunette hair pools around my shoulders. Smiling, I return his kiss and wrap my arms around his neck then lace my fingers through the short hair on the back of his head.

With a groan, a sexually frustrated Kingston tugs on my lower lip with his teeth, pulling a light laugh from me in return.

“I like you,” I admit on a sigh as he teases me with his mouth. My fingers unlace themselves from his hair before brushing against the jaw I’d been drooling over earlier. When the five o’clock shadow grazes my fingertips, I smile softly in fascination.

Looking down at me, Kingston wraps his thick forearms around my waist and drags me into him. “Then you should show me, Wild Card.”

He’s called me that before, but I didn’t have the guts to ask why. Maybe I’m still drunk from his kiss, but I’m curious enough to voice my question.

“Wild Card?”

“I never know what to expect with you.” Lightly, he tugs on my messy curls, mimicking his motion from a few minutes ago. Only this time, it’s the real me instead of a wig I’d been using as a disguise. The girl in front of him is stripped bare. She’s the girl I normally keep locked away in an attempt to protect myself. But as he peers down at me, his gaze shining with lust and intrigue, I like that he can see her.

“Truth.” Smiling up at him, I reach onto my tiptoes and plant a soft kiss against his lips before murmuring, “So is there a reason you brought me down here?”

He shrugs. “We still can’t be seen together, even in my own casino. I think we both know what would happen if Burlone found out we were….”

As his voice trails off, I catch him studying me like an abstract piece of art. The intensity is almost bruising, and my body presses back into the wall behind me to escape it. There are so many ways he could finish that sentence, and I’m dying to know what was on the tip of his tongue before he thought better of voicing his statement aloud. What are we? Working together? Passing the time with each other? Possibly sleeping together? Dating? I have no idea what I want, let alone what the man in front of me is interested in. If only I could read minds as easily as he can read faces.

Clearing my throat, I tuck a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. “I should probably get going. Thanks for letting me feel a bit of control for the night, though. I really appreciate it.”

The silence that follows is enough to shine a glaring light on our unconventional…whatever this is, and he takes a step back to give me a little breathing room.

“Anytime, Ace. Anytime.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jack

As I pace the floor near the lobby entrance, my imagination coming up with the most gruesome of possibilities for what Ace could be going through. I attempt to take a few slow, deep breaths in through my nose and out of my mouth.

Calm down, Jack.

Convinced I look too suspicious, I take a seat at a slot machine with a perfect view of the corridor Ace disappeared through and start wasting quarters.

My foot is thumping against the carpet like a damn jackrabbit, and my gaze is continually shifting from the digital screen in front of me to the dark hallway.

Where is she?

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