Page 6 of No Limits

“I think I should be offended,” she said with a swallow.

“Probably,” he admitted. “But I have a proposition for you.”

“This oughta be good.” Her heart rate slowed as she forced herself to take a deep breath.

“There’s a party tonight at a villa. Come with me. If I haven’t convinced you to go to bed with me by the end of the night, I’ll double your compensation for the poker lessons.”

“And what do you get if I give in and sleep with you?”

“Other than the privilege of fucking you? What more do I need?”

She shrugged. “I’m always game for a bet. I’ll take it. What kind of party is it? Wait…” she paused. “Is this one of Hunter’s parties?”

He gave a slow nod. “You’ve heard of them?”

“Heard of them? I spent my first big win on a ticket to one.”

His lips curled up into a seductive grin. “I might have a chance at winning this bet after all.”

So much for calming her heart rate. The speed of her pulse made it feel like her heart was trying to run away from her.

“You haven’t even asked if I’m a top or a bottom,” she said in a trembling voice.

He chuckled. “I’m fairly sure about the answer to that one. Your blush in the hallway gave you away, and I’m sure my suspicions would be confirmed if I slipped my hands into your hair and pulled.”

Her traitorous cheeks turned warm with embarrassment as he trailed a finger down one.

“That’s delightful,” he murmured. “You do realize you’re going to lose, don’t you, Ace?”

“I can’t predict the future, and neither can you unless you plan on cheating. There’s no way to tell if I’m going to lose,” she said, ducking under his arm to step further into his room and put some space between them.

“Don’t lie. It’s not becoming.”

“I make a living by lying. We should really get back out there before the others come back.”

He opened the door. “Party is at nine, and I’m moving to the villa for the rest of my stay. Your accommodations will be moved there as well. Don’t worry, I won’t move you into my room even if I do get you into my bed.”

“You’re very presumptuous, Mr. Foster. I’m happy with my accommodations here.”

“I’m afraid I have to insist. And yes, I’m aware you have a tournament this week. I’ll move you back to the strip in time for that. But as long as I’m paying for your instruction, you’re staying with me.”

She rolled her eyes. They were paying her enough she wasn’t going to argue, but she didn’t like the way he presumed she was just going to fall into line with his demands.

“Fine.”

“Fine,” he echoed with a smug expression on his face.

So smug, in fact, that she decided then and there that she wouldn’t sleep with him. No matter what.

They stepped back into the living room as the front door to the penthouse opened and his friends ambled in carrying drinks and laughing about something that happened at the pool.

“Are we ready to get started?” Rylee asked as she walked to the large poker table and sat in the dealer’s seat.

“Hell yeah,” one man said, raising his glass to her.

Rylee shuffled a deck of cards while she waited for them to get settled.

For the next twenty minutes, she went through the basics of a round of Texas Hold ‘Em. It was a fairly simple game at its core, but there was a lot of strategy one had to memorize to be an effective player. Her goal this week was to teach these men some of that strategy, but they also needed to have fun learning or they would get bored and head back to the pool. As she walked them through a full round of betting, she suspected Memphis wasn’t a newbie to the game, but he’d never competed on any circuit she’d been on.

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