Page 30 of One Touch

“Fine. Yours too.”

Beckett turned over the last community card.

Ten.

He lifted his eyebrow and waited.

“Check.” I knew I was the one being a chickenshit, but he was impossible to read.

A low sound rattled in his throat. “All in.”

“All in? As in ...” I waved a hand in front of me. “Everything?”

“You’re either in or you’re out, Princess.”

I checked my cards again. Two pairs were better than nothing, and I wouldn’t have put it past him to bluff. “You’re on. All in.”

He wiggled his fingers in my direction. “Let’s see them.”

I flipped over my cards. “Ha! Two pair—fives and nines.” I folded my arms over my chest to hide how tight my nipples were beneath my shirt.

His lips pressed together as he studied my cards with a frown. “Not bad.”

My eyes grew wide.I knew it! Hehadbeen bluffing.

Beckett turned over his cards and lifted his eyes to my face. “Just not as good as mine.”

My heartbeat thunked between my ears.

A fucking straight. No, no, no, no, no ...

Beckett leaned back on the blanket, and his eyes made a lazy pass over me. “Well, let’s go.”

I lifted my chin and swallowed hard.

A bet was a bet ... right?

My hand slid over my knee and down my leg. Beckett’s gaze was hot on my skin as I made a show of moving down my thigh and calf. I slipped my socks off one at a time.

I rose to my knees, letting my fingertips drag over my clothing until I reached the hem of my tank top. He tracked every slow movement. Gathering the material, I gently lifted the shirt up and over my head.

Beckett stared, frozen but for his fingers flexing on his half-finished glass of bourbon. My breaths were heavy, nipples tight, skin on fire.

Bourbon and wine swam in my veins, infusing me with a hint of sex kitten confidence I’d never fully embraced. I licked my lower lip and opened the button of my jean shorts. Tooth by metal tooth, I lowered the zipper.

Beckett’s palm moved over the front of his jeans. He adjusted himself, and a flush of desire heated my skin.

My hands paused at my hips. “You’re really going to make me get naked?”

Untethered darkness swirled in his pewter eyes. “We had a bet, Princess. You lost.”

The hard, commanding edge of his voice was more intoxicating than the expensive bourbon. If he’d told me to get on all fours and beg, I would probably do it ... and like it.

Emboldened, I stood in front of him and let my shorts drop to the floor. Hips cocked, I posed with one hand planted at my side.

Every inch of me was on fire as Beckett held me under his intense stare. No hiding it, pure appreciation andhungerwere painted on his tense features.

An achy throb between my legs ratcheted up my confidence. “How about another bet, Beckett?”

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