AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her pupils dilated, and she licked her lips. I loved when she looked at me like that, like she couldn’t wait to rip my clothes off. I had no doubt that if it were any other time, if we were any other place, she’d do it. “What happens in the meantime?”
“I’ve got some ideas. What do you want to happen?”
She thought about it, playfully tapping her finger to her lip. Those black gloves were a necessity, but I liked seeing them on her. I wanted to see them wrapped around my cock, though I wasn’t sure if it was a leather kink or just my infatuation with Mari.
“Show me how much you’re missing me. Consider it my incentive to heal faster.”
She wanted a show. The idea warmed me up, and I had to readjust my dick so I didn’t walk into the room with a boner. When I was finished, I kissed the smirk off her lips, careful not to mess up her makeup. “I think I’ll do just that.”
She gave me another kiss with those deep red lips before she turned back to the door. I didn’t even bother to check if the lipstick transferred; I liked the idea of her marking me. Watching the way she pulled herself up, stepping into the role of the Marcosa queen with little more than a single breath of warning, just added more fuel to the flames, and she knew it. Little tease.
The door opening snapped me back to the present as the sound of male laughter hit us. The basement was massive, though most of the room was blocked off by storage areas we hadn’t been able to access. It’d been redone as well, so everything was high-end and luxurious, from the chairs everyone sat in to the bar the drinks were made on. Servers milled around the room with appetizers the guests could snack on and delivered drinks to the table where the others leaned over their cards.
“Got a seat for one more?”
The soft lilt of her voice cut through the easy conversation like soft butter, and the noise died down immediately. We’d planned our arrival perfectly, so that the usual suspects were already in their seats and playing when we showed up. As one, they turned to stare at Mari, and in turn, I watched them. Haru looked bored, as usual. He only came because he couldn’t not. Kosas seemed pleased, though he did nothing more than nod in greeting.
Ajilon threw his head back to laugh before waving his hand at the chair beside him. “For you? Anything.”
I walked ahead, pulling out the chair so she could sit, before taking up my position against the wall at her back. Through it all, Sean O’Bannon caught my attention. While everyone looked surprised and faintly confused, the Irishman looked both terrified and pissed. Ruddy cheeks and angry eyes met mine before they immediately looked away, like he could hide what I’d seen. I wondered if he worried that Mari was going to skin him for not showing up. It was a distinct possibility.
“We’ve just started, but we can deal you in,” Two-Bit offered.
When I peered at him, I saw humor in his typically strained expression. He knew what Mari was doing, and he liked setting O’Bannon on edge. That, mixed with his knowledge of her cartel roots, had me reevaluating the gang leader. He knew too much for absolutely no reason. It made no sense.
“No, no.” Mari waved them off as she ordered a drink and her chips before settling into her seat. “I’m fine to watch this round.”
The first hand went quick, with Haru winning a few hundred thousand on a bluff that even I couldn’t ferret out. While the others chatted and refilled their drinks, Sean typed furiously on his phone. Breaks were the only time when the devices were allowed near the table, despite the multitude of scramblers that were in this room. Since the game was meant to be a time when they could just relax together without all the politics and bullshit, the leaders often didn’t talk shop, but that didn’t mean they were stupid. Sometimes shit came up, and the last thing we needed was someone listening in or recording conversations when it did. It was the same reason all the servers had signed contracts—and leverage—to keep their mouths shut. Nothing left the room without Mari’s say-so.
The dealer passed out the cards, and Mari angled hers so I could see. King of hearts and ten of hearts.
The others picked up their cards with calculating eyes as the first round of betting started. I could see each of them darting their gazes toward Mari, but they’d get nothing. My reina was a fortress.
I could practically feel the anticipation radiating from her and not just because of poker. Before Rey died, Mari’s favorite thing had been the hunt. It eased some of the worry I’d had for her that that hunger had survived her grief. Maybe she was past the worst of it so we could rebuild what it had stolen.
Antoni hated when we played poker with Mari because Mario had spent her entire life teaching her how to read people. Men, in particular. Antoni could be as blank-faced as he wanted, and she still knew exactly when he was bluffing and how badly. It was likely also a touch of that twin connection they had, but it still pissed him off to no end. I’d always found it fascinating, though.
Especially since she had a knack for getting information while she played.
The first round of bets was quick, and the dealer continued. The flop was in Mari’s favor with a nine of hearts, four of clubs, and a jack of diamonds. All she needed was two cards to win.
Ajilon and Kosas tittered, as they often did when they’d had too much to drink, but Mari kept her face in that bored impassiveness she excelled at while she rearranged her hand. “You’ve been quiet, O’Bannon. How have things been?”
He’d been avoiding eye contact so much that it took the Irishman a second to realize that Mari was talking to him.
“Fine. I’ve been settling things for my daughter’s wedding.” He sounded like he was chewing rocks, and I wondered how a man so easily ruled by his temper had created someone like Ash, who was commanded only by herself. A queen in the making, though none would rival my own.
“That’s right,” Kosas said with an easy grin to both him and Mari. “Congratulations are needed. You’re going to be family soon.”
“We’re thrilled to have Aislynn. She’s a gem.” Mari’s smile was real, as it always was when she spoke of her friends.
“Your cousin has already moved her out of my home. I don’t like it.” There was a warning there. He thought we’d overstepped ourselves by taking Ash early. Good thing he didn’t know it was to protect her from him. Honestly, despite it being exactly what she didn’t want, the marriage to Cameron had given us the leverage we needed to get her out. I knew it brought Mari comfort to have her friends close and protected again. I just had to hope Cameron would do right by Ash.
“It’s not up to us. Aislynn is a big girl. She can make her own choices.” Mari tossed her chips into the pot with a limp hand, and I saw the way Two-Bit’s eyes darted to the gloves she wore. Thankfully, we’d had a late cold snap, so it wasn’t entirely out of place, but the way he watched her with an awe he shouldn’t know told me that, once again, he had more information than he should.
Did we have a mole for the Vipers, or did that annoying nurse spill? If so, she was dead. Fucking Deborah.
“It’s not right for them to lie together before marriage,” Sean snapped. The servers jolted, and the bartender lost his grip on a glass, dropping it against the bar top with a wince. Everyone waited with bated breath to see what would happen.
