“Oh, I . . . really can’t stay,” she said.
Seth pressed her lightly into the chair. As he slid her towards the table, he bent in and whispered, “We’ll discuss your act of kindness after the game.” Her unique scent of lavender lingered as he took the chair next to her.
Seth put his hands on the table. “Gentlemen, I believe I have a benefactress for good fortune. Shall we proceed?” There were a few grumbles, but the dealer flipped cards face down to each player. Good. He may be down, but he wasn’t out.
The dealer said, “The game is five-card draw.” He nodded towards the woman. “In honour of our guest, queens are wild.”
Seth looked at his dealt cards: the nine of clubs, four of diamonds, eight of hearts, jack of clubs, and the five of spades.
Blast. He’d need a miracle to win this hand. He had to stay in. It was his last chance to get the money.
He leaned over to the woman and said, “Throw in the coin.” That was a mistake. Her scent beckoned him. He moved closer. She held out the coin to him. “I don’t want to play.”
“You’ll bring me luck. Let me show you.” He gently wrapped his hand around hers and steered her to the centre. “Now let go.” The coin clinked as she dropped it into the pile of money.
Keeping his face unreadable, he said, “I’m in.” Yet he was far from unresponsive to her. His body’s primal reactions heated up with a vengeance.
Two of the other players also stayed in. Only the man on his right folded.
When it was his turn, Seth chose the four, the five and the eight and tossed them into the pile of other rejected cards.
He tried to ignore the woman next to him, but he was aware of her nearness, the heat of her skin. Unable to stop himself, he angled towards her again. “Draw three cards from the stacked deck.”
Her face was pale and a droplet of moisture beaded her upper lip. He struggled to keep from touching her as another spike of desire caught him.
She handed him the requested cards singly: the eight of clubs, the ten of clubs and . . . the queen of hearts.
A wild card.
The fellow across from him folded. Only one other player remained and only one hand that could better his.
He allowed himself a small amount of hope. “Call.”
The last man laid down his cards and snickered. “I got a full house.”
“Very admirable.” Seth spread his cards on the table and smiled. “But it doesn’t beat a straight flush.”
Seth shoved his winnings to the edge of the table and into his coat pocket. The other men stirred.
Seth stood and whispered in the woman’s ear, “Let’s get out of here.”
He pulled her outside, then walked quickly down Pacific Avenue away from the hotel.
“Where are we going?” She tugged back. “I want to stay close to the hotel.”
He tightened his grip on her upper arm and kept going. “I don’t want those men following us.”
“Let go of me. I can walk myself.”
He eased his fingers away, but didn’t let up the pace. When they were a safe distance from the hotel, he stopped and drew her aside, out of the main flow of pedestrian traffic. She looked beautiful with temper flaring in her hazel eyes, colouring her cheeks. “Thank you for your help. But why?”
She threw up her hands, clearly agitated, for what reason he couldn’t fathom. “Look, no one is more perplexed about all this than me. I really don’t know. Call me crazy. It just goes with the rest of my day.”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Has it been so bad?”
“You have no idea.”
“Then it shall be my mission to make the rest of your day better, Miss . . .?”
