“She’s in safe hands, I promise. I’ll guard her with my life.”
And body. And mouth. And dick.
Several of them started snickering.
“If you don’t, then I definitely will.” One of two identical blondes said to her. I refrained from inviting them too, even if Felix would have shown them a good time. Lucky was the only woman I had a vested interest in having a good time tonight, everyone else would have to wait in line.
I pulled on her hand, and she turned back to me in exasperation.
“Oh, come on.” She dragged me away, leaving a peal of giggles and catcalling in our wake.
I grinned at her stoic expression, because as I looked closer I could see the golden flecks twinkling in her eyes as the amusement cracked through.
“Hey, Luck, this way…” I tugged her arm, guiding us back to where I’d been sitting.
A collective of Cheshire Cat grins greeted me as we approached; more of the boys had joined us and the table now resembled our Thursday night game. I halted us just before we reached them, pulling her round to face me. Before I could stop myself, I brushed a stray hair away from her face.
“Have you ever played poker before?”
She shook her head, the casino lights catching her in a way that made her freckles seem like they were dancing over her nose.
“Okay, you play with me.” A dark smile curved my lip as an idea appeared in my head. “And how about we have a little bet on top?”
Her head tilted. “Yeah, what sort of bet?”
I studied her; this could go either way but we were in Vegas, and I was a betting man. “You can play the next hand for me. If you win you get to keep playing, but if you lose I get you. Naked.”
If she was shocked, she hid it well.
She tapped her finger against her perfectly plump lip, scrutinizing me as she contemplated. “Okay. Deal.”
Win two for the Crawley charm.
I kissed her cheek and led her toward the table, straight into my lap. She fitted effortlessly, and perfectly. Like I somehow knew she would.
“Boys, meet Lucky.”
They were all staring, and I could see Felix trying hard not to laugh, his teeth clamping down as his lips curled inward.
The dealer shuffled, throwing the cards onto the table.
She leaned in to pick them up but I stopped her with my hand over hers. “Don’t let anyone else see what you have.”
She paused, carefully gathering them up against her chest and showed me; Jack, Ten, Seven, Four of Hearts, and a Three of Clubs. Fuck, this was a good hand. Didn’t look like I’d be going upstairs any time soon.
“Is this any good?” She whispered in my ear, shooting goosebumps down my spine and straight to my dick. I’d sat her on my lap before I’d thought it through; things were about to get uncomfortable very soon.
I wrapped my arms around her, wanting her closer even in my impending plight. “Yes. Put them back on the table, and throw in four of the green chips.”
She did as I told, picking the chips up and examining them with a gasp. “This is twenty grand.”
“Don’t worry, Lucky Charm. We’re good.” I looked around the table at the rest of the boys, it was now exclusively our group playing. Which meant I’d likely win this, especially as I knew all their tells. Though even if there’d been a couple of randoms, I’d still likely win.
Everyone followed, and the dealer turned a card over; Eight of Hearts.
We had this in the bag.
“Luck, throw in another twenty.”
