AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m in charge of my fate, not you,” I said. “And my motivations are vastly different than from what you remember, so let me decide what’s going to end my life and what won’t.”
“This is your last warning.”
My arms dropped to my sides. “Are you so worried that I’ll win?”
His jaw clenched in the way that carves out the cheekbone and sharpens the jaw. Sexy conflict.
I shook myself out of it and gestured to his seat, toppled over onto the wood. “Fair is fair.”
Theo stalked over, lifting the chair upright in a single arc and sitting down, resting his ankle on his other knee. “I’m not concerned that you’ll win. I’m concerned over what will happen when you lose.”
“Game on,” I said, and plopped down in my seat.
By the time Kai arrived, we were both seething at each other over the green felt table, bringing a chill to the air previously unnoticed.
“Ah. I see I’ve missed nothing,” Kai said as he approached, two highball crystal glasses in each hand.
He set the vodka at my elbow, and the bourbon at Theo’s. “Let’s do us all a favor and bite this bullet, throw the baby out with the bathwater, swallow the pill, you get where I’m going here.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” I said to Kai. “Let’s up the stakes.”
“One game,” Theo agreed. “Sudden death.”
“Thank the stars,” Kai said. He frowned at the mess of the table, but with a few sweeps of his hand, tidied it enough to begin again. He threw us our cards and laid three down face-up.
I took a look at my cards, then slammed my palm on top of them.
Theo’s eyes were deeply shadowed by his brows when he checked his, and he kept them that way.
“I’ll raise,” I snapped, and spilled all of my chips into the center.
“Uh, I haven’t even laid down the riv—” Kai started.
“I’ll see your raise,” Theo said, low in his throat, and had his chips meet mine. He kept one, weaving it in between his fingers in a pattern that was as if he were playing music into the air.
It was exactly like how I’d met him. The way he played with his chips was how he played my body.
I swallowed through the remembrance.
Sighing, Kai flipped the last two cards. I scanned them, calculated my odds in the time it took to bite into an apple, and revealed my hand.
“Fuck.” Theo shoved away from the table. Kai parroted the sentiment.
I smiled, then said to Theo, “When did you say our plane departed again?”
Kai pointed at Theo, though his back was turned. “You were supposed to be better than her.”
“Iamthe best at what I do,” Theo said.
I shrugged. “For a man.”
“Sudden death was stupid,” Kai spat. Theo still hadn’t faced us.
“But efficient.” I stood, brushing imaginary lint off my thighs as I rose. “Before we leave, I need to go back to the hotel, get my stuff.”
At last, Theo spun on his heel. “It’s already in the car.”
Good—I nearly said. My hands paused in their smoothing.
