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“Owns you?”
“He… It doesn’t matter.”
“No, explain what you mean.”
“He uses us. People in the industry who owe him cash or favors. He rents us out.”
“He prostitutes you?” Sam’s mouth went slack, and she could do nothing to conceal her shock. “That’s appalling. Is that what he was talking about when he said you were supposed to be at a party tonight?”
“Yes. And I skipped it. It’s not my idea of a good time, Sam. And you can understand why I don’t want to owe him anything else. So can you please help me?”
She sat beside him on the tub, scrubbing her sweaty palms on her dress. All she had to do was look at him to know she would do anything she could to help him, but she still didn’t know how playing poker would…
“You want me to play high-stakes, don’t you? If I’m going to be playing for a big pot, I’m going to need money to put in. I don’t have that kind of cash.”
Ethan looked relieved, taking her words as an acceptance of his plan. When she saw the way his body sagged, as though a huge weight had been lifted, she found it impossible to tell him she hadn’t actually said yes yet. Her acquiescence was now a foregone conclusion.
Who was she kidding, though? The second Ethan Silver had walked into her hotel room, she’d been a lost cause. Ever since he’d kissed her that first night in Vegas, she’d become a sucker for him. Anyone who could make her body tingle from temples to toes was bound to be a problem for her willpower. And here he was proving that.
Only now it wasn’t her body that ached for him, it was her heart.
The defeated look on his face wasn’t one she’d ever expected from brash, confident Ethan Silver. This wasn’t her Ethan. The man she knew was all sexy swagger, and she didn’t think he had any quit in him. That Julian could crush him so easily…it broke Sam’s heart. And that feeling was all she needed to know that Ethan was more than a vacation fling. He mattered to her, and she would save him, come hell or high water.
“I have some cash, enough for a decent buy-in,” he told her. “You just need to play safe, win a few hands and get out. That’s it. Smart bets, make the ten grand and walk away.”
“Could I get in trouble for this?”
“For gambling in Las Vegas?”
Sam glared at him. “You think now is the best time to be cheeky with me?”
Ethan turned towards her, taking her hands in his and giving them a squeeze. “I’m sorry.” He brushed back a strand of her hair, making her heart beat three times faster. “No, you won’t get in trouble. We’re not doing anything illegal.”
“Then why does it seem so…seedy?”
“Because a relative stranger is asking you to gamble on his behalf.”
“To pay off his pimp,” she added. “And you’re not a stranger. Not anymore.”
Ethan grimaced at the word pimp, and Sam instantly regretted the phrasing. It was obvious Ethan didn’t relish the situation he found himself in. And owing money to a guy like Julian who would use his hired muscle to…well, looking at Ethan made Sam feel physically ill.
He was asking for her help in getting him out of a shitty situation, and all she had to do was play a few hands of poker.
How hard could it be?
Chapter Fifteen
Winning was going to take a miracle.
Sam was staring at the two cards in her hand, showing all the comprehension of someone trying to read Russian for the first time. Ethan rubbed his temples, willing himself to be p
atient by repeating the mantra, She’s helping you, she’s helping you, she’s helping you.
“You look confused,” he said, trying to gently goad her into admitting what her issue was.
“Give me a second.” She continued to stare at the five cards he’d laid out on the coffee table, then back to the ones in her hand, gnawing on her lip.
“This shouldn’t be—”
