AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No.”
Raphael’s tone is clipped and punctuated with a sip of whiskey. He turns his attention to the space above my head, as if looking for someone else, anyone else,to talk to.
He’s given me an easy out, but I’m too proud to take it. “Scared you’ll lose again?”
“What makes you so certain you’ll win?” he drawls, amusement softening his edges again.
“Because I’m lucky.”
His smile holds its shape, but I don’t miss the ripple of displeasure that passes through his gaze like an undercurrent. Three heavy beats of silence pass. He scratches his throat and glances up to the starless sky as he sinks the last of his whiskey. With a sharp flick of his wrist, he slides the empty tumbler across the bar and basks me in the warmth of his attention.
“Do you have a game in mind?”
“Yes.” Nope. But if three years of doing this dance have taught me anything, it’s that you have to be the one in control. If I allow him to choose a game, my odds of losing increase a hundredfold.
I take a slow sip of my drink, buying the time to rake through my mental list of bar games. It takes longer than usual, because it’s hard to concentrate over the voice screaming at me to walk away. Just like the quiz, it needs to be something safe, rather than flat-out cheating. I select one from my roster and place my glass on the bar with a satisfactory thud.
“Ready?”
Raphael holds up a palm. “We haven’t settled on a wager.”
“If I win, I get that watch, too.” I nod to the Seamaster on his wrist. The thought of conning Raphael Visconti out of two of his timepieces makes my mouth water.
“And if I win?”
The sudden thickness to his tone raises the hairs on the back of my neck. I glance up from his wrist to his face and immediately wish I hadn’t. I wasn’t prepared for the danger that dances between the walls of his irises.
I swallow the lump in my throat, suddenly all too aware of my nipples tightening under the thin fabric of my bra. He’s only a man. He’s only a man. He’s only a man.
“Well, what do you want?” I whisper.
He holds my eye for a beat too long. He licks his lips, and the tiniest glimmer of something very ungentlemanly passes through his green gaze. Just when I feel like the tension might suffocate me, he gives a small shake of his head. “For you to leave.”
I blink. “What?”
He smirks at my surprise. “I’d like to enjoy my brother’s wedding in peace, without you nipping at my heels.” His eyes land on something behind me, and he lets out a wry breath. “Somehow, I don’t think your date will mind.”
I follow his eye line to Matt. Within the last five minutes, he’s somehow managed to grow a pair of balls and move to Anna’s table. He sits opposite her, sandwiched between two friends, and is staring at her with the intensity of a serial killer. I glance back at our own table and see four empty shot glasses neatly lined up on his place setting.
Figures.
“Deal,” I say breezily. Fuck it, I’m not going to see him after tonight. He’ll hop back on his private jet and return to Vegas, then maybe make an appearance around Easter, or something. I’ll be long gone by then—hopefully.
One more swindle. Just one…and then I’ll go straight like I said I would.
I order two large glasses of water, then look up at Raphael from under my false lashes. “What’s your favorite drink?”
“Whiskey, of course,” he says, amused.
I nod to the bartender. “Three shots of Sambuca, please.”
My cheek warms under his soft chuckle. It’s delicious and easy and I suddenly understand why women laugh so loudly around him.
“Okay.” I line the two waters in front of me, then place the three Sambuca shots in front of him. “I bet you I can drink these two huge glasses of water before you can drink those three shots.”
Raphael palms his jaw, his narrowed gaze sizing up my water and his shots. “There’s no way you can do that. What’s the catch?”
“All I ask is for a head start. It’s a hell of a lot of liquid, isn’t it?”
