Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 85453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 427(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
I wait for Cash to remove my jacket and toss it over the back of a sofa before expressing my thoughts out loud. “I like this vibe better than the last party we attended. Its more intimate.” When he peers at me with the same leering expression he wore in my room, I sock him in the stomach. “As in, there isn’t as many people. The last one was the equivalent of a raging orgy.”
He freezes, purses his lips, then shakes his head. “Nope. I’m not going there. I’ll let that one slide.”
After guiding me to a large poker table in the middle of the den, he checks that our names are written down on a big black board. When he spots mine at the top, he guides me to a chair around the table Kamil is manning. “There aren’t enough chairs for how many players we have, so if you lose your chips, you have to give up your chair.”
“Sounds fair.” I point to the chair he pulls out for me, shocked I’m first off the bat.
“Novices go first,” Cash explains after gesturing for me to sit. When I shoot him a riled look, he grins. “You’re only classed as a novice because it’s your first time playing here. Once you prove yourself, you’ll move up in the rankings.” He tucks me in close to the table before pressing his lips to the shell of my ear, doubling my pulse. “Remember, no counting. If you get caught, you get spanked with the Kappa Alpha paddle.” His breathy laugh when I stiffen sends goose bumps scattering across my skin, but since I need to concentrate, I act as if it didn’t heighten the throb between my legs. “Good luck, Einstein.”
“Are you not playing?”
Strands of faultlessly straight locks fan the front of his face when he shakes his head. “I’m at the top of the board, so I’m the last player added.” He playfully winks before snagging a beer out of a cooler on the kitchen counter and settling in to watch the game.
I try not to concentrate on how much attention he gains during the first three rounds. My efforts are wondrous—more because my opponents aren’t as easy to read as first perceived. Anyone would swear we’re playing for a Mini Cooper with how competitive the games are. Even the man seated next to me is wearing big bulky sunglasses.
“Thank God,” I murmur under my breath when I read the dragging of my opponent’s hand down his jeans in the right manner. He was sweating over his hand, and I played his bluff.
“Next round,” Kamil announces while pushing all the chips to my side of the table.
I peer at Cash to gauge if he is about to join us. I’m left disappointed when his backside remains planted on his seat. I’m not solely annoyed that almost every person surrounding him is female. I’m disappointed about the person filling the chair across from me.
Vivienne has arrived at the festivities, and everyone but Cash has noticed.
“I thought you said poker events were juvenile and uncultured,” Kamil asks while dealing out the deck.
“They are,” Vivienne answers with her narrowed eyes locked on me. “But they also give plenty of opportunity to announce people as the frauds they are.” When her eyes shoot to Cash, his bounce between us. He looks worried, and his expression grows more concerned when Vivienne returns her narrowed eyes to me before she sneers out, “People can fake it all they like, but at the end of the day, some belong at the table. Others don’t.”
She doesn’t need to announce which table she thinks I belong at.
It isn’t any associated with Cash.
“We’re just playing a game, Vivienne. Calm down.”
I thank Kamil for his effort to defuse the situation with a smile before shifting my focus to the cards in front of me.
Before, I wanted to win for the trophy.
Now, I want to wipe the smug expression off Vivienne’s face by sending her packing in the first round.
The next five rounds go as planned. I win them all. But the sixth is a little harder. Vivienne has gone all in, and although I have more than enough chips to match her bet, that would only see me standing at her side instead of in front of her where I really want to be.
I think she’s bluffing, but since I don’t want to cheat to win, I didn’t count cards as requested. The probability that she has another king to match the two on the table is low, but I’ve not held a single king this round, so she could have one. That would give her a three-of-a-kind, which would rank higher than my two pairs.
After ensuring my expression is neutral, I lift my eyes to Vivienne.
I startle when I catch her glare. She’s staring right at me, looking as cool as fish in water.