Page 28 of Wild Card

“Okay…well, I can tell you she doesn’tdobusiness unless it involves at least six digits. She avoids responsibility like the plague and will avoid you too, so good luck.” I smiled and pushed the door, ready to close it in his face.

“Wait.” His large palm pressed against the cute teal wood finish, his pinky grazing the obnoxious white wreath I knew had cost Taylor fifty dollars at some uppity home shop.

I paused, watching the bulge in his neck move up and down, his eyes assessing me with what seemed like caution…and maybe curiosity.

“I need a shot with her. I need…” He trailed off, his head dipping once more. “The other night, you seemed like you were looking for answers to something.”

I lifted my left eyebrow. Was this Lady Luck finally throwing me a bone? I wasn’t in the habit of denying bones, so I sagged back an inch, only to remember I wasn’t wearing anything but a tank and a thong.

“I was…” I mumbled, trying to hide myself a bit better. The angle was wreaking havoc on my neck.

“I’m not going to hurt you. You can come out from behind the door,” he suggested, softening his tone.

“Uh…no, it’s not that. I just…what were you about to say?” I internally begged for him to say he’d be willing to spill all the secrets about the game. My stomach clenched with anticipation.I’m so close.

“Tell me why you won’t open the door first.” His mouth slung to the side in a mischievous smirk.

Red-faced, I lightly shook my head as my answer tumbled out. “I’m not exactly wearing pants.”

A light scoffing sound left his chest as he dipped his head, and when his sharp gaze returned to mine, it was with a heated look that I refused to acknowledge. It was the same look he’d given me when he first saw me in his room that night.

“You do realize I had my face buried between your legs the other night, right? My fingers too…so I think it probably wouldn’t be too crazy if I saw you without pants.”

It was my turn to scoff and internally slap away the lust-soaked images he’d planted.

“That night was…well, let’s just pretend it didn’t happen, how about that? Now what were you saying about me wanting something and you needing a shot?”

The dip between his eyebrows made it seem an awful lot like I’d hurt his feelings, especially with the way his neck turned red, but maybe he was just ashamed of talking about being in between my thighs when he was here to ask about dating my stepsister.

“What if I offered you a trade?”

He’d hooked me. Locking my gaze with his, I carefully left the safety of the door and allowed it to open enough for him to enter. I walked a few steps away, fully aware that I was now flashing him my ass before dipping to grab a pair of sweats Juan had left in case of emergencies.

The man on my stoop walked in after me, shut the door, and then sat down on the nice lounger chair my dad had purchased. My thrift-store furniture was currently in the garage.

Clicking on a lamp, I sat across from him on the couch. I tucked my legs underneath me and hated how aware I was of my form. I had thighs, I had an ass, I had boobs. All of this anatomy often battled it out when I tried to tuck my body into the couch. More often than not, there was at least something protruding in an undignified way.

“Nice place.” His elbows landed on his bent knees as his eyes searched the space, moving across the brick fireplace and settling on my borrowed sweats.

“Nothing less than the best for Taylor,” I muttered quietly, immediately wincing at how immature it had sounded coming out. “Anyway, this deal…” I kicked out one of my legs, loathing how awkward this all felt. Plus, I wanted him to leave. A bath was calling my name, and who knew when Taylor might get home.

“My name is Decker James…not Elias Matthews. We should start there. I’ll save you the long story, but Elias is really into Taylor, and I need her to be into me. I need a shot with her, a real one.”

Well, that was unexpected.

“Wait…what?”

He let out a heavy sigh and dropped his head like it weighed a thousand pounds.

“It’s a lon—”

“Yeah, long story—you don’t need to tell me all that, but I want to be sure I understand. Are you only after my stepsister to get one up on this guy or something…or do you actually like her?”

He paused too long. The muscle in his jaw jumped while he kept his gaze downcast, toward the floor.

“It’s complicated.” He finally exhaled, looking up.

“Well, I’m not setting my stepsister up for some weird game or Devils bet situation, but if you like her for real then I’ll help you.”

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