Page 138 of Niccolo

“Then call me,” I said with a smile.

She sat there for a moment in silence, trying to read my face.

Which was a fool’s errand.

“This situation right here?” I said, pointing at my chips on the table. “This is exactly what it’s going to come down to, sooner or later. There will eventually be a final confrontation between our side and yours. You won’t know what’s in my hand… but I’m going to go all in. You’ll have to decide whether you want to risk everything – and I meaneverything –on whether ornot I’m bluffing. And I can promise you this, Sofia: I’m the best goddamn bluffer you’ll ever meet.”

“Which is what you’re doing right now.”

I shrugged. “So call me.”

“There are still two more cards to come,” she pointed out. “They could easily break in my favor, and that would be the end of you.”

“In our real-life struggle, there will always be morecards, so to speak. Some future events, unforeseeable now, will break inourfavor… and others won’t. But in the end, it will come down to one question, and one question only: are you willing to puteverythingon the line?”

She sat there, looking at me.

“It’s just a simple card game,” I said with a smile. “No life and death situations here. Either I get on the plane and leave, or I get to ask you a question.”

“I don’t like to lose,” she said flatly.

“Neither do I. Of course, there’s always thethirdway.”

“Which is?”

“We stop playing this silly game and go do what we bothreallywant to do.”

She narrowed her eyes. “And what’s that?”

“Go back to one of our rooms, get naked, and I make you come as many times as humanly possible.”

Her cheeks flushed bright red.

It was then that I knew I’d won…

Because she wanted whatIwanted, and she’d just let me know it.

“That’s very forward of you,” she said.

“Audace, audace, toujours l’audace.”

“I’ll refrain from correcting you this time,” she said with the tiniest of smiles.

“Thank you.”

“We haven’t even kissed,” she pointed out.

“We can remedy that fairly quickly.”

“Once you get me up to your room, you might kill me.”

“I won’t,” I replied…

Though I still hadn’t completely ruled it out.

I didn’twantto.

In fact, everything inside me screamed outnotto do it –

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