Page 17 of Own

“Odds have never impressed me. Odds are designed to intimidate the foolish and challenge the daring.” I picked up the aged Scotch I’d been nursing since I sat. The ball of ice had begun to melt and water it down. Not that one drink was going to do me in.

“What are the current odds up to?” she asked the dealer.

“At the moment, fifteen thousand to one. The progressive is now up to three hundred thousand.” The dealer waited, not urging us to continue or demanding we start. Whether that was down to the fact it was just the two of us or because she was one of the luminaries in their dirty little world was anyone’s guess.

I’d wager it was some of column A and some of column B. Still, the past hour had given me some insights, and there was a mental clock ticking down in my head. When she withdrew, the auction would begin.

When it started, we needed to be in that room. We needed to identify, tag, and question the members of Nocturne. The pretentiousness in the name was enough to make me ill.

Still, I met Duvall’s gaze evenly and raised my brows. “Live a little…”

“How about we make it a little more interesting?” The low throaty invitation coupled with her hand squeezing my thigh was all about sex.

“What did you have in mind?” She wanted it? She was going to have to spell it out.

Head canted, she crooked a finger, beckoning me closer. Keeping one hand on the table, I braced the other against the back of her chair. While I trusted the guys to have my back, I dipped my chin to protect my throat even as I leaned toward her.

The barest of touches as she pushed my hair away from my ear. The woman just could not keep her hands to herself. No wonder she was one of their highest bidders and earned a seat at that table.

“We’ll wager the money—it’s only money. But I want you to add something to the Fortune pot for me. A private wager, just between us.”

“I’m waiting.”

For a moment, her eyes narrowed and her lips compressed. I was definitely playing with her, but not ceding even a little control. I wasn’t agreeing to anything without details.

“If I win, you spend the night with me.” Her lips brushed my ear, and that was no teasing mistake. It was more than just the whisper of her breath, she was definitely trying to come ontome. “All night, until dawn…and we can let whatever happens—happen.”

Lifting the glass of Scotch, I swirled it then glanced at her. “And when I win?”

A throaty laughter escaped her. “I do admire your confidence.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I countered, then knocked back the rest of the drink. The warmth hit my system, and helped to smooth down some of the bile burning its way up thanks to this game.

She stroked her lower lip with her tongue. The deliberate move offered a suggestion of eroticism, but I didn’t even pretend to let it affect me.

“You intrigue me,” she said finally. “Enough for me to agree to a great deal more than I would normally. So I will ask you this… what do you want?”

I met her stare and held it. There was the faintest dilation of her pupils. Her nostrils flared. Yes, she was very turned on and invested. Somehow, I suspected she would very much agree to whatever I asked.

With that in mind, I leaned forward and whispered next to her ear. “An invitation.”

She blinked, straightening and taking a deeper breath. But it was too late to cover her more tremulous reactions. Settling back, I tapped one of my chips against the table as the dealer and I both awaited her decision.

“That’s it?” She appeared to be turning it over, looking for the trap. One would assume if I needed an invitation that I didn’t already have one.

Or, more likely, because I was here, I did have one. What I wanted was access to the upper echelons. Of course, the latter was far more accurate.

“That’s it.” I agreed. “One night.”

Some of the tension left her. So just this evening. I could almost see the rationalization play out on her face. This wasn’t permanent. No more permanent than her getting me to stand stud for a night.

Not likethatwas ever happening.

“Done.” She put her chips in with a flick of her wrist. I didn’t smile or crow. I just ante’d up and motioned to the dealer.

I divided my cards into the high hand and low hand. Yes, they would definitely do particularly after a little sleight of hand.

The dealer laid out his tables. A pair of aces and eights in his high hand. Five and seven in the low.

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