Page 40 of Native Hawk
Chapter 12
Drew almost missed the bald man’s tell. He’d allowed himself to be distracted by the beautiful woman coming down the stairs.
She was even more mouthwatering than he remembered. Her hair was mostly up, but a few tempting strands had come loose to tease at her neck. Her lips were slightly parted, and he knew exactly how they tasted. She might be wearing that same faded blue dress, but now he could imagine vividly what was beneath it.
His inattention might well have cost him the game. But the bald man softly cleared his throat, as he had every time he’d been dealt a good hand. Drew folded.
Sure enough, the bald man took everyone else’s money, crowing with unsportsmanlike glee. Then he proceeded to count it in front of them.
“Looks like I might have enough to buy me that twenty-dollar whore,” he announced.
“She ain’t for sale.” That rolled off of Drew’s tongue, all by itself. He hadn’t even known he was going to say it.
“What do you mean?”
“The lady ain’t for sale,” he repeated.
“Who says?”
“I do.”
“What are you, her brother or somethin’?”
“Nope.”
“Well, then, mister, I don’t think it’s up to you.” He scraped his chair back and stood, motioning Miss Hattie over.
Drew bit the inside of his cheek. He didn’t intend to let the cocky bastard sleep with Cat.
When the madam came to the table, the man said, “I want to buy me that new twenty-dollar ride.”
Drew waited for the madam to tell him she wasn’t for sale and to offer him another girl for ten, just as she’d been doing all day.
But this time she didn’t.
Instead, she glanced once at Drew and then addressed the man. “Is that so? You got that kind o’ money?”
Drew’s heart shot into his throat. “She ain’t for sale.”
The bald man grinned. “I got all kinds o’ money.” He tapped his fingers next to his pile of coins.
Miss Hattie looked impressed. “Well, then, it looks like you’re gonna have yourself a—”
“I already bought her.” It was the only thing Drew could think to say.
The bald man smirked. “Sure, you did.”
“That’s right,” Drew said, standing, scooping up all his winnings, and dumping them into the madam’s hands. “Bought and paid for.”
“Now wait just a goldarn minute. I claimed her first.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I sure as hell did.”
“I already put my bid in on her.”
“Your bid? A bid ain’t worth shit. And besides, you don’thavetwenty dollars. You lost the last two hands.”
