Playing with Trouble (Players Club Sinners #2)

Chapter 1

Violet

“You’re insane,” Andrea informed me.

I barely blinked. She said that about me often enough that it didn’t even register as an insult anymore. “No,” I countered easily. “I just knew everything was going to be fine.”

Andrea scoffed and shook her head, muttering beneath her breath, “A guy threatens her at work and ‘everything’s fine’, she says.”

She continued perusing the racks of clothes at the boutique we were in, occasionally pulling something out to look at it thoughtfully before hanging it back up again.

The two of us were half-sisters by blood, but Andrea was also my best friend and I was grateful that despite our tangled family drama that technically made me the product of our father’s infidelity, none of that had ever mattered to her.

It wasn’t either of our fault that our dad had been a cheating scumbag.

Andrea was a good person, and a better friend.

I loved her. I even loved Madison, our older sister who lived in San Diego with her husband, Rick—my half-sister, Andrea’s full—even though I wasn’t as close with her as I was with Andrea.

I was incredibly lucky with the siblings I’d ended up with, including my brother, Christopher.

Even if our parents hadn’t been there for us growing up, and all of them were now deceased, we at least had each other.

“This isn’t the first person who’s lost their head when their luck took a turn for the worse,” I pointed out. It happened all the time at the casino where I worked. “We have security guards and cameras for a reason.”

Andrea didn’t look placated. “He still tried to punch you.”

“And he would’ve lost his balls if he had,” I said, and meant it. “I can handle myself.”

The guy in question had been one of the players at my poker table the night before who’d lost over fifty grand, which definitely sucked. But then he’d accused me, very belligerently, of cheating on behalf of my employers and had threatened to make me pay.

As if I needed to cheat in order for the house to win. That was just the nature of how gambling worked. Odds were, you were going to lose more often than you won unless you had the ability to count cards.

As the saying went, Las Vegas wasn’t built on winners.

Andrea finally cracked a small smile. “Would your bosses have been okay with you castrating him?”

“Eh.” I shrugged as I continued browsing through different outfits, trying to find just the right one to wear for my first night ever at The Players Club, thanks to the invitation Andrea had given to me.

“I’m sure it would have been a fun story for the higher ups to spread around.

Don’t mess with our dealers, they took lessons from Robert de Niro in Casino. ”

Coming from the school of hard knocks was what made me a good card dealer.

Nothing rattled me. Las Vegas was a glittering playground, but it was also a pressure cooker where people lost money they couldn’t afford to spend and drowned their pride in overpriced cocktails.

I’d had people sob, scream, beg, and yes, threaten me. I’d seen it all.

But occasionally you came across a guy like the one from last night, who clenched his fists and glared and promised retribution because I’d cheated, even though there were cameras everywhere in the casino, scrutinizing our every move that would prove otherwise.

He’d been an idiot, and I’d had a lot worse than some random drunken loser yelling in my face and threatening bodily harm.

And if he’d dared to touch me, I wouldn’t have hesitated to defend myself with a swift kick to the nuts before grabbing his head and smashing his nose against my upraised knee.

I didn’t need a knight in shining armor to protect me.

Andrea snorted in amusement. “I think Robert de Niro could’ve learned a thing or two from you.”

“You flatter me.” I pulled out a dress, examined it, then returned it to the rack. I wanted something truly head-turning for tonight. Something that said, I’m in the mood to play, if you dare.

“You don’t have to overthink what you should wear,” Andrea said, practically reading my thoughts. “A lot of people in the club wear lingerie, or robes, or casual clothing. I’ve even seen a few people in sweats during aftercare.”

“I want to make an impression. The kind that gets the right guy’s attention and tells the wrong ones not to bother because they’re not worth my time.”

Andrea laughed. “Vi, you never do anything but make an impression.”

I spotted a glimpse of slinky, emerald-green fabric on the clearance rack and pulled the dress out to give it a look. “Well, not all of us are lucky enough to snag one of the club’s sexiest doms on their first night like you did.”

Andrea batted her lashes and gave me a playful “who, me?” kind of look.

Yes, my sister had lucked out with Chase Noble…

though the road getting to their happily-ever-after definitely had its ups and downs.

It was a good thing he’d finally pulled his head out of his ass, because I would have had to take matters into my own hands to make him see reason.

And Chase’s face was just too pretty to bruise with a sucker punch.

“It didn’t hurt that Chase didn’t want me playing with anyone else,” she said, grinning at me.

I rolled my eyes. “He’s such a typical alpha male. A possessive, domineering neanderthal.” And I meant that in the most affectionate way possible, considering he was going to be my brother-in-law in the near future.

“Not always,” she said, not the least bit offended by my description of her fiancé. “He does have a few soft spots only I’m privy to.”

“It’s certainly not his pierced dick that’s soft,” I retorted. Not that I’d seen his dick, but Andrea hadn’t been shy about sharing the wonders of his Prince Albert and Jacob’s ladder hardware with me.

She giggled and tossed her dark, wavy hair. “Definitely not.”

I found a nearby mirror and held the silky green dress up against myself, which was a very scant scrap of fabric, really.

While Andrea had generous curves, mine were more…

subdued, though I definitely knew how to highlight what attributes I did have.

So, instead of something body-hugging, I wanted a dress that skimmed over my smaller breasts and showed off some skin.

The hem ending at mid-thigh achieved that goal, along with the thin spaghetti straps that left most of my shoulders and arms bare and would display the colorful floral tattoo on my left arm.

“I think this might be the one,” I said, glancing at Andrea. I’d have to try it on to be sure, but I liked what I saw in the mirror. With my blonde hair worn up to expose even more skin, and the green dress matching the color of my eyes, it would definitely turn heads.

Andrea eyed me critically. “You’re not going to be able to wear a bra with that dress, and considering it’s about a yard of fabric, it leaves…nothing to the imagination.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “I’m okay with not leaving anything to the imagination and oh my God didn’t you wear a slinky black dress with no bra your first time there? It’s a sex club, after all, and you just told me that people walk around half naked in lingerie.”

“Say that a little louder, why don’t you?” Andrea hissed, her face flushing as another shopper close to us gave us judgy eyes before moving on.

“You and Chase are at the club like every week,” I said to my sister, amused at her response though I knew most of it was due to the fact that I had little to no filter. “You don’t get to blush about it.”

Andrea glanced around to make sure no one else was listening in on our conversation. “It’s a very upscale and exclusive club, Vi.”

“I know,” I said, giving her a sweet smile I knew she’d see right through. “Which is why I’m buying a very nice dress for the occasion and why I’m very thankful you were able to get me an invitation.”

The Players Club was a private and classy sex club on the outskirts of Vegas. Pure decadence according to Andrea, located in a large mansion that looked just like any other rich person’s retreat on the outside, but had been outfitted on the inside to fulfill your every sinful desire.

I could barely contain my excitement about going. A night of debauchery sounded like exactly what I needed to blow off some steam, especially after the previous night’s fiasco at work. And, it had been forever since I’d had a satisfying one night stand.

In all honesty, I’d never been able to quite get what I wanted from sex beyond the obvious orgasm and even that wasn’t always a guarantee.

I was sure that there were men at The Players Club who could give me what I truly craved.

Andrea had told me about her more dominant scenes with Chase and even though I personally wasn’t attracted to him in that way, it reassured me about the level of experience the club members had.

“You’re welcome for the invitation.” Andrea grinned at me, our gazes meeting in the mirror. “What are sisters for, right?”

“Getting each other laid, apparently.” I laughed, and so did she.

I headed for the changing room and tried on the dress.

Just as I hoped, it showed a lot of skin and I was okay with that.

The material was slinky and shimmered in the light whenever I shifted, and the thin fabric brushed against my bare nipples, making them furl into tight peaks.

It was the kind of dress a woman wore when she wanted to turn heads and get lucky. I just hoped it worked for me.

I stepped out to let Andrea see, feeling, surprisingly, a little self-conscious. I didn’t want to appear too eager, or too slutty. “It’s not too much?” I asked her.

“As you said, it’s a sex club, after all,” she quipped back, though her tone was much quieter than mine had been.

I shifted, checking out my ass and the backside of the dress. “Right, but I want to look classy, and maybe a little femme fatale, too. I don’t want just anyone approaching me.”