Chapter Twelve
Jill
The rustle of cards is slightly muffled as the fancy poker table meticulously shuffles the deck before the hands are dealt. I watch from the bar, but the game hasn’t even gone around everyone at the table before Gage is beckoning for me. Again.
“Jill, my whiskey is a little warm. Why don’t you freshen it up for me.” Lifting his glass, he dangles it between his fingers. He soaks up my glare like a tropical plant in the sun, his eyes tracking me as I walk over.
Of course his whiskey is warm, he ordered it room temperature.
Asshole.
Gage hasn’t gone a full ten minutes without telling me to do something. I’ve been waiting on him hand and foot since the night started. Every few minutes he needs something that requires me to walk over to him and give him the opportunity to touch me.
It’s hot and infuriating as fuck.
“Here you go, gorgeous,” he murmurs, his hand caressing mine when I reach for the offered glass. When I turn to walk away, his hand snakes around my hips to halt my movements. He crooks his finger at me until I bend down to his level while seated, but not before rolling my eyes.
“Before you go, tell me how many I should discard.” I can smell his rich cologne, swirling with the scent of the expensive cigar smoke and vintage liquor. The combination thrums through my veins until I want to lean in closer and spikes my heart rate like a warning that I shouldn’t.
But, God, I want to.
“Forget it. I’m not playing your hand for you.”
“Just give me a number.”
“Two.” I toss a random number out so he’ll release me before I’m too dizzy to walk away.
“You heard her. Give me two.” Gage tosses two cards down on the table to discard before Brent deals him two new ones.
After pouring Gage’s drink into a new chilled glass, I make intentional eye contact with him as I place it on the table in front of him before strutting away.
They go around the table, tossing chips into the pot—a few thousand here, ten grand there. Despite my best efforts not to pay attention, I can’t help but watch as it comes down to John, Anders, and Gage. When Gage goes all in, Anders decides to fold.
Then there were two.
“You’re looking pretty cocky there for someone who doesn’t have any cards to stand on,” John drawls with the rough voice of a weathered rancher.
“Lay your cards down. We’ll see who’s still standing,” Gage replies nonchalantly. My trained eyes move over every visible inch of him in search of a tell, a sign that he’s bluffing. But I don’t see anything, not a single goosebump or twitch of an eyelid.
Either Gage has an ungodly good poker face, or he’s not bluffing.
When the hands are shown, I have my answer. Or do I?
“God-fucking-dammit,” John rumbles, shoving his losing cards away. A slow, devilish smile spreads across Gage’s face as he reaches for his new collection of pretty poker chips.
Dane, Anders, Grecko, John, and Dallin request more drinks, and I start loading a tray. I make it all the way around the table and hand off the last drink on the tray when he says my name.
I turn to see Gage point to his lap. “You’re my good luck charm. Come sit.” Every set of male eyes is on me, and I can feel the pressure of their stares. They’re a formidable group, but none compare to the intensity from the man speaking.
“You believe in luck?” I challenge, raising my brows. I barely survived being cheek-to-cheek with Gage. There’s no way I can sit on his lap. If I don’t wither and die, I’ll burst into flames.
“I believe in results,” he replies coolly, gesturing to the stack of poker chips in front of him. “The chips don’t lie.” His eyes keep me locked in, the resolve in his voice leaving no room for argument.
I’m sitting on his lap whether I want to or not.
“Alright.” I put the bottle down and step closer, stopping just out of reach. “I sit on your lap, and I get to keep my poker night tips.” A round of chuckles breaks out across the table.
“Are you negotiating with me, little devil?” Gage asks, his head tilting, voice eerily calm.
“You want this ass on your lap? I want my tips.” I’m not backing down. Gage’s eyes move over me slowly, his gaze touching me intimately in his perusal. His attention makes my heart race and my nerves stand on end, feeling like I’m in the sights of a heat-seeking missile.
I can take it. I like to play with fire.
“There are a lot of places I want that gorgeous ass,” Gage responds, the rest of the men whooping around me. Their eyes are still on me, but it only fuels my confidence. A devilish grin slowly spreads across Gage’s face, and adrenaline spikes through me. A rabbit staring down a wolf, hoping for a good chase. “Alright, you keep the money.”
Crossing my arms over my chest and cocking my hip, I narrow my eyes at him warily. I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him, and if I’m going to be sitting on Gage’s lap, I’m getting something out of it. He meets my gaze without flinching. Kicking back in his chair, he holds one hand out to me and pats his lap with the other. The look I cut him with promises pain and suffering if he’s lying, but he simply smirks.
Motherfucker.
As soon as I step close enough, Gage’s hand snags mine and pulls until I’m all but falling onto his lap. His muscular legs feel solid beneath me, denim rough against my bare thighs. The heady scent of leather, cognac, and tobacco envelops me as his hands grip my hips to shift me right where he wants me. My insides are liquifying, every nerve igniting under his touch. One of his hands snakes around to palm my thigh, giving it a possessive squeeze, his fingers just inches from my needy pussy. The other reaches forward to pick up the cards he laid face down on the table. He discards two cards and has John deal him two more.
“I can feel my luck changing already.” His nose grazes the shell of my ear, his voice low and heavy with meaning. “I bet you can feel it too.”
“So far, all I feel is unsatisfied.”
His cock is hardening beneath me, making me throb with desire. I shift slightly, pressing my ass against him in search of friction to alleviate the pressure building between my thighs. His hand on my waist pulls me closer and slides beneath the hem of my dress.
I have the undivided attention of every man in this room. Grecko looks bored, and I know he’s simply watching because I’m his only source of entertainment while he puffs on his stinky cigar. Dane, Brent, and Dallin watch silently, cards mostly forgotten, as their eyes search for movement where the table blocks their view of Gage’s hand below my waist. John and Anders are gazing at me intently, but their eyes remain on my face, no doubt soaking in the arousal and need I’m emoting with each breath.
I feel the attention pouring down on me like the warmth of the sun on my skin, fueling the lust building inside me. Gage can feel it too, his hand finding my lace panties.
“This round is just getting started, Jill. It’s all about timing. You don’t want to give yourself up too soon.” His fingers stroke me through the thin fabric, already soaked through. I let out a sigh, growing desperate. If he doesn’t finish what he’s started, he’ll pay dearly—one way or another, I’m going to make a mess on his lap tonight.
“Let’s see what we have here.” Gage’s voice washes over me, drenching me with promises of devastation. Pushing aside my panties, his wicked fingers find my pussy as his other hand lifts the cards up closer to show me.
“What do you think of this hand?” he asks, showing me his cards—a royal flush. Dipping his fingers into my wetness, he brushes his fingertips expertly across my swollen flesh. He circles my clit once, twice, three times—teasing me before he pushes two thick fingers inside me. I arch against him, seeking more. “Pretty good, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” I breathe. He pumps in and out of me once before withdrawing almost completely, his thumb relentless in its assault on my nerves.
Now we’re finally getting somewhere.
Pleasure sparks inside me, growing and spreading like wildfire. Desire bleeds through my body until it’s pumping through every vein, and my head is swimming.
“It’s not always about what cards you’re dealt. It’s what you do with them.” He’s teasing me now, pushing just the tips of his fingers inside me to the first knuckle before slowly withdrawing, pushing in further very gradually each time. Too gradually.
“So do something with them.” I move my hips to meet his fingers, moaning when he grants my request by driving his fingers into me to the hilt and finding a magical rhythm that makes me delirious.
“Do you think anyone else here has a hand as good as mine, little devil?” His voice is deep and rough with hunger. My eyes drift closed as my body begins to float, one of my arms reaching up behind me to anchor against his shoulder while the other hand grips the edge of the table for dear life.
I want more, need more.
As if reading my mind, he gives it to me. Keeping his pace steady, his hand shifts to push deeper as he slams into me harder, the heel of his hand slapping against my sensitive clit. He’s earned some honesty from me, so I give it to him. “No.”
“What should I do with this amazing hand, hmm? Fold or go all in?” His fingers curl inside me, touching the spot that has stars flashing behind my eyes like lightning.
“Oh fuck,” I moan, gasping and rocking against him. This man is the devil with the way he completely possesses every inch of my body.
“That’s not an answer.” He’s as desperate for my release as I am. “Tell me.”
“All in,” I pant. “Now.” The sound of his chuckle, raspy and deep, almost pushes me over the edge.
“Such a greedy girl.” He rewards me with three fingers, filling and stretching me as he strokes the spot deep inside that has my breath stuttering. “You’re dripping down my hand, soaking my lap. Let’s see how wet I can get this perfect, needy pussy.”
The sounds of my breathy pants and moans fill the room shamelessly. Gage’s breath in my ear grows harsh as he finger fucks me into oblivion, his big cock hot and hard as a steel rod against my ass. Pleasure radiates through me, building and growing like an electrical storm, ready to take out everything in its path. Then his fingers pull out of me to roughly pinch my swollen clit, and the bite of pain sparks inside me like a detonator.
Euphoria explodes through me, every nerve firing all at once. My back arches with the force of it, my body completely overwhelmed. Gage’s cards lay forgotten on the table as he holds me close while my orgasm rips through me.
“Gage,” I moan his name over and over again, a chorus of pants and sighs leaving me as I’m consumed by blinding pleasure. “Oh, god.” I struggle for breath, writhing against him. My mind is completely blank, and my thoughts are finally silenced as my body processes the bliss that’s overtaken my limbs. Slowly, the tension fades, and I melt back against his chest, completely spent. A deep, cleansing breath enters and exits my lungs through my parted lips.
“Holy fuck,” someone mutters from across the table, but I’m not sure who.
“That was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever witnessed,” Gage murmurs deeply into my ear after a minute. Pulling out of me, he replaces my panties and tugs my dress back down. Lifting his hand up past my face, I can see his hand glistening with my arousal before he sticks his fingers into his mouth to suck me off of them with a groan. “So fucking sweet.”
“How do I get a taste?” Dallin asks, licking his lips. Gage tenses against me, his tone darkening.
“You know better than to ask me to share, Feldman.” A thrill runs through me at the danger in his voice. “Now, let’s hurry this game up before I get mad, and no one can walk away from this table.” That seems to shut the other men up, and they continue the game. Anders sweetens the pot, and Dallin folds with a string of curses.
As soon as I think my legs will support me again, I attempt to stand up. But Gage isn’t having that. He holds me on his lap easily, his rock-hard erection pressed between my ass cheeks. “Not so fast, sweetheart. You’re not done here.”
“Now that you’ve shown us what you got,” Gage says, taking his cards off the table. “Lay them down, boys.” Each of the men starts showing their hands—Grecko playing three of a kind that has Brent, Anders, and John folding. Dane lays down a full house, beating out the old man, but his hand isn’t good enough. Gage plays his royal flush, winning the entire pot worth almost a hundred grand.
“Your time’s up,” I say, pulling his hands off me to climb off his lap. “I’ve given you more than enough luck for one night.” Stepping away from the man doing his best to claim my soul, my eyes don’t miss the wet mark on his lap where I came all over him.
So far, Gage has made me come harder than I ever have before. I’ll die before I admit it to him—no one but Lana gets to know. But it’s the reason I let him anywhere near me instead of gutting him like the other men who’ve tried to get away with shit.
They fucked around and found out.
Gage’s ability to play my body until I’ve reached unbelievable heights of pleasure has given him access to me that looks past a lot of the shit he tries to pull. And as long as the orgasms outweigh the urge to slit him open, I’ll keep using him to get off.
“That was quite the show you just gave my boys.” As Gage’s eyes move over me, I can practically see the images of what he wants to do to my body flash through his mind. “You really worked for your tip.”
“I do love it when the tip is big.” I move my gaze until it lands on Dane. “I hope you don’t disappoint me, Dane.” With that, I saunter off to the wet bar.
I busy myself with cleaning up the bar while the men play another hand. John and Grecko get into it about the difference between equity and ‘being liquid’, and Dane tries to strike up conversation with me from across the room—something Gage shuts down immediately.
Scooping ice into a shaker, I add gin and a small splash of vermouth before I put on the top and give it a good shake. Pulling out a chilled martini glass, I pour the cold liquid into the glass and add a lemon twist. Lifting the rim to my lips and taking a sip, my tongue welcomes the taste of the dirty martini.
Drinking on the job as a bartender is a big no-no, though most people in the service industry sneak drinks regularly. Making myself a martini right in front of the man who owns both the club I work at and me would be considered a daring move. But I’m not making a statement. I simply don’t give a shit. It’s been a long night, and I need a stiff drink.
And there’s no leaving this job.
My body alerts me to Gage’s presence before he speaks. I can sense him coming to stand closely behind me, and my entire being prickles with awareness. His energy shrouds us like a storm cloud, tension radiating from his powerful body.
“You’re wasting your time with Dane.” His voice is low, the rough undertone of anger is fucking sexy. “He can’t give you what you need.”
Picking up my glass, I turn around to face him and tilt my head up to meet his gaze. A sharp edge to his calm demeanor—almost indiscernible—transforms his handsome face from cool to lethal.
I like it.
“What Dane can or can’t give me isn’t something you need to concern yourself with.” Pressing the cool glass to my lips, I take a sip.
I don’t want anything to do with Dane. In fact, Dane is one of the reasons my brother ever moved from making smaller bets at casino tables to the high-stakes games that first drowned him, then sucked the life out of him. My brother’s gambling addiction started at fifteen with the discovery of online poker. He’d been able to keep his head above water until he met Dane Presley. Dane raised the stakes, and Tommy ultimately couldn’t pay the price.
Gage is a very jealous man, that much is clear. He’s a loaded weapon that will be useful when pointed in the right direction. So I’ll give Dane some attention—I’ll even let him flirt with me. He’ll pay for his sins soon enough, and I won’t have to lift a finger for this one.
“You like games, little devil. But I’ve never lost a hand.” He lifts his fingers to his nose and inhales deeply to prove his point, letting the breath out with a deep growl. “I can still smell you on my fingers, so filthy and eager. I bet your needy little pussy is still dripping for me, throbbing for my cock to fill it.” He takes another step forward, tilting his head and running his eyes over my body. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? I should claim your pussy right here, and now—rip that hot dress off your sexy body and fuck you right here on the bar until you pass out from the pleasure.”
My entire body throbs, aching for him. He’s right. I want his cock to slam balls deep into me until I’m falling apart. My pussy pulsates at the thought of it, my clit swollen and desperate as lust spears through me. I’m so fucking turned on, it’s ridiculous. I know he can see it in the way my breathing changes and how my pupils dilate. “I’ll pass. I already got what I wanted from you tonight.”
“Seems like you need a reminder about who you belong to.”
“You can pay for my attention, but you can’t buy my interest.” I lean up to press a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. “You want me? Earn me. So far, I’m not impressed.”
Gage stares down at me, his dark eyes so intense that I allow myself to get caught in them briefly. Being under his gaze fuels me, filling my battery and reaffirming my position. It’s a reminder.
He may hold all the power, but I’m the one in control.
“Hey, doll, get me another scotch,” John calls from the table. “If I’m not going to win tonight, I might as well be good and drunk.”
“Coming right up,” I call without breaking eye contact. I place my hand on Gage’s solid chest, letting it run down his muscled torso until it reaches where his heavy cross falls. I wrap my fingers around the cold metal and give it a tug, pulling him in closer. Gage watches me without blinking, his eyes laser-focused with a desire so potent I can practically taste it. Tilting my head up and leaning in, he does the same. But before his mouth meets mine, I bring my waiting glass to my lips to toss back the last of the cocktail.
“Duty calls.” I let go of his cross and give it a pat. “I wouldn’t want to get in trouble with my job.”
Gage chuckles, the sound rich and terrifying. My breath hitches when his hand wraps around my throat beneath my jaw, and I’m being pulled flush against his chest. My free hand presses against him in an attempt to steady myself. The smile on his face is one of dark satisfaction when his lips lower to claim mine. He kisses me soundly—with sweet, sultry give and rough, hungry take.
After a long moment, he finally pulls back just enough to look at me, the smile returning to his face like we’re in on the same joke. “Little devil, you’re nothing but trouble. And I’m made for chaos.”