Chapter Ten
Aiden was wiping the last bowl after a dinner of chili and cornbread.
“How about poker?”
She paused as she was wiping off the table. “I don’t know how to play that. Could you teach me?”
“Hell, yeah. Let me go get the cards and chips.”
“We just ate,” she snorted.
“They are poker chips,” Aiden said and laughed as he walked out of the room.
She walked into the living room and saw Malik moving the ottoman and the two chairs, so they all faced each other in front of the fireplace. The sofa had been pushed back to give them room.
“Can I do anything?” she asked.
“No, baby. Come and choose what seat you want.”
She picked one of the chairs and waited. Aiden came back with a box of things and sat down on the sofa. He divvied out the chips, giving each fifty, and then started dealing.
“So, we're going to play an easy one called Five-Card Draw.” He went through the different terms they would use and what they meant. “Our ante can be one chip for now. So, go ahead and ante.”
He dealt the cards and then set the stack facedown.
“Look at your cards. Remember the different hands.”
“It reminds me of Yahtzee.”
Malik nodded. “It’s the same theory.”
“I’ve got this,” she said with confidence.
Aiden waited for her to look at her cards.
She bit down on her lip as she considered what to do. “I’ll take two,” she told him.
The men got their cards, and she threw in another three chips. “Raise.”
Both men grinned.
The betting went around the table several times until they had to lay down their cards. No one had thrown in their cards, so it was between all of them.
“Flush,” she said and laid down her cards. Both men’s mouths snapped shut. Both of their hands were two of a kind, so she beat them.
“It’s all yours, baby,” Aiden said as he started to shuffle the deck.
“Me?” she cried out.
“Yeah,” Malik said and grinned.
She clapped and scooped up the chips.
That’s the way it went until Aiden finally gave up and threw down his cards. “I haven’t won a hand yet.”
“I only won one,” Malik complained, good-naturedly.
“Are you some kind of card shark, woman?” Aiden asked.
Camila threw back her head and laughed.
Aiden stood and picked up the box. “I would say with the expressions you make, not to play poker in the big leagues, but damned if you didn’t stump me every time.”
She giggled.
Malik chuckled. “Are you ready for bed, baby?”
“How late is it?”
“It’s close to one in the morning.”
Her mouth dropped open. She hadn’t realized that many hours had passed. She tried to help Malik move the furniture back, but it was too heavy.
“Don’t, baby. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
She finally gave up with a disgusted grunt, making him laugh.
“I’m going to brush my teeth.”
“I’ll make sure the beds are made,” Malik said.
When she came back, she froze. Malik had put all three beds on the floor. Neither man was around, so she waited.
“Hop into bed,” Aiden said.
“But...” she said and pointed to the blankets.
“I know where your bed is. Now get in it. You won’t be able to stay warm without our body heat.”
She nodded and slid into her bed in the middle of the guys. She stiffened when both men came back and lay down on either side of her.
Aiden grunted when he saw her. She knew she most likely looked like a virgin sacrifice with the blanket pulled up to her chin.
“Jesus, woman. We’re not going to jump you. You can relax.”
Camila watched with a colossal amount of fascination as they both pulled off their shirts. Oh, Lord, they were both incredibly buff. She’d known they were built because their sweatshirts molded to their bodies, but she’d never imagined this.
“Um, don’t you want your shirts on? You’re going to get cold.”
Aiden grunted, lay down, and turned on his side away from her.
Malik chuckled. “We get too hot, baby. If this bothers you a lot, we can put them back on.”
She shook her head, feeling ridiculous. “No. I’m good.”
“Okay.” Malik lay down and turned his back on her.
She knew they were trying to be considerate and let her relax, but she really wanted them to hold her. She was a virgin, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew that would probably excite them, and she didn’t want to put them in any pain, so she rolled over, closed her eyes, and slept.
Camila woke briefly and vaguely realized that both men had turned in the wee hours and were touching her in some way before she fell back to sleep. The thought that it felt so right went through her mind, but she was so tired she hadn’t tried to delve into that notion.
In the morning, she’d think about it and decide what to do.