What the Gambler Risks

by Kristina Knight

  Sabrina kissed her way down his body, pausing a moment to taste his abs, to run her tongue along the taut ridges there. She wondered what it would take to make him lose that controlled exterior.

  She studied him for a moment. Maybe he wasn’t so controlled. His expression was a mask and his breathing carefully moderated, but there was something burning in his green gaze, something that made the fire in her own belly leap in response.

  She put her mouth on his length, just a gentle kiss, and he twitched at the contact. He was holding on to that control, but she was going to make him let it go. She took him into her mouth, and Jase groaned. Keeping her hand taut around him, she began moving up and down his shaft. One of his hands held her head in place for a moment, and then he flipped her onto her back, the move so sudden it took her breath away.

  Jase’s gaze was fierce, his breathing uneven, one of his legs insinuated between hers, and his arms on either side of her.

  “What was that about?”

  “That was about making this last longer than thirty seconds,” he said as his hands found her breasts again, the sensation of him against her sensitive breasts magnificent. He tweaked one nipple and then the other, making Sabrina’s toes curl against his muscled leg.

  “If you keep doing that … ” she warned, a smile on her face as she echoed his words from that first night in Atlantic City.

  “I’m going to keep doing this,” he said, taking her nipple into his mouth. Sabrina arched her back. “And this.” His fingers found her core, and her belly clenched. He kissed his way to her other nipple. She couldn’t take her gaze off him as he worked her body. “And this,” he said, and she felt as if her body rested on a taut piano wire, waiting to topple to the ground, as Jase thrust two fingers into her wet core.

  “Oh, God,” she said.

  “Mere mortal, actually,” he said, grinning at her. His mouth left her breast, kissing his way to her belly button, where he paused for a long moment to explore it with his tongue. Sabrina gave herself over to the sensations darting along her nerve endings.

  Jase’s tongue dipping into her belly button. His fingers in her core. Her eyes closed. His heat everywhere.

  She felt as if she was coming apart, the fire that had been comfortably hot in her belly now scorching through her veins. He made her want things, and the things weren’t just sexual. When she was with Jase, she wanted to let go. To not worry about her mother or her readers or the newspapers or anything else. She just wanted to be, in a way that she hadn’t allowed herself to be. Ever.

  “Let’s see what else makes you compare me to a god,” he said as his thumb found her clit.

  Jase worked his way back up to her breasts, and he bit her nipple gently. The combination of pain and pleasure sent a wave of wetness between her legs, and sweet God, the man knew what to do with his hands and his mouth. Sabrina began to feel wobbly on the razor wire of desire.

  “Oh, God,” she said, unable to keep the words at bay.

  “I thought that might do it,” he said, satisfaction clear in his voice. That cocky expression was back on his face, and when he grinned at her, her stomach flip-flopped.

  She tried to hold on to her sanity, tried to think of anything that would slow her body’s reaction to Jase, but she could only take in the smell of him, like hot, desert sun, and the feel of him, rigid and hard beneath her hands. She wanted more of him, wanted all of him, and she wanted him to have all of her.

  She’d never wanted a man to have all of her before, but instead of the thought scaring her back to sanity, it pushed her insane attraction to him up another level.

  Jase’s mouth closed over her core, replacing his hands, and Sabrina forgot to breathe for a long moment. She could only feel his tongue against her clit, the suction of his mouth on her. Sabrina’s hands clenched against the silk of the comforter, but she didn’t want fabric. She wanted man.

  She buried her hands in his hair, and then everything went boneless for a moment. And then he was over her, his arms resting on either side of her head, that devilish look back in his eyes. His penis teased against her opening, and just like that, the molten fire he seemed to control in her burned to life. Jase thrust into her, filling her, and Sabrina thought nothing had ever felt better than that.

  Despite the toe-curling orgasm of a moment ago, she was ready to plunge over that ledge with him again. Jase withdrew, and when he thrust back inside her, Sabrina raised her hips to meet his. She locked her legs around his hips as he plunged deep inside her once more.

  “Jase,” she said, his name a whisper against his shoulder. He reached his hand between them, finding that bundle of nerves easily. “Oh, God,” she said again, but this time it wasn’t a joke. It was part plea and part exaltation. She raked her hands down his back, wanting more of him. Jase gave it. He caught her mouth with his, and the wave of her orgasm crested once more, taking her over the edge and toward oblivion.

  “Sabrina,” he said, her name a fierce growl from his lips as he thrust in and out, in and out. He grunted his own release a moment later, his body tensed, and then he collapsed on top of her.

  Sabrina was lost, somewhere between dreaming and waking, listening to Jase’s harsh breaths soften and calm. He moved to the side, burying his head in the pillows, but leaving an arm across her torso. Their legs remained tangled atop the soft bed, and Sabrina ran her fingers lightly over his arm.

  “I really was just after lunch today,” he said, drawing her closer to his body.

  “Me, too,” she said, feeling drowsy. They should maybe take the rest of the night inside this perfect little condo, away from everything and everyone that might make her second-guess her decision to sleep with Jase Reeves again.

  “But I’m glad we didn’t leave it there.”

  She was, too. She just wanted to be here, wrapped up in this man. The thought scared her, but the need she felt to stay right here with him won out. Sabrina’s eyes closed, and she let herself drift.

  Chapter Eight

  Things were going too fast. Too well. Jase couldn’t trust it.

  Since that night in Atlantic City, he and Sabrina had spent nearly every moment together. She’d done her book thing and he’d done his gaming thing from time to time, but every night for the past eight days, they’d always ended up back at his condo.

  He wasn’t even sure where she lived. He knew it was one of the new condo developments in Henderson, but from there, he would have to do some mapping. He didn’t know how she liked to decorate, what she liked to read, and what shows she liked to binge on during holiday weekends. To be fair, she didn’t know those things about him, either.

  She didn’t know his penchant for ’90s movies, or that he and his brothers quoted many of their favorites during normal conversation.

  She knew how to work his body, just as he knew how to work hers. They had the same taste in food—salads and steaks and Tex-Mex, hold the tortillas—and both liked an early-morning workout, either in bed or in the gym in his building. He knew she worried about what people thought of her, and that she was careful with her reputation. They didn’t exactly hide from the world, but they weren’t hitting red carpets every night, either, and there had been several events they had ignored since Atlantic City.

  He didn’t know her mother, but he’d seen Sabrina frown at her phone a few times after her text alert sounded. He'd seen the same frown at the airport that day, so he associated it with Melinda Smith.

  Jase hit a few computer keys and then sat back in his office chair. She knew his mother had been a gambling addict, but she didn’t know Jase was the reason she was dead. Only Rollie, their father’s best friend and the ranch foreman, knew about Jase’s part in the night she’d had that accident. It was soon after their father had died, and Jase had been determined not to go chasing after Helena the way Caleb had. He’d had Gage and Connor to look after, and there was a big dust storm in the desert. He’d gone to sleep thinking how strong he’d been, only to be woken by a state trooper with
the news that they’d found Helena’s rented car just off the highway.

  He shook off the memory. There was no need to get his complicated feelings about Helena mixed up with Sabrina. They were two very different women. One was addicted to the high of gambling, the other dedicated to helping other women.

  He was supposed to meet Sabrina for dinner in an hour. More than anything, he felt like an idiot for spending most of this afternoon thinking about the status of his relationship—and that word usually left a cold feeling in his belly—with Sabrina. But putting her name with “relationship” warmed up the cold, which was just too weird.

  Maybe he needed a night off.

  Beers with Gage and Connor. Or a solo trip to one of the casinos in Reno. He could hop on one of the commuter flights and be there in an hour or so.

  Being in Reno meant no chance of seeing Sabrina. Hanging with his brothers meant questions he wasn’t sure he was ready to answer. Over the past week, the two of them had taken turns asking him on a regular basis about the pretty blonde looking for Binion’s.

  Maybe his night off should be spent alone. Before he could second-guess the decision, he texted her to postpone dinner until tomorrow. Then, to avoid conversation with his brothers, he grabbed his keys and locked the office. A half hour later he sat at an overlook near the Hoover Dam, watching the water far below. Heavy traffic whizzed past on the high bridge built a few years before to alleviate traffic on the dam itself. All around Jase, families took pictures and chattered about the bridge and the dam. A few park employees were around to answer questions. He was content to let the tourists flow around him, and watch the Colorado River far below.

  This thing with Sabrina needed to be brought back to reality. They couldn’t just exist in this bubble they’d created. Sooner or later, one of them was going to want more than hot sex and a meal. When that happened, she was going to be disappointed. Jase wasn’t going down the road Caleb had, and even though Gage and Connor seemed happy in their relationships, things could still go to hell, leaving them wounded and bleeding.

  Even if the loose thing he and Sabrina had going was enough for her, someone was bound to find out about them. Sabrina might hate the Vegas Virgin moniker, but his reputation was all about gambling. Most people saw gambling as irresponsible at best and criminal at worst. Somehow, he didn’t think Sabrina’s fans would appreciate that his success at cards had more to do with reading people than taking a chance on a bad hand of poker. They would use his reputation to ruin hers.

  He didn’t want that. She deserved better than that.

  And he had to stop thinking this way. He was making way more out of the last eight days than was necessary. They were having a good time, they were consenting adults, and neither had made any kind of promise to the other.

  The sun began sinking behind the mountains, and Jase pushed away from the concrete barrier along the dam. He needed to get his mind back on track, and the best way to do that was with a fast game of cards.

  It didn’t take long to get back to the Strip. He parked his truck in the condo garage, choosing to walk the short distance to Caesars. Their poker room was his favorite on the Strip, and Jase breathed a sigh of relief when he saw an opening at one of the tables. He slid into the seat, changed out the cash in his wallet for chips, and settled in to wait for the deal.

  A waitress with white-blond hair similar to Sabrina’s took his drink order—club soda and lime, he never drank when he played—and disappeared into the rush of the casino crowd. He pushed thoughts of Sabrina out of his head. He needed to get his equilibrium back, and winning at cards was his chosen method of dealing with stress.

  The Texas hold ’em table was full, with a combination of tourists and a couple of regulars Jase recognized. The regulars glanced at their hole cards and put them on the table, but the tourists fiddled with their cards while the dealer dealt the flop—three cards faceup on the table. Seven, five, and three, all different suits. Jase had another seven in his hand, along with a four that matched up with the five on the table. A pair and a possible straight were a good way to begin the round.

  The waitress brought his drink as the table began to ante. All the tourists stayed in, as did the regulars. So did Jase. The dealer put the turn card on the table, another seven. So he had three of a kind, not a good place to be with a table full of gamblers. Still, he stayed in the game because for the first time all day he wasn’t thinking about Sabrina.

  Damn it, she was back in his head. The table bet again. Two tourists dropped out, but the regulars stayed. Jase couldn’t read them but didn’t drop out. The dealer played the river, the last card of the round, a six, giving him a straight. Not the best hand, but the remaining tourists immediately dropped out, which gave him more time to study the regulars. One, a woman in a denim jacket, thumbed her cards as she considered the cards already on the table. The other, a man in a flannel shirt wearing sunglasses, sat perfectly still.

  Even with the sunglasses he wasn’t good at hiding his expression, and there was a very light line of perspiration along his hairline. He threw a couple of chips on the table, and the bet moved to Jase. The sweat and the sunglasses had Jase turning his attention to the woman. The thumb-flicks of the cards could be nerves or simple anticipation. She was careful to keep her gaze on the table rather than darting around at the other players.

  The woman flipped her cards over. Two fours, giving her three of a kind. The man in flannel pushed his cards facedown toward the middle. A fold. Jase turned his cards over, and the dealer signaled his win. The tourists left the table, but the regulars stayed as the dealer began another hand.

  “Last round, unless you want to enter a partner-play tournament the casino is hosting tonight,” the dealer said as he sent cards around the table. Jase didn’t like partner play; the chances of getting a player who was more gambler than card player were too great.

  With only the regulars, the hand went quickly. Jase bowed out at the turn, knowing there was no way one card would give him anything more than two of a kind. A loser’s hand. He pushed away from the table, picking up his remaining chips and pocketing them. The crowd for the tournament was getting bigger, more tourists pressing into the poker room, along with a few more circuit regulars he recognized.

  Two blond heads caught his attention, one following behind the other. He caught Sabrina’s voice in the hubbub and followed.

  “This isn’t a good idea, Mom. Melinda,” she said sharply. She wore a royal-blue dress with strappy, heeled sandals. Melinda wore a rhinestone-encrusted dress and sky-high stilettos. “You don’t play poker.”

  “That’s the beauty of it, it’s a partnering tournament. I plan to get partnered with someone handsome who knows how to treat a lady.”

  “Mother.” Melinda shot Sabrina an annoyed look. “Fine, Melinda. Nursing your broken heart with a few rounds of poker is a very bad idea. Come back to the condo with me. Let’s talk about—”

  “What? How Lorenzo dumped me in Mexico? How my landlord signed my lease over to a new tenant while I was gone and I have to move out of my home by the weekend? I’m now homeless in addition to heartbroken, give me a break!”

  “You didn’t sign the lease extension, and you didn’t pay the rent for three months.”

  “Because I was in Mexico with Lorenzo. Why should I pay rent on a place I’m not living in?”

  Sabrina closed her eyes, and it seemed to Jase as if she were counting to ten. Or maybe one hundred. “So that when you come back you have a place to live. There’s nothing we can do about the lease or your eviction, but you can live at my condo as long as you need.”

  Melinda snorted. “You leave on your book tour Monday. You won’t even be there.”

  She was leaving? Jase’s stomach made a funny jolt. He needed space, but he didn’t want her to leave.

  “Which makes it perfect for you. Plenty of space, no fighting over the remote control,” Sabrina said, her voice cajoling like she might be talking to a toddler. Jase felt a moment o
f shame for not only following the two of them, but for being so focused on their conversation.

  Based on the phone call at the airport, he’d labeled Sabrina’s mother as careless, but this was more than careless. This was childish. It reminded him of every time Helena would run off to a poker tournament, leaving them alone at the ranch. Jase rolled his shoulders. Sabrina deserved better than to follow her mother through a casino, begging her not to gamble.

  This was why he should walk away. Fast. And never come back. He didn’t need this kind of drama in his life. Since his parents had died, life had been happily free of emotional drama. There had been some tight money moments, but at least he and Connor and Gage had never sunk to emotionally blackmailing one another.

  Melinda stepped up to the dealer taking names, signed on the line, and put a wad of cash on the desk for the buy-in. “I would prefer to play with a male. Women get too emotional at the table,” she told the man.

  “Mom, just come back to the condo with me. We’ll do facials, and I’ll take the day tomorrow for mani-pedis. You can talk about Lorenzo until you’re talked out. Just don’t do this.”

  “I am a grown woman, Sabrina, and I feel like having a little fun, meeting new people. This is the perfect solution.” Melinda turned her attention to the dealer at the desk. “Make sure my partner is over forty but looks like he’s under thirty.”

  The dealer looked from Sabrina to Melinda. “I’ll see what I can do,” he said, and the tension radiating from Sabrina’s shoulders kept Jase from walking away.

  He stepped up in line. Neither of them could stop Melinda from gambling if it was what she wanted to do, but he could at least make sure she didn’t walk out with an empty bank account.

  “I need a partner,” he said, turning his smile on Melinda, “but you seem a little emotional.” Sabrina gasped, but Jase kept his attention on her mother. “Are you sure you want to play?”

  Melinda’s annoyance deflated like a child’s birthday balloon. “It’s been a trying few days,” she said and then flung her hand toward Sabrina. “She doesn’t understand just how trying. I’m Melinda. This is Sabrina.”