by Selena Blake
“You’re a needy little thing aren’t you?”
“You have no idea, demon.” She all but growled the words at him.
“I do, vamp. Believe me. My desire for you is…” He glanced up the length of her body. “Insatiable.”
She moaned and tried to roll against him again. Tried to get him between her thighs so she could find the sweet friction she needed.
“Stop tormenting me, Isadora. My self-control is finite where you’re concerned.”
“Then give up. Give in. Take me.”
Groaning, he speared a finger into her pussy. “You’re wet.”
“Since you dragged me onto the elevator,” she told him.
Her words seemed to ignite something in him. He stared down at her for two full seconds, his gaze locked with hers. What was he looking for? The truth? She’d told him the truth. Her body gave away all her secrets.
He groaned again and dipped his head, kissing her with unrestrained passion. Tension radiated from him and she soaked it in. Hot, frantic kisses renewed her excitement. She moved against him, hands stroking his skin, hips meeting his fingers as he drove them into her.
He trailed his lips down her jaw and pulled his hand away. Settling himself between her thighs, he slipped his arms beneath her and his hands hooked over her shoulders.
“Hold on tight, sweetheart. This isn’t going to last long.”
That was fine by her. She just needed to feel him in—
He thrust his hips forward, entering her with a single movement that stole her breath. Perfection. So big, hard, filling her completely.
His powerful body rocked into hers, driving her up into his hands. She arched beneath him, pressing herself fully against all those delicious muscles. His handsome face seduced her with his look of complete concentration. She would swear he was studying her every breath.
She locked her ankles against the small of his back and held on as he moved over her. In and out. Fast and decisive.
She nipped his chest and was rewarded with a groan. He reached beneath her and tilted her hips. His cock drove deeper.
“Oh—”
He slanted his lips across hers, picking up the pace. The sound of their ragged breathing and the bed shifting beneath them filled her ears. Someone moaned. She couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.
“Ready?” he asked against her lips.
Surprisingly, she was. The orgasm had been lurking deep inside, as if waiting for his command.
Three more thrusts and he rubbed her just the right way. She crashed over the edge. Her muscles tightened as she cried out, then softened beneath him. As she was coming out of a lust-filled haze, she realized he was taut as a drum above her, his cock twitching with his release.
Completely sated, she smiled up into his handsome face and raked her fingers through his hair. He kissed the inside of her wrist and then collapsed at her side.
Breathless, naked, and blissful… she could get used to that combination. She looked over at the demon. Yes, she could easily get used to having him in her bed. “What brought that on?” Not that she minded hot sex between rounds. Or any other time, really.
“You. You kept touching your tongue to your top lip the whole damn game. It was driving me crazy.”
Smiling, she curled against him and his arms immediately wrapped around her.
“How much time do we have?”
He tipped up his wrist and glanced at the sleek silver watch. “Half an hour.”
“Round two?”
“Ready when you are, sweetheart.”
Oh that accent. She glanced down at his cock. He wasn’t exaggerating. In fact, he was still hard, thick, and ready. She licked her lips and rolled on top of him. It was her turn to take control.
Fifteen minutes later he called down to the front desk to have a fresh set of clothes brought up for her as she lay in bed admiring the view of his backside. This time a pair of pouty lips with two bedazzled fangs peeking out, adorned the black baby doll tee.
“I like,” she said, holding it in front of her and staring at her reflection.
“And I like you.” He buttoned a fresh shirt and strode up behind her. Hands on her shoulders he said “Let’s go kick butt.”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s your tell, by the way,” he said as they stepped onto the elevator.
“What is?”
“The tongue thing.”
“This?” she asked, feigning innocence, and touched her tongue to her top lip.
He growled her name.
Chapter Fourteen
Shade was starting think Izzy was purposefully trying to distract him. For the first few hours, he hadn’t been facing her directly and so the strain in his pants was tolerable. But after space had cleared at the table and they’d repositioned, she’d been right in his line of sight. A blonde goddess, slightly mussed from their lovemaking.
A temptress sent to put him off his game.
And after their last tryst he was well-versed in how fantastic that little pink tongue felt on all sorts of places on his body. But now that he had the chance to watch her in action, see how closely she studied her opposition, he was fascinated. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
She narrowed her gaze at Blythe Jordan. They were the last two at the table and the formerly quiet room grew boisterous as Jordan studied his cards. What did he have? Something, if the tick of the muscle next to his left eye was any indication. If he wasn’t such an asshole Shade would have befriended the guy. He was actually a hell of a poker player.
Izzy’s lips twitched. She exhaled as the dealer flipped the first three cards. Eight, Jack, seven. The corner of Jordan’s mouth quivered slightly. Shit.
“He’s got something good,” Latham whispered, shoulder-to-shoulder with Shade.
“He’s certainly happy about it. Pocket Jacks?” Shade leaned toward the god. If he had two in his hand, the one in the flop would give him three of a kind.
Latham shrugged.
Izzy didn’t seem concerned in the slightest. Shade frowned. Did she not see Jordan’s glee? Did she recognize it for what it was?
Jordan raised. Izzy matched. Shade sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.
Watching her was nerve-wracking. Worse was watching Jordan watch her. Shade had been surprised at how well she played. There was a story there he intended to get to the bottom of. But right now, he needed her to win. Not bet crazy.
He dragged a hand down his face as the next card hit the table. Four of hearts.
Useless.
Izzy glanced over at him. Once again, Shade was mesmerized by her lips, the gleam in her lovely pale blue eyes. Her tongue snaked out and touched her top lip. He heard a few groans, his own included.
Not because of how sexy the gesture was, but because she was bluffing. His heartbeat picked up.
Jordan checked. Izzy signaled to the dealer that she too was checking. Shade sighed again.
When the final card hit the table the crowd erupted. Nine of spades to go with the eight and seven of spades already in play. Jordan’s lips twitched again. He didn’t even try act cagey. Shade estimated that Jordan had forty percent of his chips in the pot.
He raised.
Izzy stared at Jordan for several heartbeats, her head cocked to the side. She pursed her lips like she was ready to kiss someone.
What was she doing? What were the chances she actually had the cards in her hand compete with three of a kind? Unfortunately Shade knew the chances. When it came to poker, his brain was like a computer. Unless by some miracle she had a flush. Ace and king of spades? Could he hope?
“Not good,” Latham murmured and Shade wondered if his statement was in response to Shade’s mental question.
Izzy reorganized her chips and then glanced at her cards again. She did the tongue thing again. The room grew quiet. They were the only table in play now. After she draped her hair over her left shoulder she looked up and met Jordan’s bet with a cool stare. Then there was
a defiant quirk of her left eyebrow.
“All in,” she said. The room, previously quiet awaiting her response, exploded with disbelief. Awe. Excitement.
“Izzy,” Shade uttered on an exhale and dropped his head. Blythe Jordan didn’t like to fold. If she was trying to take half his stack —
It took the demon all of five seconds to think over his decision. He pushed his stack of chips to the center of the table. The crowd went even crazier.
Jordan flipped his cards. Ace and king of spades.
Fuck.
Shade turned away. A flush. He had a fucking flush.
“Well?” Jordan said.
Shade turned back, the desire to do something, protect her somehow, overwhelming. Latham put a hand on his forearm to stop him.
She grinned and the room got a little brighter.
“Mister Jordan, do you remember when I said ‘may the best demon win’?”
When had she said that?
“Yeah,” Jordan answered, sounding far too cocky. Shade wanted to punch the smirk right off his face.
The tiny flick of her left eyebrow made Shade’s heart pause. “You’re not him.”
In a lightning-fast movement, she flipped her cards over.
“Oh my—”
“God,” Latham finished.
A straight flush.
Jordan shoved away from the table in a fury as the roars and screams echoed through the room. Izzy, though, remained still, a serene smile on her lips as if she’d known all along what the outcome would be.
Shade could scarcely believe it, but strode toward her, needing to feel her curvy little body next to his. Coco, Grayson, and a black-haired beauty beat him to her. She turned in her chair and let them pull her in for a hug. She’d made the final table and Shade felt an odd sense of pride, even though he’d done nothing to be proud of. It was her. All her.
Once again he felt like something extraordinary was happening. Something unplanned and yet ordained. Destined. Not only was the chemistry between them off the charts they shared a love of fine automobiles and cards. But it was more than that. She was like the other half of the circle to make him whole. She was just as lucky as he was.
“Good job,” he said when he finally reached her. He felt a kick to the heart when she smiled up at him. Was she letting him in? Really letting him in? He could only hope.
She held out her hand to him and he took it, needing to feel her cool, soft skin against his.
“Let’s go. We have drinks waiting in the courtyard,” Coco said.
Izzy was on a high from her win. And what a win. In all her years, she’d never gotten a straight flush. Admittedly, it felt better to wipe the smirk right off Jordan’s face than it did to get the win.
She smiled just thinking about it. He’d looked so confused right before he’d exploded.
“Oh no. I know that look,” Avery said from the other end of the patio sofa.
“What look?” Izzy glanced from Avery over to where Shade and Grayson were talking next to the fire pit. Shade caught her gaze and smiled at her. A gentle, secret smile between lovers. Izzy’s heart swelled. There was no denying it. She was… what did Avery call it? Smitten?
“That’s the I wanna settle down and have your demon babies look.”
“It is not.”
Avery made a sound of disbelief. “Honey, you might not be ready for demon babies, but you are definitely falling for the baby daddy.”
Izzy looked over at Shade again. She was not ready to be a mother. Was he ready to be a father? He would be a terrific dad. Warm and caring. Interested in his children. She could see that in how he treated those around him, especially her. But she didn’t want to get into that with Avery now. So she took a sip of her cocktail and said, “He’s nice.”
“I’m sure he is—”
“He is special,” she insisted, turning on the couch to face her friend. “Don’t you want to be a part of something special? To have what Coco and Grayson and Ceara and Maxim have?”
Avery shook her head quickly. “No. I don’t.” She leaned forward and started to reach for Izzy’s hand but pulled back at the last second. “I didn’t think you did, either.”
Izzy shrugged. “Things change.”
Avery settled back into the corner of the couch, cupping her goblet between her hands. Her blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “He must be dynamite in bed.”
Izzy snickered. “It is more than that. He treats me as an equal.” Something her last boyfriend had not always done. In fact, many of the men she’d been with had seen her as a lesser. Small. Fragile. Even stupid. But she was far more than her size, stature, and hair color. Shade seemed to understand that. “He does not talk down to me. He does not belittle me for my impulsiveness.”
In fact, he seemed to understand the strange draw that Izzy felt. The powerlessness to resist. The urges.
Avery’s jet-black eyebrows lifted and fell in a told-you-so gesture. “Yep. You’ve got it bad.”
“It?”
“Love, sugar.” Avery’s accent thickened. “Love. And lust, by the look of it. He does have a fine ass, I’ll give you that.”
Izzy finished off her cocktail and put the goblet on the coffee table. Across the stone courtyard, Coco snuggled next to Grayson’s side and listened to the men’s conversation. “What does his ass have to do with love?”
“Everything, my dear little Russian friend. Everything.”
“Hunter has a nice ass.”
“That he does.” Avery made a sound similar to a purr.
If Avery was so taken with Hunter Ciolek’s physical attributes, why was she always turning him down? Since Hunter was Maxim’s brother, they saw him often enough. So why did Avery resist a man she obviously desired? Frowning, she turned back to her friend. It made no sense. “Are you sure you and he—”
Avery shook her head again in that definitive not-a-chance-in-hell fashion. “Not going to happen.”
“Because you’re interested in Charles Latham,” Izzy surmised. She would have to be blind not to see that way Avery’s blue eyes followed the handsome blond god everywhere he went. Of course, it could be Avery was just admiring his… assets. Izzy giggled at her own joke.
Avery gave a ladylike snort. “Honey, I’m into any man who can give me longer than an eight-second ride. I had shitty luck with men before I was turned so it’s not like I want to strap myself to one now.”
If they were going to talk track records with men, it didn’t get much worse than Izzy’s. But maybe her luck had changed.
Chapter Fifteen
“How long do we have?” Izzy asked on the way out of the penthouse suite. The nap had done wonders for her energy level. That and Shade’s blood.
“About two hours.”
Izzy knew she felt well-rested because somehow sleeping next to Shade kept the nightmares at bay. She just might have to keep him, she thought, and smiled.
Hand in hand, they stepped off the elevator. She’d promised to meet Coco and Avery downstairs for a drink after she’d rested.
“You better not go easy on me,” she told the man at her side. She did not want or expect any favors from him because they were lovers. Had they not met that night in Germany, they wouldn’t be involved now and emotion would not be a consideration.
“You play an excellent game, I’ll give you that, little vamp.”
Izzy grinned up at him. “Thank you.”
“Izzy… what happens if I win?”
She paused and frowned up at him. “What’s with this ‘if’ business?”
He remained silent.
“You will win. I will do my best to come in second.” The payout for second place would be just enough to buy a new Bugatti.
“Will you be okay with that? I’ve seen you play, Isadora. You’re in it to win it, as they say.”
“I will be fine.” He was sweet to worry. More than sweet.
He frowned and tipped his head as if he were inspecting a specimen beneath a magnifying glass
. Taking her hands in his, he held them against his chest.
“I could bow out. You’d automatically be head-to-head.”
The final two in the game… Izzy’s eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t. You cannot!”
“I don’t want anything to come between us, Izzy. Anything. It’s just poker and I don’t need the money.”
But she did. The words were unspoken between them.
“You would rather be with me than have the winnings?” Surely she did not understand him. Could she take him at his words?
“Absolutely.”
“You’re sure?”
“Why do you question me? Us?”
“I used to play poker a lot. Online. After school. Every chance I got from the time I was fourteen to almost eighteen.”
He led her over to the bench just outside the casino and urged her to sit. “Go on.”
“I was good. I’d played probably two million hands. And I made good money at it. My father did not care so long as I did not get into trouble. But there was this boy I liked. And I thought he liked me too. He was older and I thought if I let him win he’d like me. So my girlfriends and I went to hang out. They all wanted to play strip poker. They assured me there were no cameras.”
Shade groaned.
“The guy I liked posted topless pictures of me on the internet. My father was furious with him. It is probably a silly reason to stop playing.”
“No. Your reasons are your own. They’re valid because you have conviction.”
She leaned against him, soaking in his heat.
“You know I’m not him, right? I would never do that.”
“Yes. I know you’re not him. You do love a practical joke though,” she said with a smile.
“That wasn’t a practical joke. It was an asshole taking advantage of a beautiful woman.”
She kissed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Shade.”
“But will you still feel that way after I win. I meant what I said, Isadora.”
“You’re sure?”
“One hundred and ten percent.”