Page 7 of Rio

She gives me a wide smile.“I don’t cheat.That’s something you Knights are masters at.”

“Five cards.No bluffing, no folding, no excuses.”I ignore her comment and continue shuffling.She thinks the worst of me.Fine.That’s her prerogative.Dani obviously would have told her how the old man tricked Dani’s father.It shouldn’t be a surprise to me that she thinks badly of us.But I am not my old man, and neither are my brothers.Not even Jett, Dex and Zach.Turns out, we’re surprisingly better, despite having Paul Knight for a father, and given the trauma we’ve all suffered.

“Fine.”

“I can’t wait to start.”I deal out the cards.

“We’re not doing anything stupid,” she says flatly.

“Define stupid.”

Her eyes flash.“You.In my bed.”

Now there’s a visual.Did she have to go and put that in my head?“Then let’s keep it safe.”

She picks up her cards and fans her face with them.“You first, since you dealt.”

I give a lazy grin.“Two pair.”

She studies her hand, her expression unreadable.Then she lays down her cards.“Flush.”

My smile dies in my throat.She beats me.She leans back, lifting her arms behind her head like a queen expecting tribute.“What are you going to do, Knight?Strip or answer a question?”

“I’m going to strip.”I stand up, my hands reaching for the zipper of my pants.Her eyes turn dark.Her lips part.I know that look.I can sense her desire.It’s so obvious that she wants me.I undo a cufflink.

“A cufflink?”she cries, her body sagging slightly.It’s like she’s releasing a breath she’s been holding in.If I’m hard with anticipation, she’s also feeling something too, but it’s such a pity that she’s in denial about it.

“Slow burn, baby.You love the tease.”

She doesn’t smile.She fights to keep on the mask.Trying to look calm, but I know she’s not.We play again, and three rounds in, I lose a sock and two cufflinks.She loses her earrings.

We’re toeing the line, and the air between us grows heavier by the second.Then I win the next hand, but barely—a lousy two pair.But smile fades, and that tells me everything.

“Your move,” I murmur.“Is that dress coming off, princesa?”

She leans back, arms crossed.“No.”

“I get to ask you a question, then?”

“Maybe.”

I can’t help but notice the tight set of her jaw, the flicker of something defensive in her eyes.“Maybe?”She’s not playing coy.She’s hiding.

Then she bends down, reaches up her dress, and,hot damnif my cock isn’t going to start leaking cum.She hold up her lacy black thong, and my breath stalls.My cock presses uncomfortably against my boxers and if this continues, I’m going to shoot my load right now.

Damn it if she doesn’t go and dangle her panties from her fingers.My mouth waters at the slip of lace and satin in the stringy thong she’s twirling around.A sharp grunt escapes my mouth before I can stop it.It’s the kind of sound that betrays just how close I am to losing it.My brain hazes over, every thought vanishing before I can grasp it.

She throws her panties onto the bed, good job, too, because I’m so tempted to reach for them and sniff.And then another rock lands on me.Underneath that dress she’snakedfrom waist down.

“Cheat.”My voice is hoarse.

“How?”She sits back down.Cross-legged.

Cross-legged.

But she makes sure her dress covers her legs, spilling onto the floor, so I can’t get a peep.She’s cross-legged and bare.I want to crawl along the floor, lift up her dress, and feast on her pussy.I’d bet a million dollars, she’s dripping wet.

“How am I cheating?”Her voice is steady and calm, her expression cool as ice.She looks like a movie star from the fifties in that elegant dress which covers everything.Clearly she doesn’t want me asking questions, which means, we need to play a few more rounds, and fast.