House Rules (2 page)

“Call.” I needed one more of them to fold before I could force Wasden’s hand.

“Eight grand.”

I looked at Wasden, only just managing to keep the shock from my face. Normally, the man was very conservative when he increased the pot. But this time, he’d more than doubled it in one round. He lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his neck as he pushed all of his chips forward. He knew the house rules. He must have honestly thought he had a chance to beat me. Then again, the probability of being dealt a pair of Kings was so low, most people didn’t expect it.

Carson’s eyes were wide as he slid his cards to the center of the table. Most likely he’d been bluffing from the beginning and hoped his high bid would scare people out. “Fuck, that’s it for me. I’m not going home to my wife empty handed.”

Two down. Two to go. I dropped my chips onto the pile. “Ten.”

Wasden’s eyes practically bulged out of his skull. “What?” he whispered.

“Ten grand?” Sullivan repeated. “That shit’s way too much for me.” He slid his cards to the center.

I turned my attention back to Wasden. He sat there, frozen, staring at the pot in front of him. When he finally looked up, his eyes were haunted.

“I’m already all-in.”

I could have felt bad for the guy and given him a break. Ashton probably would have. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t my style.

“You know the house rules, Ray. You either match the bet or forfeit the pot.”

I’d instituted the rule a few years ago when I installed the new poker tables into the place. Getting rich quick on sports betting was one thing, but poker, that was just an insult to the game. A few young idiots came in hoping to hit it big by bluffing and pushing their chips all-in during the first round, forcing everyone else to call them. It pissed the other players off. When one guy almost took out one of the punks in my establishment, I talked to Dad. Neither of us wanted to call for cleanup every night because of that bullshit. So I made it a house rule.

Anyone who sat down at my tables knew the rules before any chips were set in front of them, including Ray Wasden. If it were at all possible, his hands shook even more when he ran one through his hair. He glanced at the cards on the table and then over to the pile of chips that sat before me. He swallowed hard.

His head snapped up, eyes bright. “What if I don’t bet cash?”

I crossed my arms over my chest. What in the hell was he up to? “What could you possibly have on you worth two grand?”

I knew enough to know, even from this distance, that his watch was some cheap knockoff. Beyond that, he didn’t have anything else on that might pay the difference.

“A night with Theresa.”

My eyes narrowed. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“You can have a night with Theresa.”

How the fuck did my brother and I end up in these situations? I’d never met this Theresa. All I knew about her was that she took no shit from Wasden. My guess was the only reason she kept going back was money. Not that the little shit made a lot of it, but from what he said it was a hell of a lot more than her. He leapt from his seat and went over to the bar. What I hadn’t expected was for him to take the hand of the brunette I’d been watching earlier and lead her over to the table.

“Miller, this is Theresa. If you win, she’s yours for the night.” He pushed his chest out and held his head high but he wasn’t confident. A confident man doesn’t tremble like Ray Wasden was. Which made it all the more obvious that he
needed
to win this money.

But why?

It became very clear that the only reason he was willing to offer his girlfriend up was he thought he couldn’t lose. Desperation does strange things to people. For a moment, I sat back and pretended to contemplate his offer, when what I was really doing was checking out my winnings.

Her legs were tan and seemed even longer this close up. Her dress was also shorter than I had first noticed. One wrong move and her ass cheeks would peek out below the hem. The deep V in her neckline exposed smooth, creamy skin in the valley between her breasts. My cock hardened. The last three women I’d had below me in bed were nothing but a disappointment. Hell, it was the main reason I never waited until the morning to kick them out and send them on their way.

Her head snapped in his direction. “Ray! What the hell are you thinking?”

Wasden leaned over to whisper in her ear. Since he had to speak over the music playing throughout the room I could hear exactly what he said. “Don’t worry, babe. I’ve got this in the bag. I just need to throw in something enticing to call the pot and make up the difference.”

Her nostrils flared. “You’d better be right.”

Theresa stood, arms crossed over her chest, staring at the game. By now all the attention in the room had turned to our table. This shitshow needed to be over soon. I wasn’t making any money if everyone abandoned their tables to watch what was going on a mine.

“Fine. Flip ’em.” I said, forcing the issue.

I’d have time to inspect my winnings later. Much later, back at my place. I’d never force a woman into my bed, but damn if I wouldn’t do my best to convince the woman in front of me there was no better place to be.

“Full house.” Turning the cards, the ten of clubs and diamonds came into view.

Theresa clearly knew something about poker because her shoulders relaxed and her arms dropped to her side. Wasden entwined his fingers with hers.

In a deliberate move, I flipped each card over slowly. The first King came into view and Wasden swallowed hard. When I flipped over the next one, the card landing right under Wasden’s nose, taunting him with the gravity of his mistake, it was with the huge satisfaction of watching Wasden’s head turn slowly from the cards on the table, to the gorgeous woman beside him. Her eyes never left the table as she snatched her hand from his.

“I . . . I thought . . . I never expected,” Wasden mumbled to himself.

“Forget it.” Theresa squared her shoulders, which was probably meant to make me take her seriously when all it really did was emphasize the curve of her chest in that dress. “No one in this room is getting anything from me just because my
ex
-boyfriend thinks it’s okay to use me as collateral in a poker game. Not happening.”

For a moment she glared at me, then spun on her heel and grabbed her purse from the bar before storming back over to the table. The flush of her cheeks made it even harder to control my errant dick, and I couldn’t stop the smirk that rose to my lips as she continued her tirade. That fiery spark would be so much fun to enjoy later. Even with all of her talking, I still knew she would end up spending at least a few hours in my bed. She had yet to consider the one thing I could hold over her any moment I wanted to.

“I’m out of here.”

She turned and almost made it to the door before I spoke up, not once letting my voice rise. There was no need to yell. Everyone in the place knew when I addressed the room, it was the end of all other conversation.

“That’s fine.” She whirled around to face me. She’d thought it was over. How very wrong. “Charlie, Dean, take Mr. Wasden out and remind him of why we don’t bet beyond our means.”

The flush in her cheeks disappeared almost instantly, drawn from her face at the realization of what my words meant.

Charlie and Dean walked over from where they were sitting at the bar. Both men were huge, more imposing than anyone else in the room, and her eyes never left them as Charlie reached out and wrapped his hand around Wasden’s bicep.

“No!” Theresa tried to install herself between the men and Ray.

“No?” I asked innocently. “You said you were leaving. Wasden still owes me two grand.”

“You can’t hurt him.”

“I can do whatever the fuck I want. Ray knows the rules. He has two choices: pay his debt, or deal with the consequences.”

“Consequences?”

“Yes, consequences. What do you care? You said you were leaving.”

I turned my attention back to Charlie and Dean. Wasden’s face was white as a sheet. His eyes pleaded with Theresa to stay. As twisted as it might have seemed, I found a sick sort of satisfaction in watching it all play out.

“I was. I am.”

I watched her hair flick behind her as she turned for the door then I nodded at Charlie, who flicked his wrist, pulling Wasden’s arm back until a distinctive snap echoed around the room. Ray screamed, the sound pitiful to anyone’s ears. Theresa’s head snapped around.

“Holy shit.” She glared at me. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Oh, little one, that list is entirely too long to get into right now.” I gestured toward where Wasden lay sprawled on the floor, clutching his arm to his body and rocking back and forth. “Now do you mind getting out of the way. Since you’re not coming home with me tonight, I need to finish up so I can find someone who will.”

“Oh my god.”

She scanned the room. Maybe she was looking for a friendly face, or perhaps some indication of what she was up against. Either way, she wasn’t going to find an answer she liked. Her choices were simple: leave alone and the boys would kick the shit out of Wasden, or leave with with me and the sniveling rat would only be nursing the broken arm he’d suffered so far.

Endless minutes seem to pass while she stood there, deciding what to do. Eventually she raised her eyes to meet mine. In that moment I knew I’d won. I always won. But this victory? So much sweeter.

“I’ll do it. I’ll go with you. For one night only.”

I nodded, trying and failing to keep the smirk from my face. “One night.”

Something told me this wouldn’t be the same monotonous ride I’d been on every time I brought a woman home. This woman had spark and I knew that if I could get her to let her guard down, she’d willingly climb into my bed before the night was through.

“Thank you, babe. I will make this up to you. I swear.” Wasden, ever the pathetic fool, whimpered at her feet, his tear-streaked face bloated and blotchy. How he had ever hooked this one was a mystery.

“You,” she snarled, “will never come near me again.” Her foot shot out fast, no one in the room expecting it, and connected with its target—right between Wasden’s legs. 

Every man in the room twisted their bodies in a way that would protect their nuts, just in case she should she decide to continue her rampage. Wasden clutched at his groin with his good hand. I’d be surprised if the man was capable of ever getting his dick to stand up again after a shot like that.

She picked up her purse from where it had dropped to the floor and turned to face me. “Let’s get this over with. Just don’t make me stay here.”

I glanced at my watch. Still time for dinner. I wasn’t in the business of raping women and if I wanted to slide between her legs, I needed to wine and dine her a little bit. I held my arm out. “Let’s go.”

By the end of the night, she’d be mine.

CHAPTER 2

Theresa

Ignoring the groans of pain that echoed around the room, I looked at the arm being offered to me. This man had just won a night with me in a poker game. Never in my life could I have imagined those words would run through my brain. It was fair to say my life had been colorful thus far, but this was all very Indecent Proposal, but without the Hollywood cast and with a healthy dose of WTF.

The man who’d won a night with me in a poker game.

How in the hell did I let myself get into these situations? I was about to leave with the man who just had his man break Ray’s arm. And I knew it had to be broken because not one person in that room could have missed the sound of it snapping. My stomach lurched. I had to be certifiable if I thought this was a good idea.

Glancing at his proffered arm one last time, I swallowed back the bile that had risen up my throat and looped my arm through his, my fear of what would happen if I didn’t go much greater than my fear of what might happen if I did.

The man exuded power; from his tailored suit to the grace with which he carried himself. And yet, that was all a façade. There, below the surface, if one looked hard enough, you could see the flicker in his eyes, the danger simmering there. Behind all of his carefully erected borders was a man who was used to getting his way and I’d stake my life that when he didn’t, he was a force to be reckoned with.

He glanced down at my arm, then back up to my eyes. “Dinner?”

With no choice but to agree, I nodded, unwilling to chance talking in case my voice cracked. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing he scared the hell out of me with his cold, calculating manner. The thought alone made my knees tremble. Thankfully, I was holding onto him.

He led us through the door and into the front of the bar. Once the door was firmly closed behind us, we made our way down the narrow hallway until we reached the end where we stepped out into an average looking nightclub.  The dance floor took up the majority of the space, with a stage for the DJ to one side.  A bar surrounded the other three sides of the dance floor. All the walls were black, letting the lights moving through room reflect off the paint. In one corner there was a stairwell, blocked by a rope and a bouncer. It led to a balcony that looked over the dance floor.

The people in the place were completely oblivious to the fact that illegal gambling tournaments happened right under their noses, every day. Ray had to have a special key to get into the room, not to mention the money to afford the buy-in at the table. How he had gotten it was beyond me. Apparently tonight hadn’t been his first night, but it was the first time he’d taken me along.

He’d promised drinks at a nice bar, which, in fairness, they’d had in the back, and dinner at a fancy restaurant, which I hadn’t had. None of his promises included a night with an absolute stranger.

My stomach growled at the thought of food and I clenched my abdominals, praying he wouldn’t hear it. He maneuvered me through the crowds, his arm dropping to my waist, his fingers pressing in slightly as if to hold me in place. Not that I was going anywhere; I was far too terrified.