The light grew dimmer as we walked farther down the corridor. Just as it grew pitch black, we stopped and Nik placed his hand on a wall plate and a door opened.
We entered an office that I could only describe as a converted speakeasy, with old-fashioned wood paneling, a bar in the corner, and gaming tables at various spots in the room. The only giveaway that it was an office was the large desk sitting in front of a panel of monitors.
“Impressive.”
“Rey thinks it is.”
“How long have you been connected to The Library?”
“From its inception. My brothers and I own it.” He watched me as he gave his answer.
Well, damn. The Kings weren’t just tied to the owners, they were the fucking owners. It was going to take me a while to get over the fact I hadn’t known Nik was behind The Library. I was supposed to be the best when it came to information. I guessed I wasn’t the perfect super sleuth I thought I was.
“If Rey wants to upgrade your tech, tell him to give me a call. I’ll work with him to make sure you have the best cybersecurity available.”
Nik stopped midstep, turning slightly in my direction, and narrowed his gaze. “If you ever do business with any of the brothers, it will be with me.”
Well, okay then.
Normally I’d have made some smartass remark about possessive men being a turnoff but with Nik, it was a completely different story.
And the fact the close proximity of his body was playing havoc with my head wasn’t helping.
“Marking your territory, King?”
He leaned forward as if to kiss me. “I did that over fifteen years ago, Dayal.”
Before I could respond, he shifted, moving in the direction of a stocked bar, and poured two drinks. One was a healthy serving of Firewater, a whiskey that cost over a thousand dollars an ounce, and the other was the same amount of Macallan 25.
He brought the two tumblers over to a card table that was ready for a game.
“Here you go. I know you prefer the finer things.” He set the Firewater down and gestured to the fabric-covered chair.
I moved to the table and took a seat, letting the slit of my dress ride up so Nik had a prime view of my leg.
Heat flared in the depths of his brown eyes, making my pulse jump.
“You do like to play with fire, don’t you?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” I said as I circled the rim of my glass with the tip of my index finger.
The moment I’d slid my palm across his in the bar, I’d known there would be no going back. We’d circled each other for too long.
Hell, I’d anticipated it, expected it.
But now that I was here, the bravado I’d felt had vanished.
No other man I’d ever encountered had this effect on me. No other man pushed at my control. If I wasn’t careful, he’d make me vulnerable, but I needed him for my plan and I couldn’t be indebted to him more than I could handle.
“So, the Little Rabbit hasn’t learned the dangers of challenging the most vicious predator in the room.”
“Stop calling me that. And for the record, don’t ever underestimate the rabbit, Nik.”
“In my world, rabbits are prey.”
I lifted my chin. “I’m no one’s prey.”
He leaned down, tracing a finger from the hollow of my throat where my necklaces sat to my lips. “I believe you’re correct. Underneath the trappings of the perfect society princess is a predator ready to take out everyone who’s dared to harm her.”
I gave him no reaction. Just stared into his hypnotizing black eyes.
How could he read me this way? It was as if he’d seen into my soul.
This was what made him so dangerous.
Not the fact he dealt in favors. Or the fact he expected something from me and I had no idea what it was. Maybe it was this thing we’d had since we were children. He’d been able to see past my shields to the things I desired most. To the things I wanted to keep from everyone.
I couldn’t respond to him without revealing too much. Instead I shifted, removing his touch. One I missed the second it was gone. “Are we going to play or should I go home?”
He rose and then took the seat next to me, his knee brushing my leg. “Is that what you want? To go home?”
There was no going home. He knew it as much as I did.
“I want to play.”
“And if your uncle finds out—” he paused and then said with a smirk, “—that you played with me?”
“The only way he’d find out is if you told him.”
He lifted a brow with slight amusement. “Don’t you think any of the people who watched you leave with me will say anything?”
I shook my head. “Just as I have secrets, they have secrets they want kept hidden. Plus, aren’t the house rules, who you see and what you see happen on game night stay within the walls of The Library?”
He set a hand on my bare thigh. “Then you also know the club rule that all debts are paid at the end of the night. No exceptions.”
My core clenched and flooded with arousal.
“I haven’t lost. It may be you who’ll have to pay up.”
“From what I learned earlier tonight, you’ve beaten the house every time you’ve played.”
I could no longer hide the unsteadiness of my breath. His fingers flexed on my skin, shooting sparks up my body.
“We will see if your luck holds out.”
Pushing his hand off, I sat back and tucked my legs under the table. “Deal.”
“Just so you know. We’re playing for clothes.”
I glanced to my side. “Strip poker?”
“No. I was thinking something a little different.” He shuffled a deck of cards and split it in two, setting a half stack in front of each of us.
I lifted my gaze to his. “Are you serious? Strip war?”
“Why not? It’s not as if we haven’t played this game before.”
The last time was on the steps of Rich’s corner shop a week before everything had changed. My young fourteen-year-old heart had felt so much for the boy Nik had been and I’d known he’d cared for me too.
I shook the thoughts back. That was a world away from the one we lived in now.
“Yes, but we were teenagers playing for the deck.”
“Very true. This is the adult version where we play for clothes. We aren’t going for speed. We flip at the same time, and the high card keeps their clothes and the lower card discards an item.”
“I see.” I closed my eyes for a second, trying to calm my nerves. I could keep my cool with every other man, but put me in a room with Nikhil King and I lost my wits.
It wasn’t as if I hadn’t known that things would be anything but simple with Nik—simple wasn’t his way. Why would sex be the exception?
We were going to fuck. There was no doubt about that. And when it happened, I had a feeling I was going to relive it for the rest of my life.
The fact he was actually going to make the experience into a game was something I hadn’t expected. I’d come in here ready to go along with the farce of playing poker but this was something else.
“Scared, Danika?”
My stomach jumped, feeling his warm breath along my neck.
When had he moved?
Gathering my wits, I glanced over my shoulder and said in the most nonchalant way I could, “Not a chance, King. You’re the one who’s going to be naked when this is over.”