“But you’ll be the one begging.”
Goosebumps prickled my skin.
Danika, what are you doing? You’re playing with a completely dangerous animal. This isn’t the Nik you knew.
Ignoring my inner voice of reason, I continued the banter. “Keep dreaming.”
“Then, let’s play.”
Rising to my feet so we were at the same level, we reached for our cards at the same time and turned them over.
My queen of spades beat his seven of diamonds.
Without a word, he reached to his side, settling a small bowl near us, then unhooked his wristwatch and placed it inside.
We flipped again.
His ten of hearts beat my six of clubs.
As I reached for an earring, he shook his head. “I didn’t say you could take off jewelry.”
“You set the precedent when you took off your watch.” I unhooked one double diamond-and-sapphire teardrop piece of jewelry and placed it into the bowl.
“Something tells me that necklace of yours is individual strands.” He picked up his tumbler and sipped.
I reached for my cocktail. “You are correct. Twenty strands, to be precise.”
“And is there a blade attached to the heavy one in the center?”
He had to have heard about Novak, the rat bastard. No matter what Sam believed, he wouldn’t have been able to keep it from his brothers for long, especially Nik.
“I guess you’ll have to keep playing to find out.” I set my hand on my stack.
We played for the next ten minutes. Somehow, I lost more than I expected and my necklace stores dwindled.
“I don’t think you can play this game the same way with that bracelet. It’s one piece.”
I glanced down at the gift that meant so much to me. Jayna and Kir had given it to me after I’d earned my doctorate in cyber forensics. A degree only they knew I’d achieved.
When Kir had died, I’d lost a brother. Maybe not to the level Nik had, but he knew things about me that I was positive he’d never reveal to any of the Kings. It was a loyalty he shared with me not due to his relationship with Jayna but because he truly cared for me. I owed Kir so much. If it hadn’t been for his nagging, I’d never have pursued my graduate degrees.
“How would you know?” I glanced down at the piece on my wrist, twenty jeweled bangles connected by a hidden chain from the inside. It was designed to move as if they were individual pieces but went on and off as one single unit.
“I was there when Kir and Jayna bought it for you.”
I swallowed. Kir wouldn’t have told Nik why he was buying the bracelet.
“In fact, I told him this was a better twenty-fifth birthday present than the watch they were planning to give you.”
“Good choice. I wear it all the time. It also reminds me of Kir.” I ran a finger over the diamonds and sapphires.
He set his hand over mine, startling me. “No ghosts in here tonight. Agreed?”
“Yes.”
“How about we adjust the rules a bit?”
7
Nik
I stared into amber eyes that had grown sad as they thought of Kir. I wouldn’t let her go down a rabbit hole created by a lie I kept for my brother. One I kept out of loyalty. But a lie nonetheless.
“What rules would you change?”
“How about the winner gets to decide what comes off?”
Her lips curved up in a mischievous grin. “I say within reason. I can veto if it isn’t accessible.”
“Danika, everything I want is accessible in that dress. In fact, I plan to fuck you with that dress on.”
Her pulse jumped under my fingers but she held my gaze.
If I was anyone else, she could have made me believe I had no effect on her. Then again, I knew her. She couldn’t hide from me, even if we weren’t fifteen years older and hadn’t lived a lifetime in different worlds.
“Then I guess we’re in agreement.”
“Yes, but this time I get the kiss before the end of the game.” With one hand still holding her wrist, I threaded the fingers of my other into her hair and tugged her head back before sealing my mouth over hers.
A moan escaped her soft lips as she gripped my neck and deepened the kiss.
God, she tasted incredible, of the unique blend of elderflower and alcohol from the Firewater mixed with her own intoxicating essence. I’d dreamed of this for years, knowing what it would feel like to have Danika Dayal in my arms. For so long, it had been the fantasy of the seventeen-year-old I’d been that I carried with me but never truly believed would come to fruition.
The press of her tongue against mine had me wanting to push her back onto the table and forget about my plans to draw out the seduction I’d planned the instant she walked toward me in the gaming hall. Instead, I broke our embrace and resisted the pull of her swollen lips and desire-clouded amber gaze.
She stared up at me for a moment before saying, “If I’d known you kissed like this, I’d have kissed you before I asked for that book when I was fourteen.”
“I believe it’s a skill we’ve both developed over the years.” I rubbed my thumb over her lower lip. “Though I won’t deny it would have given me great pleasure to have been your first kiss back then.”
“Speaking of books. I never got my book.”
“You mean the worthless programing manual that belonged to the library that I stole?”
“Yes. Whatever happened to it?”
I shrugged. “Probably somewhere in the stack of books Rey keeps around in his office.”
What would she think if I told her that I knew exactly where that book was? It had been my last connection to her, to the life we had shared before we’d become strangers. I’d hidden it away long ago. Some things were better kept private.
I lived in a world where vulnerability was a weapon and if anyone realized this woman was mine, had always been, life would go from complicated to chaos.
Who was I kidding? Sooner or later, it was going to become public knowledge. Shah had always known it, and for some reason he hadn’t leveraged it.
Well, maybe he had.
I studied Danika. She’d always walked a fine line when it came to me. Tonight seemed to be the exception, and I was going to take full advantage.
“I want my book.”
Danika’s words snapped me back to the present. “Then I guess you need to finish this game and see if our business deal lasts for a very long time.”
“I’m not sleeping with you again, Nik. This is a one-night-only thing.” She tried to free the wrist I continued to hold, to no avail.
“Keep telling yourself that, Danika.” I lifted her hand and set it over her stack of cards. “Let’s play.”
She opened her mouth as if to say something. Instead, she licked her lips savoring the remnants of our kiss and then said, “Yes, let’s play.”
I released her hand and went to my pile of cards.
We flipped.
“I win.” She tapped the card to her mouth, scanning my body. “Take off your shoes.”
I lifted a brow. “Of all the things, you picked my shoes?”
She leaned forward until we were nose to nose. “To eventually see you naked, the shoes have to come off first. Aren’t those the rules?”