Theirs to Play (3 page)

“Don’t tell me you already blew away your whole summer’s allowance? The funds just hit our accounts last week.” My voice rose in the restaurant. The couple next to us ended their conversation and peered our way for a few seconds.

“I may have taken a bigger risk than I should have this past weekend in Las Vegas.”

So he’d changed up his usual stomping grounds in Monte Carlo and shifted to Las Vegas. I wonder why?

“Are you telling me that you played poker until the point where you emptied out your bank account?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but my account’s seen better days.”

Not this crap again.

We’d been through his mess last year. If I totaled up all the loans I’d given him, it would be several millions. Our parents kept us on a huge budget. If we went too far and spent it all before the next quarter deposit, they didn’t care and expected us to figure out a way to make it until the next payment. And frankly they shouldn’t have had to care, they’re financiers gave us more than half a million each quarter, which was more than enough for our pursuits. Yet, Max always lusted for more money, women, clothes, everything. Even before his gambling, he was broke before the next allowance deposit. He spent money like he lived, fast and hard. He was never satisfied, never truly happy in any given situation, except our female games and gambling.

Now your spoiled behavior is getting the best of you.

“Let’s bet six hundred thousand that I get her in bed before you,” he said.

“No.”

“You didn’t even think about it.” He held his hands out.

“If you win, what will you do with the money?”

“Go have fun.”

“Where?”

He raked his fingers through his blond hair. “Wherever the fun is at the time that I’ve got the money. What’s your problem?”

“You lost a lot and quicker than normal. That’s my problem. You still owe me from last year and now it looks like I’ll be footing the bill for all of your exploits this summer.”

“I know. I know. I’ve learned my lesson from last weekend. From now on I’ll be making smaller bets.”

“You shouldn’t even be betting at all.”

“Oh really?” He crossed his arms. “I shouldn’t bet on things besides these wagers with you?”

“This isn’t about us? This is about you having an addiction.”

“Oh please,” he hissed. “You’re addicted to this game we play with women as much as I’m addicted to the feel of cards in my hands as I sit in a casino. Admit it.”

I glanced at the front of the restaurant and spotted Dawn. She stood there waiting for the hostess to check her name in the book and show her to our table.

My brother continued saying stuff, probably things about me that would make him feel less worried about himself. Either way, I ignored it all at the sight of her.

On the beach, she’d exuded beauty in her conservative one-piece bathing suit. Although the swimming outfit covered a lot, I still spotted those thighs from several feet away and then gazed up at that wavy hair that swayed back and forth in the light ocean breeze. Something about that moment made my heart pause for a few seconds and stare at her longer. I hadn’t even told Max to follow me over, I just headed her way with the urge to hear her voice. Inside, I hoped she’d be the woman for us this summer, someone to stir up the monotonous things that happened day to day in my life.

Once she called Max out on his weak photography line, I knew she was perfect. The truly intelligent ones always gave us an increased challenge. They weren’t so easy to fool and made the game last weeks longer than others.

Tonight, this dress wrapped around her thick frame in strips of metallic colored satin—bronze cupped her breasts, gold caressed her hips, and silver formed further down until it ended at her knees. As she patiently waited by the entrance and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, an odd sensation coiled within me. I’d never experienced it before. I wouldn’t say it was magical. It wasn’t love at first sight. This was anticipation and lust in its purest forms.

My dick came to life in my pants. Hard and solid and so ready to be inside of her, I had to grip the edge of the table to keep me there. It was so unlike me, to crave without even a sample of her flesh. To yearn, without an endearing reason for why.

She hadn’t even sat down next to me and I was already impatient to be inside of her.

Max stopped whatever he was saying and glanced over his shoulder. “No wonder you’re sitting there with your mouth open and drooling.”

I closed my mouth. “I wasn’t drooling.”

“No saliva spilled out, but it was pretty close.” Max never turned back to me. His gaze also remained on her, probably following the outline of those amazing legs. She must’ve run every day. There was muscle within the luscious curve of feminine fat on her hips and perfect bottom. Why women always wanted to lose so much weight, I didn’t know. Some fat was necessary during sex. It allowed men like me to squeeze and suck.

I’m going to have so much fun with you, Dawn.

Although possessing a vibrant caramel complexion, she was more exotic than our usual targets. Wilder and unpredictable too. In the dialogue on the beach, she’d hit several records with us—the first woman to insult, threaten, and seemingly blow us off in less than five minutes. My dick pulsed with the memory.

“She cleans up well.” Max ceased with rubbing his watch. His attention was busy now and all over Dawn. He stirred in his chair.

Is she giving you a crazy effect too?

Max sighed. “If that damn hostess doesn’t hurry up and bring her to us, I’ll just do it myself.”

Yeah. She’s having the same effect on him. He’s just as impatient as I am.

“Calm down.” I grinned.

He turned back to me with his own wicked grin over his face. “Six hundred thousand for the first man that can get her in bed.”

“Not bed. I plan on taking her many places, but it won’t involve a damn mattress.” The urge throbbed all through me. “And not six hundred thousand either.”

He laughed. “For someone so confident that they’ll win, you’re pretty scared to up the ante.”

“I’m not stupid. I just don’t make wagers with people that don’t have money.”

“Oh, I have it.”

“Correction. You’ll have six hundred thousand for the next quarter, but not now. However, if I win then you won’t have any money still and I’ll be footing the bill for not only this summer, but for the fall, which means that I’ll never truly win either way.”

“Fine.” He gritted his teeth. “Let’s do two hundred thousand. That way if I lose, and I won’t, I’ll still be able to pay my portion of the bills in the fall.”

“No. Let’s bet something else, and hurry. The host just returned to the door.”

“Two hundred thousand is my final offer.”

I almost laughed at his audacity. “No.”

“Then no bet.” He shrugged. “We won’t play the game at all.”

Rage sparked into me, so quickly I hadn’t realized I would get that upset from such a simple sentence. “What do you mean we won’t play? You promised we would this summer.”

“What’s my motivation?”

“It’s fun.”

By the entrance, Dawn moved those succulent lips, probably telling the hostess her name. The other woman opened the book and nodded.

“I won’t play if we don’t put money in the wager,” Max informed me.

“That’s stupid.”

The hostess guided Dawn our way.

“It is what it is.” Max placed his hands on the table and threaded his fingers together. “Two hundred thousand on this wager or I walk.”

“Whatever.”

He rose from his chair. “I’m out of here.”

I tensed. “Are you kidding me?”

His eyes glittered with annoyance. “I never kid about betting money. Two hundred thousand or you play the game by yourself.”

With a confused expression, Dawn arrived at our table. “Hello, guys. I’m so sorry I’m late.”

I stood too, in order to not make it seem weird that Max was up. “Don’t worry. We were willing to wait as long as possible. Right, Max?”

Max scowled at me and didn’t say anything. Tension thickened in the air.

The hostess cleared her throat. “Can I get you anything before I notify your server that the whole party is here?”

“I don’t’ know.” Max tapped his watch’s surface. “What do you think, Freddy? Will I be staying?”

I directed my attention to Dawn and probably shouldn’t have. Just being close to her muddled my thoughts. Her skin glowed in the dim lightening. A sensual fragrance radiated from her—some sinful mixture of sex and many other things that I planned to discover. I wanted that scent on my sheets and pillowcases, all over my couch cushions and carpet. Knowing that I’d taken her from my brother would be the lovely icing on a designer seven-layered cake.

“Fine.” I nodded at Max. “You’re on.”

Sitting down in her seat, Dawn quirked her eyebrows, making me wish we’d finished this conversation before she got to us. The woman was too smart. We both had to be on our toes around her.

Max still hadn’t sat down. “Two hundred thousand?”

I cringed. “Yes.”

“Then let the games begin.” He winked and sat back down.

Chapter 3

~Max

I
had trapped Freddy
into the deal with the lure of a sexy woman and the excitement of our sport.

I knew my brother better than he knew himself. He worried about my gambling problem, but never considered his own addiction. He loved females too much, and got them way too easily, so easy, it bored him. There was never any competition, unless I was around. That’s when things changed for Freddy, and became uncertain.

He had insecurities. I could write a book on them.

Like most guys with our heavy wallets, we never knew if we caught women based on our wits, style, and looks or simply because of our ability to pay the bills. For rich men who owned it all, it was the little things that made us hungry. One of the biggest things a millionaire asked in his head as a sexy beauty wrapped her mouth around his erection was if she did it because she craved him, or was she doing it for the money. I never had to ask that question. The answer never changed. All women did it for the money. But the millionaire couldn’t swallow that honesty down, so he pretended it was about him as he closed his eyes and enjoyed himself.

I’m not that gullible.

I was good-looking, sure, but when a female spotted me, she saw what I could provide. I didn’t mind that. It just didn’t keep me exhilarated in going after them, so I discovered pleasures in other places.

When I win, I’ll just use half of it on a good poker game. The rest I’ll save up so Freddy won’t get his panties in a bunch, run back, and tell our parents that I have some sort of gambling problem.

And I would win Dawn. By this time, I recognized Freddy’s methods and finally figured out a way to counter them. He wrangled women with deception. This time I would trap them with the truth.

“What do you mean let the games begin?” Dawn formed her lips into a smile. “What are we playing at tonight?”

“Nothing. There’s no game.” Freddy lifted his menu. “You’ve picked an excellent restaurant, Dawn. Are you a foodie?”

She didn’t glance his way and seared me with her gaze. “What do you mean let the games begin?”

Damn you. I like you more and more. You’re smart and assertive.

I lifted my wine glass and gently twirled the amber rose liquid around the rim, making sure it never spilled, but simply shaded the glass with color. “I don’t know if I should tell you about my brother’s and my game. It may be unfair for one of us.”

“Hmmm.” Her smile never wavered or left. “Does your game involve me?”

“No.” Freddy was a bundle of nerves across from me. I could’ve wagered a million that sweat would appear if the conversation continued on its present path.

Again, she didn’t turn to him. “Does your game involve me?”

“Yes.” I held her gaze.

“Interesting.” She sipped from her glass of white wine. “Am I the prize or the means to get it?”

That question rattled me. I tip toed further in this verbal word play, making sure I formed each sentence well enough to not get trapped by her. “You’re sort of both.”

“Both?” Her smile widened. “I would love to hear more about this.”

I didn’t check Freddy’s face. I could already sense the angry glares coming from his way. If I could die from just a look, I would’ve been dead right there.

You never said we couldn’t tell the women, dear brother. Let’s see if you can win her if she knows the truth. Let’s put us both on equal footing this time.

“So should we order first or are you going to tell me all about this game that I’m soon to be a part of?” She opened up her menu and browsed over the entrees.

“How much do you want to know?” I smirked.

“As much as possible, without messing up either of your teams. There are teams right?” She glanced up over the top of her menu.

“Well, just us three are involved, but yeah. It’s sort of team Freddy and team Max.”

She returned her attention back to the menu. “Are there team jerseys?”

I laughed. “No.”

“Cheerleaders?” She winked. “Maybe even mascots?”

I risked a glance at Freddy. He was now chugging his wine down.

Oh yeah. I knocked him off his game for sure.

“No one else, but us three,” I assured her.

Freddy cleared his throat. “Let’s talk about this restaurant. You have divine taste, Dawn. I mean you—”

“Nope. I want to talk about the game.” She closed the menu. “Plus, I know what entrée I’m going to order. Have you two picked?”

“You already know what you’re ordering?” He raised his brown eyebrows. “But you’ve just sat down.”

“I’ve been dreaming of eating at this place since I moved down here. They have three signature dishes. I’m choosing my most favorite.”

“Why not choose all three?”

“Because I’m only one person.”

“No. Order all three for the table,” I interrupted. “Then we can do it family style and sample from them all.”