Seven-Card Stud by Ava Drake

Author:Ava Drake [Drake, Ava]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63477-565-6
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

OLIVER spent the afternoon watching the secret tapes of other players and their hold cards. It was cheating, which made him feel surprisingly guilty. At least he knew he hadn’t inherited his sire’s completely amoral business instincts. That was a relief. George Elliot was widely known to be a barracuda who would not hesitate to destroy anyone or anything in the name of making a few more bucks.

Given that his opponents were killing each other, Oliver supposed he shouldn’t feel too guilty about studying the tapes. Still. This whole tournament was an ugly business. The name of the game here was to win at all costs. All costs. It left a nasty taste in his mouth. Nasty enough that he didn’t care anymore if he was the best poker player on earth or not. Nasty enough that it reminded him of his father.

He’d been pretending ever since he’d gotten that all-expense-paid e-mail invite to this event that it didn’t smack of George Elliot. His father had always worshiped minds that were quicker than his, particularly in mathematical and computer fields. George took huge pleasure in having power over brilliant people. Made him feel intellectually superior, Oliver supposed. Whatever. He wanted nothing to do with his old man, regardless of what made the bastard tick.

Were it not for Collin being elbow-deep in this mess, he would walk away from this damned tournament right now, George or no George hiding behind the scenes pulling the strings. But he had no intention of abandoning Collin to these thugs and hustlers. He would get eaten alive.

Whenever Oliver ran across something interesting or revealing about one of the remaining players in the play tapes, he shared it with Collin. After all, the object was for one or both of them to stay in the game long enough to find out who was running it and why. And sharing the stolen information about how the other players really bet made him feel a tiny bit less guilty about having it.

Collin had been uncharacteristically quiet since that phone call had come in. Like he was preoccupied with something at work. Should Oliver push to know what it was, or leave it alone? Hard to tell with Collin. Sometimes, he was an open book, and at others, he held his metaphorical cards very close to the chest. The guy might be uptight, but Oliver guessed that was not his natural temperament. The trick was to get him out of his head enough to let down his hair and relax more. Easier said than done, though.

Collin had taken a break from staring at e-mails on the El Rocca server and was in the shower—and Oliver was seriously considering joining him—when Collin’s laptop beeped to indicate an incoming e-mail. He should leave it alone. It was private, right? But hell, he was cheating at cards; why not cheat a little at love? He’d already jumped off the ethical cliff, after all. Collin’s laptop was open. All he had to do was lean over and touch the mouse pad to wake up the screen.

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