Play Me by Jennifer Probst - Steele Brothers Trilogy 02 - Play Me

Author:Jennifer Probst - Steele Brothers Trilogy 02 - Play Me [Probst, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Book 2, Contemporary, The Steele Brothers Trilogy
ISBN: 9781613332535
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 13559768
Publisher: Decadent Publishing
Published: 2012-03-19T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Three

“Hmmm, what time is it?”

He laughed. “It’s Vegas, baby. Does it matter?”

“You’re right. I’m parched.”

“Let me get you some water.” He rose from the bed and made his way to the elaborate wet bar. He put a few cubes in a crystal glass, poured Pellegrino and added a slice of lemon. He brought it back to the bed and watched her gulp, then slump back into the pile of down pillows.

He took her glass, re-filled it, and retrieved one for himself. He sat on the bed beside her and watched her plump lips suck on an ice cube. His cock grew hard as he imagined her sucking him off. She lifted a brow.

“Do you ever rest?”

“Not with you around. Tell me about poker.” He watched her face, wondering what had spooked her in the past. Or who.

“What do you want to know?” she asked lightly.

“Not many little girls grow up to be world renowned poker players. How did you get involved with the business?”

He wondered if she’d tell the truth or lie. His gut screamed she wasn’t afraid of the truth, and reminded him of a fierce warrior—forever loyal once she belonged to a man. He wondered how many men she’d claimed, and jealousy burned like a shot of whiskey.

“I grew up as a vagabond. My mom took off when I was young and my dad raised me. Unfortunately, my dad gambled and ran con jobs for a living. He loved it all: horseracing, slots, tables. He couldn’t drag me to the casinos until I turned legal, but he gave me an education early.”

“How so?”

She shrugged elegant shoulders and stared at the ice in her glass. “He taught me how to pickpocket. How to use my age to distract a mark. Got me a fake ID, dressed me up, and took me into the casinos.”

The reality of her childhood struck him hard in the gut. “What about school?”

“I went here and there. Mostly, I educated myself. I became obsessed with books—all kinds. Classics, poetry, business. I started reading psychology and found the art of reading people. Ticks, facial expressions, how people lied. I graduated with a street education that served me well.” She hmphed in disdain. “Stupid people spend thousands for a degree when they can get anything they need free. Anyway, something clicked with poker. I loved math, and had a photographic memory. I also got my father’s skill.”

He raised an eyebrow in question. She gave a twisted smile. “The luck of the Irish, of course. Unfortunately, my dad liked the drink as much as the gambling.”

“What happened?”

Darkness stole over her face for a second. She pushed it away with an expert ease he recognized immediately. “Found him passed out in a hotel with an empty bottle at his side. He’d had a heart attack and died on the spot.”

“How old were you?”

“Nineteen. Old enough to get by myself.”

He nodded as if he agreed and understood. Inside, his heart stopped, before the beats resumed. “But you still weren’t old enough to gamble legally.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.