“You. Me.” He’d punctuated each word with a soft kiss on my bare shoulder. “I need to fuck you senseless, Braxton Fawn.”

“Too bad.” Mentally, since he was still holding me, I patted my back in approval. My knees were weak, but my head was still strong.

“Afraid you’ll like it?”

“Yes.” Surprised, Loren lifted his head from the shoulder he was still kissing. “I’m afraid I’ll like it too much, and I won’t be able to stop.”

He was still grasping for something to say when two men in expensive suits appeared, spotting us as they passed. At once, their steps slowed, their gazes taking the extra time to admire me thoroughly. Loren, not missing a thing, stood up straight. That was all it took for the men to quicken their steps and hurry away.

“Please don’t get into a fight,” I pleaded with him. The men were gone, but Loren didn’t seem the least bit appeased. I could see the contemplation in his eyes to go after them. “Xavier will be pissed if you get arrested.”

“Xavier’s always pissed,” he responded dismissively.

Lacing our fingers together, he pulled me from the alcove, and we walked until we reached a large sitting room with dim lighting, a table in the center with a green felt tabletop, and a bar off to the side.

An older woman sat behind a small desk. She had red hair like mine, hers darker and shorter and reminding me of my mother. She peered over her glasses when we walked inside and smiled. The minute she stood to approach, I noticed that she was tall and busty.

“I’d say I’m surprised to see you, but that would be a lie,” she greeted Loren. She didn’t wait for Loren’s reply before her gaze drifted to me and brightened. “Although I am surprised at your choice of guest this evening. She looks too good for you.” She held out her hand for me to shake, and I accepted. “Lorraine.”

“Braxton.”

“Braxton, would you like a drink?”

“I’m fine, but thank you.”

She obviously knew Loren didn’t drink since she didn’t bother offering him one. He led me over to the table with five other men already seated, and one standing behind the cards and chips before taking the only seat left and… pulling me into his lap. I tensed up even though no one paid us any mind. It wasn’t them that made me nervous anyway.

I was sitting in Loren James’s lap.

“Are you sure this okay? I can—”

“For a quarter-million buy-in, it damn well better be,” he grumbled like the spoiled brat he was. I was still reeling over the dollar amount when he wrapped his arm around my waist and nodded at a bearded gentleman wearing a fedora across from us. Based on the look the guy gave Loren in return, they knew each other, but it didn’t go further from there.

Once Loren was settled, the cards were dealt, and the game began. I didn’t understand any of it, and Loren didn’t bother to explain. He promptly withdrew into himself as he concentrated on his hand and the cards on the table.

I was so on edge by the time the first game ended that I didn’t object when he placed his hand on my bare thigh and swept this thumb back and forth. He’d won the entire pot.

“Relax,” he whispered.

“This is a lot of money,” I whispered back. I didn’t want to embarrass him by acting like an amateur, but I couldn’t seem to keep anything in around him. “Are you sure you should bet so much? What if you lose?”

“After living both sides of the tracks, baby fawn, I’ve learned that I’m no happier with money than I am without.”

I sighed as my shoulders deflated. “Was there a time when you ever gave a fuck?” I sounded utterly drained.

“Once.” I turned just enough to catch the faraway look in his eyes. “It was a waste of time, so I wouldn’t recommend it.”

Still deep in thought, his hand drifted up, and then his fingers slipped just underneath my dress before resting there. I didn’t exhale until it was clear he wouldn’t try to finger-bang me underneath the table.

“How are you going to play if you’re groping me?”

“Easy,” he whispered back. “You’re going to play this hand for me.” As if it weren’t insane, he laid the two cards he’d just been dealt facedown on the table.

No way I was touching those cards.

“I’ll lose.” It was taking all my self-control, which was slipping out the window with him gripping my thigh like he owned me, not to yell. I didn’t want to unintentionally alert the others before I could talk him out of his asinine plan.

“So lose.” Holding me with his black gaze, his hand resumed its ascent, my leg twitching when his fingers brushed the edge of my thong. “It’s worth every penny.”

“Are you implying that I’m for sale?”

He snorted. “I know you’re not.”

“Are we playing poker, or are we watching James sniff after this girl’s panties?” snapped the guy Loren had acknowledged earlier. As soon as he was done speaking, he lifted his fedora with an apologetic tilt of his lips and revealed a bald head underneath. Shame didn’t come as easily to me these days, but I still caught the faint scent of Father Moore’s holy oil.

I started to push Loren’s hand away until I realized I wasn’t that girl anymore, and I’d miss his touch too much.

“You lose any more money, Vince, and I’ll have to take your house as collateral. I’m just giving you time to come to your senses since we both know your wife isn’t with you for your charm.” The men around the table laughed at Vince’s expense, who didn’t seem to find it as funny as they did. Without warning, Loren lifted me on my feet before standing. “Give me two minutes.”

No one said anything, and he didn’t wait for permission.

“Loren, I’m serious,” I said the moment we were alone in the hall. “I can’t do this. I can’t lose your money.”

“It’s okay. I have more.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Then, how about this? I play this hand.” I was already eagerly nodding before he finished. Smiling like he was indulging me, he rested his forearm on the wall next to my head. “But if I win, I make you come. That’s the deal.”

My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, but my vagina had a different reaction. If we had still been sitting with his hand on my thigh, I wouldn’t have been able to hide my reaction.

“What?”

“You said no one hurt you.” It was then I realized he was still obsessing over my confession. “There’s only one other thing that makes sense.”

“Do tell.” I rolled my eyes, but he never lost his serious expression.

“No one ever made it good for you. You can’t miss something you never enjoyed.”

He patiently waited for me to admit that he was right. And he was…just not about me. Needing something to do with my hands, I placed them on his chest and toyed with the sterling silver clip on his tie. It’s where I kept my gaze when I whispered as low as I could, “I do enjoy sex, Loren. I like it very much.”

I felt his muscles tense underneath my hand, and when I looked up, I found his brows dipped and his beautiful face twisted in confusion. “Then why—”

The air I’d inhaled shuddered out of me, making him abandon the question he’d been ready to ask. “I told you…if I start, I can’t stop, and…”

“And?” he prodded at the same time pressing his hips against mine when I fell silent. He seemed so desperate to get inside my head. Even though he’d done nothing to earn my trust, I still felt the need to let him.

“And no one’s ever been able to keep up with me.”

Loren’s pupils seemed to dilate as his dick grew harder and larger against me. I could feel his heart racing almost as fast as mine. “Oh, baby fawn, it’s your lucky day.” Before I could respond, his large hand gripped my ass tight enough to bruise. “Because when I start, I won’t stop until long after you’ve had enough.”

My reaction was visceral.

His promise melted into my skin, burrowing through bones and seizing my heart, gut, and lungs until it set me on fire. I wanted it that much.

Unfortunately, I was wiser now.

“I’m sure you really believe that, Loren, but I played this hand before and lost everything,” I said, speaking the language a gambling addict would understand. “You already hate me when I haven’t given you a reason. If we sleep together, you’ll finally have one.”

He stared down at me a long while, turning over my words before tossing them away. “Try me.”

A frustrated sound slipped from my lips. “I can’t, Loren. Did you forget we work together? It’s too messy.”

“Sex usually is. With me, it most definitely will be.” I didn’t respond. When it became clear I wouldn’t fall for his bait, he sighed and straightened before taking a step back. “Wait here.”

I stayed put as he told me, which was easy since I couldn’t trust my legs right now. I needed to find a bathroom to clean up. Removing my thong wasn’t possible, thanks to my decision to wear this dress. It didn’t matter because Loren returned moments later.