“Of course not! Frankie said a party needed a card dealer.”
“I can escort you out of here without any problems if you want to cancel.”
“I can get myself out of here. I don’t need a man to rescue me. But I want the money. I just don’t want to strip for it.”
“What if I help you out?”
“How?”
“I’ll sit at the table. We can play strip poker, but we’ll make sure the dealer keeps her clothes. Between the two of us we could manage to make you the house favorite to win.”
If anyone else had said it, I wouldn’t believe it possible. But if Caleb was playing, then I was willing to take the risk.
“I’m in.”
“You owe me. The last thing I want to see is man junk everywhere.”
“What would I owe you?”
“Does it matter? You never paid the last time.”
“I would have, but you acted like a scoundrel.”
“A scoundrel?” He chuckled. “Hardly! I acted as any man would.”
“My point exactly.”
He smirked. “The strip-poker table is open!” Caleb called out.
He winked and took his seat. I didn’t mind that he was seated farther from me. I had to focus on the game, not the times Caleb’s arm or leg brushed against mine . . . or how the warmth spread its way through me.
Since it was strip poker—and I was part of the game—I had to play as well as deal. As the table filled with men, I shuffled the cards and had everyone ante up with an article of clothing. The problem was most of the men were only wearing swim trunks. So I ended up seeing a lot of anatomy I didn’t want to see—especially since it was cold, wet, and wilted. I placed my shoe on the table as my ante.
“That’s not fair,” a player said. “She has all her clothes on, and I’m sitting here naked.”
“It’s fair,” Caleb said. “You should’ve worn more clothes if you’re going to sit at a strip-poker table. Anyway, it’ll be a sweeter victory once she’s lost all her clothes.”
The man nodded though his eyes were narrow. Caleb tugged off his shirt and flung it into the pot. My eyes traced the lines on his chest and arms.
He smiled. “Are you going to deal or stare?”
“Shut up,” I said and dealt the first hand.
“How does this work?” the guy next to me asked. “I’m all-in with my swimsuit. I can’t place any more bets.”
“Then prepare to lose your swimsuit,” Caleb said. “I’m going all-in with pocket aces.” He laid his cards on the table, and there was an all-around groan.
I silently laughed and dealt the flop. I didn’t have to deal the turn or the river because the flop revealed two more aces, making a four of a kind for Caleb. Everyone cursed and threw in their hands. Caleb grinned as he knocked out five players in one hand, making them naked and me one shoe down.
It didn’t take long for the men to catch on. The next group that sat down had all their clothes on with accessories—such as hats, watches, and towels—wrapped around them.
I glanced uneasily at Caleb. He grinned and slid my shoe under the table. He then shrugged his shirt back on. I was a little disappointed and relieved at the same time.
By three in the morning, most of the men at the party were naked and passed out drunk.
“I think you can call it a night,” Caleb said. “Between the two of us, we have three laundry baskets full of clothes and only a few remaining men that have any left.”
“I guess we can give them back.”
“Let’s wait until you’re outside and on your way home before we do that.”
“Do you think any of them are sober enough to be a menace to my clothed state?”
“No, but I don’t think they’d chase after you without any clothes either.”
“You pick some strange people to associate with.”
“I do? Care to tell me about some of the people you associate with?”
I shook my head. Mine wouldn’t be any better. “Let me call a taxi.”
“You didn’t fix your car?”
“No. I lost the tournament and had to fly home with Uncle Santos.”
“The old guy at Sergio’s party who stunk up the place?”
“Yes, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Let me give you a ride home. It’ll make me feel better if I knew you got home safe, and I can collect the trophy.”
“Okay.”
“Then maybe you could give me a tour of your bedroom.”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“All I’m asking for is a tour. If you can’t keep your hands off me, that’s your problem.”
“After seeing all the interesting anatomy here, I don’t want to see any more. It’s disturbing. In fact, I might have to join a convent to hide from the horror.”
Caleb grinned. “It has been a disturbing evening, hasn’t it? But you have yet to witness my full power of seduction.”
“Power of seduction?”
He lifted his finger to touch my lower lip. “You know you’d love it. Care to wager?”
Oh boy! I shook my head. “No wagers! I will never wager with you again.”
His blue eyes glinted with something other than alcohol. “You haven’t even heard the wager.”
No way! He’ll make the stakes too tempting to pass up, and I’ll lose like I always do. But what’s the harm in hearing him out? I can tell him no. I’m strong enough.
“What’s the wager?” I asked flatly.
He smirked. “Couldn’t resist, could you?”
I cocked my head to the side and waited for his answer. He wrapped me in his arms, and I lost all ability to stay cool. He was warm and firm. My thighs burned from his contact. The swelling of inappropriate places made me curse the day I’d met him.
“Would you get on with it?” I asked. I might have fooled him with my aloofness had my voice not cracked from the strain of keeping my body vertical.
His eyes darkened as his voice deepened. “I will take my time and seduce all of your senses. Believe me, you will never have been so thoroughly entranced by the time I’m finished with you. Thereby making you lure me into your bed,” he said. A soft, promising kiss brushed across my lips before he whispered, “I wager I can make you beg for me. If I succeed, then I win. If you don’t want me after I’ve thoroughly captivated you, then you win. Afterwards, I might let you have me either way.”
I think I just drooled.
“What are you putting up for this wager?” I asked.
“Other than allowing you to take me however you want, I’ll put up one million dollars.”
I coughed and sputtered. Holy crap!
“Are you okay?” he asked innocently while rubbing my back to help alleviate my coughing attack.
“Are you insane?”
“Not at all. I have money, and I know what I want. I love a good wager. You seem to be a sucker for them as well. It’s what I like about you. Not many women are able to throw themselves into a wager like you do.”
“What would I be putting up? I obviously can’t put up money.”
“You. For a year.”
I coughed and sputtered again. He’s going to give me a heart attack.
“You want me as a sex slave for a year?” I squeaked, shocked that I could even think the words, let alone say them.
His head dropped back with a laugh. “Not a sex slave. Although it does sound very intriguing. Just so you know, I wouldn’t say no. So, feel free to counter the wager.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“That you’d be mine for an entire year. Think of it as being a girlfriend with a lot of perks.”
“Why? We wouldn’t be good together. By the end of the year we would hate each other. And you can find a girlfriend just by walking into a room.”
“Already thinking you’re going to lose, aren’t you? You must be pretty sure about my capabilities at seducing a woman. And, you’re the one that’s high-strung. I’ve
never once been mad at you.”
“Even the time I borrowed your car?”
“If you don’t ask for it, and you don’t bring it back, it’s called stealing. And once I knew it was you, I thought it was hot.”
“How come whenever there’s a wager between us it’s my virtue on the line?”
Caleb bit his lip in attempt not to laugh. “Your virtue? Are you so innocent?”
“I just mean you always put up an item, and I always put up myself.”
“Do you have anything you’d like to wager?”
Crap! I don’t have anything except for myself. “No.”
A million dollars! All I’d have to do is not beg him to have sex with me. That wouldn’t be hard. I’ve never begged him to have sex with me before. And if I lost, a year as Caleb’s girlfriend would be heaped with benefits. No. I can’t lose. We would be fighting by the first week.
“How long does this offer stand?”
His blue eyes softened. “Forever, Nadia.”
I lost myself in his eyes for a moment. Forever? I cleared my throat. “I’ll need to think. This is way too big to decide right now.”
“Fair enough. Let me take you home.”
I nodded and picked up my purse. It was the only thing I was capable of doing at the moment.
Caleb heaped the clothes onto the table for the men to find when they woke up.
The bartender was closing up and was half clothed when she said to me, “Thanks for an entertaining evening. I’ve never had more fun watching men lose their clothes. Can you tell me where you work next so I can request gigs with you?”
“This was a mistake. I’m hoping to never work another gig in my life.”
“Oh, bummer. Normally I have to work with leering men. But this time they were focused on blending in without any clothes.”
I smiled at her and was very thankful not to have her job.
I opened the apartment door for Caleb. A green cloud of smoke escaped, and the fumes choked us.
“What the hell is going on?” I asked as I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt collar.
“What damn fool leaves a box filled with Styrofoam in the oven?” Muffin asked as she frantically waved an oven mitt in the air.
The oven door was wide open, and a charred box smoldered inside, puffing green smoke clouds into the air.
“Close the oven door before we all die,” I said, racing to open the windows.
Muffin closed the oven door, but the stench and smoke remained.
“Why are you cooking now?”
“I heard a noise, so I investigated. But no one was here. Then I had a hankering for pie. I had a frozen pie, so I preheated the oven. The little light turned off and I was going to stick the pie in, but green smoke started billowing out. Who leaves a box in the oven?”
“I do. I don’t use the oven, and I was storing Caleb’s trophy.” Uh-oh! I peeked over at Caleb.
“That was my trophy?”
“Uh, yes. It might be okay. We can take a look once it cools off.”
“I had the perfect spot picked out for the trophy. It was going to be the pinnacle of my collection.”
“Caleb, I’m so, so, so, so sorry!”
“I’m kidding. I don’t care about the trophy. But I’m interested in seeing what it looks like. It’s supposed to be gold, but they might have added some cheap filler in the middle of it.”
“Feel free to take a peek. Just cover your mouth in case there’s still smoke in the box.”
I covered my nose and mouth with my shirt again as he opened the oven door. He slipped on oven mitts and took the box out of the oven. Setting the box onto the stove, he lifted a box flap to have a look. The angry green smoke spouted out.
“The Styrofoam didn’t make it. It’s curled and brown. Do you have a spoon or something to dig the trophy out?”
I dug through my kitchen drawer and handed him a long-handled spoon. He stirred the Styrofoam until he found what he was searching for. He extracted a twisted, lumpy piece of metal substance. Or maybe it was plastic. It was hard to tell since it was curled and dulled from the smoke.
“Is that your trophy?” Muffin asked. “It doesn’t look like one.”
“I kind of like it,” Caleb said. “It’s rather artsy now. Maybe we could submit it to an art show.”
“I don’t think they’d want it,” I said, scanning the monstrosity.
“You can have it.”
“I don’t want it.”
“Are you saying you don’t want my trophy after I sent it to you for safekeeping and you stuck it in the oven to become a blob of . . . art?”
“I’m keeping it for pity’s sake?”
“Yep. I think it’ll look great on the coffee table,” he said.
“Is it cooled off?”
“Yes, it’s cool enough.”
I plunked the unrecognizable glob on the table.
“That ain’t half bad,” Muffin said. “What’s that thing poking out the middle?”
I squinted at the black speck on the side of the trophy. “I don’t know. Maybe a defect, but the whole thing is a defect now. I’m getting a headache,” I said. “These fumes aren’t going away.”
“We should let the place air out,” Caleb said.
“Yes, you go home. Muffin, Gus, and I will stay with Frankie.”
“Are you sure?” Caleb asked. “I would offer for you to stay with me, but my place was broken into and trashed yesterday. It’s going to take days to clean it.”
“That’s horrible! Did they steal anything?”
“Not that I can see. I’m not sure what the person was searching for, but I don’t think they found it since my entire place is trashed.”
“Can you hire a cleaning service to help you? Or I can help.”
“It’s not so bad. I’m tossing things as I go. I already have a donation pile.”
“Donation?” Muffin perked. “Hey, I want in. Can I be your first donation recipient?”
“You can have all of it.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “My brain cells are withering by the second.”
Caleb kissed me and lingered for a moment. “You’ll think about the wager, right?”
“I think it’s the only thing I’m going to think about for a while. You really know how to mess with a girl.”
“It’s what I live to do, especially if that girl is you.” He placed a gentle kiss on my nose. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes, the Nadia revival party is tomorrow. I’ve never been to a revival party. Am I supposed to bring anything?”
“Just a rock for me to crawl under.”
He chuckled and kissed me on the cheek before he left.
I retrieved a package of hot dogs from the refrigerator and baited Gus to lumber down his kitty stairs from the couch and downstairs to Frankie’s apartment. Muffin followed.
When I knocked on Frankie’s door, it swung open. I peeked in. The inside of Frankie’s apartment was a scattered mess. Frankie liked to keep his place spotless and organized. Something was wrong. Muffin and I looked at each other.
“Frankie?” I called out.
“What?” Frankie asked from behind us. We both jumped in surprise.
“Your door was open.”
“I locked my door,” he said, pushing past us into his apartment. He sputtered as he gasped at the state of his apartment. “Wha-ha-ha . . . what happened?”
“Looks like you’ve been broken into,” Muffin said.
“I can see that, but why? Oh, no!” he cried and flew through the apartment. I ran after him and found him in his room. “They’re safe,” he said, kneeling next to his shoes.
“You were worried about your shoes?”
“These are fine Italian leather. You wouldn’t understand. You only own two pairs of shoes.”
“That’s not true.”
He eyed me.
“I might own three pairs of shoes. Four if you count my work go-go boots
.”
“Either way, my shoes are safe. But this mess needs to be cleaned up. Good thing you’re both here to help.”
“I’m not helping,” Muffin said. “I still didn’t get my pie. This place is worse than a war zone. I hear noises, there are booby-traps in the oven, people get broken into, I get gassed out, and I still have no pie. This place ain’t right.”
“You could always go to your place,” I said.
“Not until I get my inheritance.”
“It better be before the annulment period ends, because I can’t be married. I’m a vibrant bachelor!” Frankie said.
“Don’t worry about it, sweet cheeks. Clean up this mess, and I’ll make pie.”
“Why can’t you go upstairs and make pie?” he asked.
“Nadia booby-trapped the oven and now there are swirling green toxic fumes.”
“I didn’t booby-trap the oven. I just don’t use it.”
“Where are you sleeping tonight?” he asked.
“Here.”
“Oh, no! I can’t have two women and a cat staying with me.”
“It’s just one night, and you’re married to Muffin. You have to keep her. Gus and I can sleep on the chapel couch.”
“It’s okay,” Muffin said to Frankie. “I’ll take the bed so you don’t disturb me with cleaning. You can sleep on the couch when you’re done.”
Frankie leveled a cutting glance. “Your apartment isn’t that bad, is it?”
I smiled. “It’s worse than bad. You wanted a percentage of the inheritance. This is your thing; you deal with it.”
I pulled out a hot dog so Gus would follow me to the chapel. I heard threads of bickering coming from Frankie’s apartment.
“You may want to close your door,” I called.
The vibration of a slamming door echoed all the way to the chapel. I snickered. Gus and I snuggled on the couch and passed out.
It was still dark when I opened my eyes. Gus was stretched next to me. He was too tubby to curl up like a normal cat, so he tended to suck up more space. So we could both fit on the couch, I curled around him. After an hour, I switched my position and ended throwing one of my legs over the back of the couch so Gus could remain where he was. My leg had no blood flowing through it. The tingles and needle spikes rampaged through my leg as I placed it on the ground.
High Stakes Page 7
