All In

by Nell Stark

  Nova looked into the crowd where she had last seen TJ. Vesper was now standing beside him. Vesper, who had read her as a typical Casanova from the moment they met. Vesper, whose suspicions had been confirmed when Emily had come to visit.

  Vesper had typecast her, and Nova had played her role to perfection, bluffing all the while. Perhaps she had been carefree and loose before, but things were different now. She wanted more of Vesper. Not just more of what they already had—so much more. Everything. And yet she had allowed Vesper to categorize their relationship as casual, no strings attached, when in reality, she was already all in.

  Here under the blazing media lights, the truth had nowhere to hide. She had fallen in love. Holding Vesper’s gaze, Nova pushed all of her chips into the pot. “All in.”

  The crowd reacted with a roar of surprise and Nova could feel the cameras swinging about to get close ups on her face and Damon’s. Even Damon seemed unsettled by the turn of events, though his posture had barely shifted. He was studying the cards on the table intently, undoubtedly running all of the numbers through his supercomputer brain. But Nova was counting on more than mathematics to pull off this bluff. She was hoping that Damon had studied her online tournament wins and knew her penchant for playing six nine of hearts.

  That he didn’t call right away confirmed her suspicions that he was still waiting for his hand. But his hole cards could still beat hers and she would be out of the tournament. After two minutes of deliberation, Damon finally mucked his cards with disgust. The room erupted around her as Nova gathered and stacked her winnings. Damon would be pissed in a few months when he saw the televised game.

  Two hands later, he was all in.

  “I call.” Nova’s voice, at least, was strong. It carried into the crowd, which roared back its approval. Nova soaked in their support as she carefully moved her chips into the pot. Alongside Damon’s, they formed a miniature metropolis, towers rising proudly to scrape the stale air.

  “Players,” announced the dealer, “on the count of three, show us your cards. One. Two…Three!”

  The hall fell silent. Nova flipped over her hand, letting her cards spill onto the felt. Time seemed to slow as she turned her head, and for an instant, her eyes blurred. They refocused on the ten of clubs and ten of spades. Damon had three of a kind, but that wasn’t good enough to beat her straight. She had done it. She had won a bracelet.

  As the crowd began chanting her name, Nova scrambled to her feet and extended her hand across the table. Damon shook it without saying a word, then turned away. Numbly, Nova walked toward the rail. Vesper. She had to find Vesper. Cameras clustered around her face as reporters shouted questions, but she ignored them all.

  “Nova!” TJ’s bellow swung her attention to the left. He had managed to carve out a place for Vesper along the edge and was shielding her body with his own. She hurried toward them, almost tripping over one of the camera wires in the process. TJ reached out to thump her on the back as soon as she was within arm’s length. “You did it! You fucking did it!”

  And then Vesper was there, right in front of her, smiling broadly. Nova wanted to vault over the rail and kiss her, but even as the thought passed through her mind, she realized her folly. The cameras were everywhere, and Vesper was still in the closet. Even an embrace might be misconstrued. Belatedly, Nova realized she should never have sought her out. The numbness spread, filling her chest.

  “Congratulations!” Vesper tried to shout over the crowd.

  “Thanks.” Nova nodded awkwardly and stuck her hands into her pockets.

  “Nova, baby!” Evan’s voice boomed out behind her. “Fantastic job out there!” He rested his hands on her shoulders, spun her around, and kissed her on both cheeks.

  She hadn’t seen him in months—not since her last Royal Flush appearance in London. Naturally, he would come out of the woodwork as soon as she had proven her value to the company.

  “Hi, Evan.”

  “Ready to claim your reward?”

  Her reward: a two million dollar check and the golden bracelet that was her golden ticket. Everything she had wanted. Everything she had worked so hard for.

  “Sure,” she said. “Of course.” And plastering a smile onto her face, she let him lead her from the room.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was past eleven before Vesper’s phone vibrated with a message from Nova. Finally done. Still here?

  Yes. Meet you in the lobby.

  As she made her way downstairs, she smothered a yawn. Thankfully, there was a day of rest between the conclusion of the Poker Player’s Championship and the main event. Unless some kind of emergency occurred, she planned to spend it keeping Nova in bed.

  Her steps quickened at the thought. She hadn’t seen Nova since the champion’s dinner that had followed the press conference and photo shoot. The meal, hosted by several of the higher-ups from both the tournament staff and Valhalla, had transpired in a private room at Barri. Nova had invited her, along with TJ’s family, Amelia, Priscilla, Jeremy, and Evan—“the people I’ve grown closest to in the past few weeks,” as she described them.

  While her performance in the Championship had been the main topic of conversation, Nova had made sure to praise Vesper liberally in Steve’s presence. Even on a day that undeniably belonged to her, she was thinking of Vesper’s future. Vesper didn’t expect Steve to reconsider and wasn’t sure she would sign back on with him even if he did, but it had been nice to watch him squirm. She had wanted to thank Nova, but the opportunity to speak alone never arose. It seemed like forever since they had woken up together this morning.

  As she entered the lobby, she saw Jeremy carrying a cup of coffee away from the café. “Hello again. Long night?”

  “James pulled me in. Two of his clients are wrapping up dinner now but want to go clubbing afterward. Are you going home, I hope?”

  “Yes. I was just waiting for Nova.” She managed to say it without blushing.

  “There she is.”

  Nova was hurrying across the lobby toward them, and the sight of her sent a current buzzing beneath Vesper’s skin. She was wearing the same board shorts and sandals that she’d had on all day, but sometime in the past few hours, she had acquired a Royal Flush hoodie.

  “Hi,” she said as she approached. Her gaze slid down and up Vesper’s body, and when their eyes met, Nova’s were dark with desire.

  “Hi,” Vesper echoed, marveling at the way her body lit up in Nova’s presence. Their chemistry only seemed to be growing stronger with time, not waning. “How did everything go?”

  “I inked a three-year contract.” The note of disbelief in Nova’s voice was endearing. “My first appearance is in LA in a week.”

  One week. It was a reminder that days were all they had left before reality separated them. Vesper was careful to let none of the disappointment color her voice. She had been the one to set the terms of their relationship, after all. “That’s fantastic.”

  “Pretty crazy.” Nova seemed more shell-shocked than anything else. She shook her head slightly. “Anyway. Shall we?”

  “Let me give you a ride.” Jeremy cut in. “I have the time, and the champion shouldn’t be taking the city bus.”

  Vesper smiled at him gratefully. When they slid into the back seat of the limo, she reached for the champagne in the mini-fridge. Nova seemed oddly subdued when she should be celebrating. “Will you share this with me?” she asked, pressing her thigh against Nova’s.

  That earned her a smile. “I sure will.”

  They only had time for one glass before Jeremy stopped in front of Vesper’s building, but Vesper took the bottle as she stepped out onto the sidewalk. As the car slid off into the night, she joined their hands together.

  “How do you feel?”

  Nova waited until they were inside to answer. “It’s so strange,” she said quietly as they climbed the stairs. “I’m happy—I really am. Obviously. But at the same time, I can’t…I just can’t escape this numbness. It’s li
ke all of this is happening to someone else, not to me. I can’t really feel it.”

  The vulnerability in Nova’s voice tempered Vesper’s rising desire with a surge of tenderness. She unlocked the front door and tugged Nova inside, pausing only to set the bottle on the counter before guiding her to the sofa. Nova was complacent, hands hanging limply at her sides. As Vesper stared up into her eyes, she read in them a plea that roused empathy in her every cell, even as it frightened her in its intensity. Swallowing hard, she looked down and reached for the hem of Nova’s sweatshirt. There were things she wasn’t capable of giving, but this much, she could do.

  “Raise your arms,” she whispered, and together they worked to strip Nova’s torso bare. She grasped Nova’s right hand, then, and carefully undid the clasp on the wide, sparkling bracelet that marked her as a WSOP champion. Its fourteen-karat gold band gave way to four rectangles denoting each suit of cards, two outlined in rubies and two outlined in black diamonds.

  “It’s heavier than I expected,” she said, cradling it in one palm.

  A smile flickered across Nova’s face. “I don’t think I’ll ever wear it again. But I didn’t mind tonight.”

  Carefully, Vesper deposited it on the end table. When she returned, she cupped Nova’s waist with both hands, thumbs tracing the ridges of her abdominal muscles. “I’m so proud of you. I hope that doesn’t sound patronizing.”

  Nova shook her head, then gasped as Vesper ran her hands up over her ribs to cup her breasts. Vesper smiled at the reaction and gently brushed both nipples with her thumbs. When Nova caught her lower lip between her teeth, she did it again. God, she loved this—the soft weight filling her palms, the tender power she wielded in these moments. Need sliced through her like a knife—the need to test the limits of Nova’s responsiveness and then push her over the edge into ecstasy. Hurriedly, she unlaced the front of her shorts and pulled them down her narrow hips.

  “You, too,” Nova said hoarsely, reaching out toward the collar of Vesper’s suit jacket. Vesper let her push it down her arms, and when she shrugged it off, Nova went to work on the buttons of her shirt. Within moments, she was nude as well.

  “Sit.” As Nova fell back onto the sofa, Vesper knelt between her knees. Planting both palms on Nova’s inner thighs, she pushed her legs as far apart as they could go. For once, the words came easily. “Watch me taste you.”

  Nova moaned, repeating the sound more loudly when Vesper gently opened the folds of her sex with both thumbs. She was wet, and the sight and scent of her arousal sent Vesper’s desire into overdrive. Dipping her head, she flicked her tongue lightly over Nova’s most sensitive skin, teasing her for as long as she could stand it before finally leaning in to kiss her deeply. When Nova’s hips bucked, she held her down firmly, alternating soft strokes of her tongue with the pressure of her lips.

  At first, Nova chanted her name in breathless syllables, but soon her fluency dissolved until all she could do was whimper. Hips juddering, she slid one hand through Vesper’s hair to cup the back of her head, trying to pull her closer. When Vesper retaliated by going perfectly still, Nova groaned.

  Glorying in Nova’s need, Vesper raised her head and licked her lips. “Hands on the couch. You’ll come when I want you to.”

  In an instant, Nova had curled her fingers into the fabric on either side of her hips. Vesper smiled at her obedience, admiring the flush that spread across her breasts and the need that was plain in her wide, dark eyes. “Please,” Nova whispered. “Just…please.”

  Caught up in her power trip, Vesper held two fingers to Nova’s mouth. “Suck,” she whispered, and Nova did, closing her lips around them and swirling her tongue. The sensation echoed between Vesper’s legs, and she moaned unexpectedly. Nova’s eyes flashed open, dark and hungry.

  “Enough.” Vesper pulled her fingers away, holding Nova’s gaze as she reached down to press against her opening. A new flood of moisture greeted her touch, and with a smile of triumph, she pushed inside. Nova’s mouth opened soundlessly, her head falling back against the couch as her spine arched.

  Thrusting lightly, Vesper returned her mouth to Nova’s clit. Immersing herself in the heat of her sex, she curled her tongue around the knot of nerves even as she curled her fingers up inside. When Nova’s muscles quivered, she knew the time for teasing had passed. Pushing further, she hummed in pleasure as the contractions began, accompanied by Nova’s soft, broken cries.

  For a long time, she remained on her knees, coaxing every last shudder from Nova’s body and refusing to think about how short was the time remaining to them. When Nova’s body had quieted, she eased back and looked up, finally meeting her wide, dark eyes. With one trembling hand, Nova stroked her cheek.

  “Vesper,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  The words felt like a slap. Vesper pulled away, shaking her head. Dread sluiced into her chest, filling it with ice.

  “Yes,” Nova insisted. “I do.”

  “No.” Vesper stood. “You don’t. It’s just…this.” She gestured between them. “The sex.”

  A spasm of anger contorted Nova’s features. “The hell it is! It’s not the sex. It’s you. Us. I’ve fallen in love with you. It’s been happening for weeks.”

  Vesper stood, putting herself beyond the reach of Nova’s touch. She felt so cold. “That can’t be true.”

  “It can be. It is. You’re the most remarkable person I’ve ever met. This…this chemistry between us is insane. But there’s more to it than lust. Much more. I feel it.” Nova took a deep breath. “And I think you feel it, too.”

  Vesper froze as Nova’s words struck a note in her, pure and perfect like a tuning fork. But even if it were true—even if a part of her did feel the same—what good would that do? Falling in love with Nova was a risk she refused to take.

  “We would never work,” she heard herself say. Gathering momentum, she crossed her arms beneath her breasts. “You say you love me, but I don’t think you have any idea what that means. Have you ever even been in love? Or have you always been content to screw your roommates?”

  “What?” Nova rose, every muscle taut. “How can you say that? Are you still holding Emily against me? Don’t you know that this…this thing between us is entirely different from that?”

  “How could I possibly know that? And how can you say you love me? We’ve known each other for a matter of weeks.” Nova was shaking her head, and in an effort to make her absorb the lesson, Vesper went for her trump card. “You don’t even know my real name!”

  Nova froze. “Your real name?”

  “You want me.” Vindication made Vesper’s voice strong. “You don’t know enough to love me.”

  “I do want you.” Nova took one step forward. “But I also want to know you. I want to know everything, if you’ll let me.”

  But Vesper had momentum now, and she refused to be derailed. “Even if I did let you, my career is here, in Las Vegas. You hate it here. Tell me you don’t.”

  Nova didn’t bother to deny it. “I won a million dollars today. And I signed a contract for the next three years. You don’t need to stay here either. Come back to San Francisco with me.”

  A haze of red streaked across Vesper’s vision as anger outstripped her fear. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Are you serious? I’m not going to be a…a kept woman!”

  Even in the dim moonlight, Nova visibly paled. “That’s not what I—”

  “No. Shut up. You listen.” Her fury was heat, banishing the chill, thawing her reason. “When I left home, I had nothing. Nothing. You’ll never understand how that felt. It took a decade, but I managed to make something out of that nothing. Something good. Something great. And you want me to give that up?” She shook her head again. “If you really had fallen in love with me, you would have known better than to make that offer.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nova sounded heartsick, but fueled by the righteousness of her emotion, Vesper couldn’t care. “I didn’t mean it like that. You work so hard.
Harder than anyone I’ve known.” She was babbling now. “You’ve never had a break. That’s what I want to give you. A chance to rest.”

  Vesper didn’t want to hear anymore. She stooped to pick up her clothes. “I’m going to bed. Alone. We can talk again in the morning.”

  Without a backward glance, she stalked into her bedroom and closed the door. The anger simmered as she hung up her suit and turned down the sheets, but when she eased between them, it began to fade. She didn’t want to miss Nova’s light snoring, or how she always took up more of the bed than she had a right to, but if that was the price she had to pay to respect herself, then so be it. She didn’t want to wonder whether she had done the right thing, because of course she had. Hadn’t she? The way Nova had behaved was ridiculous. Borderline misogynistic, even. Vesper certainly wasn’t about to sacrifice everything she’d built for a romance that was less than a month old.

  Turning onto her side, she curled her knees into her chest and closed her eyes, trying not to listen for Nova’s movements and praying that exhaustion would drag her under quickly.

  *

  Naked and alone, Nova watched the moon’s slow descent toward the mountains. She hadn’t moved once since Vesper had stormed off—just over an hour ago, according to the clock. A thousand thoughts had flown through her head between now and then, but they were slippery and she couldn’t latch on to any but one: that she had messed up. Badly.