“Yeah, it’s fun when you win.” Ryker nodded and chuckled. “But the cards are never in your favor for long. You have to take advantage of a good hand when you have it.”
“And sometimes you just have to bluff your way through it.” Cole shrugged and started dealing the cards again. “I wouldn’t recommend bluffing yet. You don’t have a poker face.”
“What do you mean?” I tilted my head, almost offended by his comment.
“Your eyes light up every time you get a good hand.” Ryker reached over and put his hand on mine. “And you tap the table when you’re nervous.”
“Staring at someone with no emotion on your face and betting everything when your cards are shit takes practice.” Cole lifted his cards to take a peek. “It doesn’t always work, either.”
“That’s a big part of actual gambling.” Ryker narrowed his eyes and his face darkened. “I can stare straight into someone’s soul when there’s money on the line.”
“Ryker could be sitting on pocket Aces or a hand that wouldn’t be a winner if he got two pairs on the flop—you’d never know it.” Cole nodded and smiled.
We played a few more hands and then decided to find something to wager so I could test my skills. We gathered up some items from the hotel room—everything from loose change to beer bottle tops, and ended up with enough for each of us to have ten items of equal value to gamble with. I quickly learned that I was not a very good gambler. I couldn’t read their expressions at all, and I struggled not to react when I got a good hand. After I lost everything, we divided the items and started over. That turned out to be the routine, as they won my items several times. I was learning, though. I managed to last a little longer each time the cards were dealt, and I actually won a few hands—I even managed to bluff once.
“All right, I think you’re ready for some real stakes now.” Cole leaned back in his chair and looked over at Ryker. “What do you think—is she ready?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Ryker nodded and smiled. “Paper Hold’em?”
“You know it.” Cole chuckled and stood up from the table.
“What’s Paper Hold’em?” I raised my eyebrows and looked over at Ryker.
“It’s a way of gambling without actually losing anything.” Ryker picked up the cards and started shuffling. “Basically, you write out your own stakes on a piece of paper, and that’s your chip to bet with.”
“Yep.” Cole walked over with the pad of paper provided by the Bellagio and started tearing each sheet into four equal proportions. “But everyone at the table has to agree that the stake is allowed and on the value. Most things are worth one point, but sometimes we have stuff worth five points.”
“Interesting.” I nodded and shrugged my shoulders. “Okay, so what kind of stuff do we write down?”
“Anything you want, as long as everyone agrees with it.” Cole picked up the pen. “Like, if I write down—Ryker has to clean my apartment for a month wearing a bunny costume.”
“Like hell I am.” Ryker glared at Cole and growled.
“Yep, see—that wouldn’t fly because Ryker would override it. But, if I just asked him to clean it one time…” Cole looked at Ryker.
“Without a bunny costume? I’d allow that.” Ryker nodded and smirked.
“So, now that chip could potentially be in the game.” Cole quickly scribbled it on the paper. “Ryker, obviously, wants to win this and keep it on his side of the table. If I end up keeping it, then I can cash it in.”
“But what if I win it?” I tilted my head with a perplexed expression on my face. “I don’t really want to make Ryker clean your apartment.”
“Right, so you could override it, since winning it does nothing for you—or modify it in some way.” Cole nodded and pointed at the piece of paper. “How would you change it so that it is valuable to you?”
“Hmm.” I leaned back and twisted my lip as I tried to think of something. “Well, I guess Ryker could clean the hotel room.”
“There you go.” Cole nodded and smiled. “So now the chip requires Ryker to clean something, so it has value to anyone that has it, including Ryker.”
“You can put some universal chips in too.” Ryker looked over at me. “They don’t all have to be about the other person. Like, I could write—winner can cash this in for a foot massage.”
“Oh, I like that!” I nodded quickly.
“Yeah, I’m going to veto that.” Cole shook his head. “I’m not touching Ryker’s feet, and I know he’s enough of a dick to make me.”
“Okay, well what if I change it to massage Aurora’s feet?” I smiled and looked at the two of them.
“I’m not wasting one of my chips on something to benefit someone else.” Ryker chuckled. “But you can make that chip if you want.”
“I will.” I grabbed the pen and wrote it down. “So, if I end up with this chip, I can cash it in with either of you?”
“That’s how it works.” Ryker nodded and smiled.
We laughed and started tossing out ideas, adding a few of them to the stack along the way. Most of the ideas were just jokes at first, but it didn’t take long for the chips to start taking a turn to the sexual side. I wasn’t even sure we would be able to cash them all in with the time I had left in Vegas unless we stayed in bed for the next few days, but there were a few I was definitely interested in winning. Once we were done, we had a lot more than ten on the table for each of us. I hoped I could actually put my skills to good use instead of just losing everything as quickly as I had during some of the previous games. I was having fun, and they both seemed to be as well—that was the most important thing.
“All right, so the final piece of this.” Cole tore another page from the pad. “We call this the Punishment Chip.”
“I knew you were going to go there.” Ryker sighed and shook his head.
“What’s that?” I raised my eyebrows.
“It’s an optional rule, but it keeps people from just going all in from the start.” Cole tore the paper and handed one to each of us. “Basically, this chip has consequences and you don’t want to lose it. If you dare to go all in, then you better have a winning hand.”
“Yeah.” Ryker nodded quickly. “It keeps the game from getting out of control. Trust me, it’s for the best, even if I don’t like it.”
“That’s cause Ryker likes bluffing with all in.” Cole chuckled and sipped his beer. “I know his tricks.”
“Okay, so do I figure out my own Punishment Chip?” I stared at the paper and tried to think of something.
“No, we all come up with the punishment per se, but you have to write it. That’s your way of essentially agreeing to it.” Ryker picked up the pen. “Okay, what’s my punishment going to be?”
“Aurora fucks you with a strap-on.” Cole grinned. “And she doesn’t stop until you cum.”
“You’re an asshole.” Ryker growled and shook his head. “Fine, I won’t be going all in tonight.”
“That seems… a little extreme.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “I mean, unless you’re into that sort of thing.”
“I’m not, which is why he suggested it.” Ryker growled again as he scribbled his punishment on the paper.
“So, now it’s Cole’s turn?” I looked over at Ryker.
“Yeah, and he already knows what he’s getting—the exact same thing.” Ryker narrowed his eyes at Cole.
“That’s fair. I have no intentions of going all in.” Cole nodded and wrote down his punishment.
“Well, that wouldn’t exactly be punishment for me.” I blinked, feeling my stomach getting uneasy. “What punishment am I writing down?”
“A spanking.” Cole tilted his head to the side. “If you lose your Punishment Chip, you get a spanking—from me.”
“Son of a bitch.” Ryker chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t go all in. He’s not talking about the slaps he gave you on your ass in the bedroom.”
“Nope, you’ll be over my knee with your panties down until your ass is on
fire.” Cole nodded and winked at Ryker.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I won’t be going all in either.” I exhaled sharply and wrote down my punishment.
“Unless you want a good hard spanking.” Cole picked up the cards and started shuffling them.
I liked it when he gave me a few—but I’m not sure I want to go that far.
Chapter Sixteen
Cole
The game was underway. In order to satisfy my side bet with Ryker, I just had to get my hands on Aurora’s Punishment Chip. That meant convincing her to go all in on a losing hand, which wasn’t going to be easy. I was surprised that she picked up on Texas Hold’em so fast. It took Ryker and me years to figure out the game, but she had become pretty damn good in a matter of hours. Her poker face wasn’t the best and she had a few nervous ticks, but once Ryker pointed them out, she did a good job of hiding those, too. The first few hands weren’t high bets. We each anted our initial chip, played out the entire game, and showed our cards to see who won with only one or two chips on the line in between.
“I like this hand.” Ryker chuckled and looked over at Aurora.
“Enough to risk your Punishment Chip?” Aurora raised her eyebrows inquisitively.
“No, but I’ll start with five.” Ryker counted out five pieces of paper and dropped them in the center of the table.
“I’m out.” I took a quick peek at the nonsense in my hand and confirmed my decision.
“Five, huh.” Aurora leaned over to look at the papers he dropped. “Hmm, those are some good prizes.”
“Gotta bet if you want to win.” Ryker leaned back and smiled.
“Fine, I call.” Aurora nodded and matched Ryker’s bet.
“Okay, now it might get interesting.” I rubbed my hands together and flipped over three cards.
Ryker must have drawn a pocket pair or a high face card—unless he’s bluffing. He’s playing a lot more casual than he does when he’s serious, so I’m not sure.
“I believe it’s your bet.” Aurora stared at the cards and then looked up at Ryker.
“Yeah.” Ryker nodded. “I’ll risk a couple more.”
“Hmm.” Aurora stared at the cards again.
Damn, I can’t read her either. She’s way too good at this for someone who just started tonight.
“Okay, I’ll call.” Aurora nodded and tossed two more chips into the pile.
“What are you sitting on, girl?” Ryker tilted his head as the next card was flipped.
“You gotta pay to find out.” She shrugged and leaned back in her chair, matching Ryker’s slouched demeanor.
“I’ll stay.” Ryker stared at the Ace that hit the table.
So he’s telegraphing that an Ace didn’t help him—and perhaps worried him. That means he probably drew one. Easy to pick up on with my years of experience, but he’s baiting Aurora into a trap.
“I’ll bet.” Aurora picked up her chips. “Two more.”
“I’ll call.” Ryker nodded immediately and matched her bet.
“All right, final card.” I flipped the last card over to reveal the Queen of Diamonds.
Interesting. Ryker probably has a face card to go with his Ace—but is it a Queen?
“Five more.” Ryker picked up his chips and tossed them into the center of the table.
This is where an expert folds. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve got on the table. Ryker bluffed on the Ace, but hopped on the Queen. It’s an aggressive move, but he’s too calculated to throw good money after bad.
“Are you bluffing?” Aurora tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “You’ve got an Ace—but do you have a Queen?”
“Interesting observation.” Ryker chuckled and shrugged.
Holy shit, she read that play? What the fuck is in her hand?
“I’ll call.” Aurora reached for her chips and matched his bet.
“Two pair.” Ryker flipped his cards to reveal an Ace and a Queen.
“Damn, I thought you were bluffing.” Aurora’s shoulders slumped forward.
“It’s okay. You can’t win them all. We’ve been doing this a long time.” I reached for Ryker’s cards.
“I know, I just thought he was bluffing. I mean, it doesn’t matter, right? If I’m holding three of a kind.” Aurora flipped her hand to reveal pocket Queens.
“What the fuck!?” Ryker’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“Dude!” My head rolled back with laughter and I pointed at Ryker. “She kicked your ass!”
“The fucking odds of her having two fucking Queens when I was holding a fucking Queen and a Queen on the fucking—fuck!” Ryker grabbed his beer and finished it. “Fuck!”
“This is what we like to call a temper tantrum.” I kept laughing and shook my head.
“It’s not a tantrum.” Ryker growled. “I need another beer.”
“Sorry.” Aurora stifled a smile and gathered her chips.
It seemed that Ryker’s bad luck was just beginning, or perhaps he was just mad that the odds didn’t add up. He made a few bad plays and after a half dozen hands, he was down to his Punishment Chip and decided to bow out of the game. That left me staring across the table at Aurora, with the prize I needed in the middle of her pile of chips. I just needed to lure her into a trap, which didn’t look like it was going to be very easy with how quickly she picked up the game. I played a few smart hands and hacked away at her winnings, but we were still pretty even with Ryker’s chips divided between us. She surprised me with a few good plays and tilted it back in her favor. It was harder to read some of her plays because she was an amateur. I had been playing with professionals so long that I anticipated professional plays, so careless ones drew me into a couple of traps.
“She’s going to kick your ass, too.” Ryker walked back over and took a seat.
“Did you beat up a pillow and get all your rage out?” I looked at him and chuckled.
“I’m fine. You know I don’t like losing.” Ryker glared at the table. “But well played, Aurora. I’ll admit defeat—with grace.”
“If that’s your idea of grace…” Aurora chuckled and winked at him. “Don’t worry, a few of these chips are going to be fun for you.”
“Yeah, if you don’t lose them to Cole.” Ryker muttered and shook his head. “He’ll burn my good ones.”
“You got that right. No blowjobs for you.” I smiled and tossed a couple of chips into the pile as we continued to gamble.
After playing for a while, I finally picked up on a few of Aurora’s hidden ticks—things she didn’t even realize she was doing. The way she cut her eyes at Ryker when she was contemplating a play she wasn’t sure about—and the way she got rigid when she was trying to control the ticks Ryker had previously pointed out. I used them to my advantage several times and started slowly tilting the chip balance in my favor. If I was playing with the Vegas Scourge MC, that would have been the point where I threw a few hands so I could walk away, but I was playing to win. Ryker finally got over his disdain for his luck and started acting as our dealer. Aurora’s chips were low, and I just needed her to get a hand that she would gamble on—one that would make her gamble everything.
Pocket Jacks. Okay. This might work.
“It’s your bet.” I looked up at Aurora after checking my cards.
“Yeah.” She nodded and smiled. “I don’t have many chips left, though. I guess I’ll stay.”
“I’ll bet a couple.” I pushed two pieces of paper to the middle of the table.
“Dang, I don’t know if I should call.” She sighed and checked her cards for a moment. “Okay, I guess I will call it.”
This may not be the one to lure her in on—unless she’s being coy.
“Here’s the flop.” Ryker laid out three cards.
Perfect, nothing that can beat two Jacks unless she’s got it in the pocket.
“I’ll stay again.” Aurora shrugged and leaned back in her chair.
“I’ll bet five.” I quickly pushed five chips to the middle of th
e table.
She looks perplexed and she’s not folding. Why isn’t she folding?
“I’ll—I’ll call.” Aurora matched my bet, which only left her with a couple of chips on her side of the table.
This may be it—she may think she has a winning hand. Fuck, what if she has three of a kind?
“All right, here comes the next card.” Ryker flipped over a Two of Hearts and I was pretty sure it wouldn’t help either of us.
“Well, are you going to stay again? If I bet at this point, I’ll clean you out—unless you want to put up the Punishment Chip.”
“Either I win or the game is over and I don’t get any of the awesome things on those chips.” Aurora leaned back and sighed. “I was really looking forward to some of them.”
“Cole has plenty of dirty things on his side of the table to keep you busy for the rest of your vacation. No reason to risk the Punishment Chip.” Ryker shook his head and looked at Aurora.
“It’s her decision.” I shot Ryker an angry glare.
You made the bet and you said she might like it—stay out of this.
“Yeah, I don’t know.” Aurora peeked at her cards again.
“He’s going to spank you hard. He wasn’t kidding about that.” Ryker reached over and patted Aurora’s hand. “There’s no shame in folding and calling it a night—we’re going to have a lot of fun regardless.”
“I might win, though…” Aurora sighed and tilted her head. “But is it worth it?”
“That’s up to you.” I shrugged and smiled.
She’s actually thinking about it. She must have three of a kind—there’s no way she would bet on anything else.
“Okay.” Aurora stared for a moment, seriously contemplating her decision. “I’m all in.”
“Fucking hell.” Ryker exhaled sharply and shook his head.
It’s worth it for the chips I’ll lose just for a chance at her Punishment Chip.
“I’ll call.” I threw out enough chips to match her bet. “Let’s see what the last card has for us.”
“Jack of Clubs.” Ryker flipped it over.
Holy shit. I won. There’s no way she can beat my three of a kind.
Vegas Bets: A MFM Romance (Nevada Bad Boys Book 5) Page 9
