Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Dalton grins and holds his hand out for the ball, more than ready to force his way back into her good graces. She bounces it toward him and he catches it with ease, propping it against his hip. “Care to make it interesting?”
The mischievous grin that tears across her face is so fucking breathtaking, I have to look away. There’s something about this girl that draws me in and makes me want to get to know her, and the more that happens, the harder this is going to be. I need to keep my distance. I can’t afford to fall for a corpse.
“Alright,” she says, stepping toward him. “I’m listening.”
“You three,” he says, nodding toward her then me and Cross. “Against me. I’ll even sweeten the deal and only play with my left hand.”
She narrows her gaze at him, knowing there must be a trap in here somewhere before glancing back at me and Cross, searching for some kind of acknowledgment. “What do you get if you win?”
“Payback,” he murmurs, his gaze darkening. “Watching you fuck my friends was a nasty little game. If I win, I can take you any way I want.”
She considers his proposal before pressing her lips into a hard line. “And if we win?”
He scoffs. “You won’t.”
“If we do?” she pushes.
He shrugs his shoulders. “What do you want?”
She thinks about it, taking a moment to really consider all her options. Something sparks in those soft blue eyes and she steps toward him, raising her chin. “I want you all in my debt,” she says. “Each of you, including Zade, will owe me one favor in which I can collect at any damn time of my choosing.”
My back stiffens, knowing just how dangerous this could be, and I snap my gaze toward Dalton. He knows better than to make this bet, and despite how desperately he wants to win, he wouldn’t dare push this.
Zade has other plans though.
He steps up to the edge of the court, that same lethal challenge in his stare. “You got yourself a bet,” he tells her, making my brow arch. “You win, and we’ll be in your debt, but you lose, and you’ll be in mine.”
She shakes her head. “That wasn’t the deal.”
“It’s my deal,” he says. “You want to play with fire, then you better be prepared to get burned.”
She swallows hard, and when she raises her chin, it’s fucking on.
Cross and I stand, moving onto the court.
Then we play.
Chapter 19
OAKLEY
That was the longest basketball game I’ve ever witnessed, and I say witnessed because after the first eight minutes, I realized I hadn’t touched the ball once and sat out instead. Hell, I don’t even think they noticed. These assholes are competitive motherfuckers. At that point, I don’t think they even cared about the deal. They just wanted to win.
There’s no denying it though, Dalton Eros is a god on the court. He dominated, but when all rules were off the table and it was two against one, that cocky nature quickly faded. Now here I sit, happy as a fucking clam because as of ten minutes ago, these four assholes are now in my debt.
I sit across the court, leaning back on my hands with my ankles crossed out in front of me, the boys relaxing around me and soaking up the lunchtime sun. All except Zade, who’s pacing by the edge of the roof and roaring demands through his phone. “Is he always like this?” I ask as Dalton notices my stare.
“Some days more than not,” he admits. “He’s got a lot on his plate. Couldn’t be easy being in his position.”
“And what position is that?”
Dalton spreads his arms out wide, indicating the very roof we’re sitting on. “All of this. Rome wasn’t built in a day, Firefly. This hotel is his pride and joy, and achieving this standard of luxury and maintaining a five-star rating isn’t easy. He’s worked his ass off for this.”
God, I hate it when they say things that make me empathize with the devil.
I’m just about ready to admit that maybe Zade has at least one redeeming quality when a soft ding sounds across the rooftop. My gaze snaps back to the elevator, finding one of the many hotel employees striding toward us, a serving platter in his hands.
He glances at Zade, who points toward me, and his employee immediately adjusts his direction. Standing up, I meet the guy and he offers me the platter. “Miss,” he says with a nod. “A house burger with fries, and a Diet Coke.”
Taking it from him, I offer a polite smile. “Thank you,” I say, astonished that Zade actually ordered it for me. But hey, what kind of asshole would he be if he didn’t give his prisoner enough energy to try to escape him? After all, isn’t that the fun of it?