Page 35 of The Gambler

He knew she had no concept of money and he could stand to lose that and more so he wasn’t too worried.

Gramps had folded a long time ago and was just watching like everyone else to see the end result. Andros was getting himself ready to leave as he was sure she must be tired after the long night, what with her shoulder wound.

When one of the others folded and it was just down to her and the last guy he hoped she wasn’t too disappointed when she lost.

Damn! He cursed silently when the asshole showed a straight flush and grinned around his cigar. Andros was giving some serious thought to making him swallow the shit, the fuck.

He heard the ‘oh shit’ from Garrett just seconds before she placed her hand on the table for all to see. He started laughing before he pulled her to him and kissed her long and hard. A royal fucking flush. No way this was her first game.

He took out his phone as his guys collected her winnings and the rest of the room fell silent. Some of them were thinking Andros had pulled a fast one, others were thinking it was the luck of the draw.

Still some were trying to figure out how the hell she’d done it, she hadn’t been counting cards, they would’ve known. They played the game enough they had an eye for those things. Plus she hardly ever looked at the fucking table half the damn time.

Andros texted her a message. ‘Have you done this before baby?’

‘Yes.’ She had a big goofy grin on her face.

‘Where?’

‘Vegas, Monte Carlo.’ She was practically vibrating in her seat, but he was starting to get a bad feeling in his gut now.

Was this yet another way in which they’d used her? He didn’t want to dampen her spirits, so he let none of his inner turmoil show, but he was pretty sure he was sitting next to a card shark. Well fuck, what now?

He tested his theory on the flight home. Everyone was in a high state of excitement, not least of all Jenna. He had to practically drag her away from the felt, as she seemed to get some kind of charge out of playing.

The other occupants were only too happy to see her go, seeing as how she’d wiped them out to the tune of seven hundred and fifty grand or thereabouts.

His one nagging thought was, if she’d made that much in the short time they’d been there, how much had she made Bonata over the years? And they’d paid her with fucking chocolate; which is exactly what she’d asked for after they’d cashed in her chips.

He wondered why he’d never heard of her playing here in The City, he would’ve known about her if she had, he was sure. No one that good could go unnoticed for that long. There had to be a reason they’d taken her to Vegas and Monte Carlo, away from Bonata’s backyard so to speak.

He had mixed feelings about her success, he was happy that she was happy, but he hated the fact that this was yet one more way in which they’d used and exploited her. He shuddered to think what else he’d uncover in the weeks and months ahead, as they settled into a life together.

There was one area at least, and quite possibly for a man like Andros, the most important one in this situation; where he was sure she hadn’t been handled. Her kisses were still innocent and her reaction was such, that he knew no one had ever touched her.

He wasn’t sure what he would’ve done if that were the case, if they’d used her in that way as well. The thought had him at the brink of exploding. Still he kept his cool as he, gramps, and even the men, tried to best her at cards.

By the time they landed in the wee hours of the morning the rest of them were wiped out, she on the other hand seemed like she’d just caught her second wind, and he knew that meant he’d be up for at least another few hours. No biggie, he was actually high off of her exuberance.

He said goodnight to the others as he took his two charges inside with him. He had no need to check the security detail around the premises because he knew they were in place, plus when he put the house on lockdown no one and nothing was getting in there.

He carried her up the stairs after they said goodnight to gramps. She prattled on and on about what she’d seen tonight, nothing at all about her playing and winning close to a million dollars in less than five hours.

“Angel, butterfly sleep.”

“No baby I don’t think they sleep.” He walked over to the cage where they were hanging on the sides not moving, but he knew they weren’t sleeping; they can’t, they don’t have eyelids. He tried explaining it to her but she’d made up her mind already and apparentlyhad moved on.

He was busy shedding his own clothes and walking in and out of the closet to hang shit up, because he was a neat freak.

He was pondering if he should grab a pair of pajamas as he walked out of the closet for the last time in his silk boxers, when she poleaxed his ass. She was standing near the window where the predawn light was doing its best to break through. She had her dress up and over her head as she struggled to take it off.

Her body, clad only in black lace, the underwear and bra she’d picked out for herself, made his mouth water. And when she dropped the dress, stepped out of it and shook her hair out, he thought he moaned. He had no control over his feet or his heart as he moved over to her. His silent mantra of ‘please let this be alright’ blocked out every other thought in his head.

He approached her cautiously, not wanting to move too fast lest he spook her. When he stood in front of her and ran his finger down her cheek, his eyes boring into hers, she smiled the most beautiful smile up at him. It went straight through his heart and beyond. “Angel, kiss?”

“Yes my beautiful baby.” He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his middle before bringing his mouth down on hers. He wasn’t sure if she knew or even understood the difference in the degrees between this kiss and the many others they’d shared before.

Always he held back a little, it had only been a few days after all. But he knew his Jenna didn’t measure time and space the same as others.