Stroke of Luck - Opal Carew Page 0,33

He was going to tell him now. Butterflies fluttered through her stomach.

“April and I have a special agreement, but I’ll tell you about that a little later. What do you think, April?”

She nodded. She didn’t want to end the game for Austin, and if this is what Quinn wanted, then she wouldn’t say no.

“Does this work for you, Austin?” Quinn asked.

“I’m happy with keeping April in the game. But what do you mean by requests?” Austin asked.

Quinn shrugged. “Anything you want. You might dare her to down a shot, or ask her a question like you did over dinner. It’s pretty open-ended.”

Austin chuckled. “I was worried you meant something like strip poker. With her luck, the girl would be freezing in no time.”

April bit her lower lip as her cheeks heated. She wasn’t sure where Quinn was going to take this, but clearly Austin had no idea that’s exactly what might happen.

* * *

Austin was a little uncomfortable with the idea of April paying off her losses by granting requests, since he had no idea what Quinn had in mind. But Quinn was protective of April, so he wouldn’t have her do anything sexual in front of Austin.

Quinn dealt out the next hand of cards. After a few rounds of betting, Austin won with three fives.

Quinn leaned back in his chair with a smile as Austin raked in his chips.

“So, what’s it going to be?” Quinn asked.

Austin glanced at April speculatively. She stared at the table, probably nervous about what he’d ask her to do. He thought back to truth-or-dare questions from college, grasping for something.

“Tell us about your first kiss,” he said finally. “Set the scene for us. Tell us things like where it happened. What it was like. How you felt about it.”

April’s gaze flickered to Quinn, then to Austin. She leaned back in her chair, and her hands curled around the armrests.

“He was walking me home after a party. There was a full moon, and we were holding hands. We took a shortcut through the park, and halfway through, he stopped and pulled me to him. He slid his arms around me and drew me close.”

Her gaze had drifted, and she now stared into space. It was as though she were reliving that moment. Her voice grew soft.

“He didn’t rush it. He kissed me gently at first, moving slowly on my lips, his fingers gliding through my hair. Then it turned more passionate.”

Her eyes had grown wistful, and she drew in a slow, almost quivering breath. Then she shook her head as if dragging herself from the memory.

“This was in college?” Quinn asked, his eyes narrowed.

She nodded.

So Quinn was the first man to kiss her?

Austin’s gaze turned to his friend’s face and could see that clearly he hadn’t realized it. And the thought disturbed Quinn.

“It sounds like you’d rate that kiss pretty high,” Austin said.

“Of all the kisses I’ve had in my life, that is the most special.”

Silence hung over the room. Finally, Quinn sat forward.

“Let’s get on to the next hand.”

* * *

Damn, Quinn hadn’t known that he’d been April’s first kiss. She’d been in college, for God’s sake. Who knew she’d never kissed a man before that?

He sat back in his chair and watched as Austin dealt the cards.

But thinking about it now, with all he’d learned about her background, it made some sense. She’d been abandoned by her own mother. She’d never had anyone in her life to take care of her. To love her. It made sense that she might have kept men at a distance, her lack of trust in others making her believe, even if only at a subconscious level, that she would probably get hurt.

Why the hell had she let him kiss her, then? Especially only hours after meeting him?

“Quinn, your ante,” Austin said, dragging Quinn’s attention back to the table.

Both of them had thrown in their chips. Quinn grabbed one from his stack and tossed it in with the others, then picked up his hand. He had two fours with a king high. He tossed the other two cards and got back another four and a king. Exhilaration rushed through him, but he kept a tight rein on his expression.

After a quick round of bets, Quinn laid down his full house with a smile.

He didn’t want to push Austin into this too fast. Austin had challenged April with a truth or dare that any college student might have tried. Quinn could work with that.

“Describe the bra you’re wearing, April.”