he had golden skin and deep green eyes. He flashed a grin at her.
The ring on his finger glinted. Just one ring. The one she’d been hoping to see.
Bingo.
“Here’s the blindfold.” Morris waved it toward her. “I’ll put it on and—”
“I’ll do it. My game. My rules, remember?” Kingston snatched it away. He motioned to a chair that was a few feet behind the table. “Sorry, love, but to make everyone more comfortable, you have to sit back there.”
Because just being close to the table—while wearing a blindfold—somehow made it possible for her to read their cards? Whatever.
Before she sat down, Chloe made note of the others in the room. The dealer—that was the redhead who’d been with Kingston before. Chloe knew Kingston would also be playing at the table. Also seated was a man with silver-tipped hair and another fellow with a day’s worth of stubble on his jaw.
She eased into the chair. Crossed her legs.
Joel was still holding her hand. She thought he was doing it deliberately. Letting others know that she belonged with him. Such a nice touch. Chloe was impressed.
“Just like old times, hmmm?” Kingston asked as he bent toward her.
She caught the flash of fury on Joel’s face right before Kingston slid the blindfold over her eyes.
Then…there was darkness.
“Happy now?” Kingston asked. Presumably, the question was for Morris.
A grunt was the reply.
She still held Joel’s hand. She squeezed it to get his attention. She caught his crisp, masculine scent as he leaned closer to her. Her head turned toward him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek.
Heard him suck in a breath.
“Check out the ring at the table,” Chloe breathed.
She felt his nod. Then he slid back. Stopped touching her. Odd, but she immediately missed his warmth. She heard the squeak of his chair as he settled in.
No one was wasting time with chit-chat. Not this group. They were all ready to get right down to business. Chloe pulled in a deep breath. Slowly released it. She did that a few times to center herself. To push away tension. She became aware of the perfume that hung in the air. Recognized the expensive, French scent. Knew it had to come from the redhead. Kingston always gave his lovers that same scent. She took another careful inhale.
Cigar smoke. No one was smoking in that room, Kingston wouldn’t allow it, but someone had smoked right before coming inside. A Cuban cigar. Expensive.
Her nostrils flared again. She tried to pull in more scents. Looked for something that would perhaps be familiar to her.
A scent nagged at her. Not close enough to fully detect. Not yet.
It teased…
A smooth female voice asked, “Players, are you ready?”
There was a murmur of agreements.
“Then let’s begin.”
Chloe heard the flutter of cards as they were dealt.
***
Over one hundred grand was on the table in front of him. Joel cast a quick glance at his cards, realized he had jack shit, but didn’t let that slow him down as he tossed more cash into the pile. Then he looked over his shoulder at Chloe. Her chair had been positioned a few feet behind his.
She sat with her back perfectly straight. Her legs were crossed, but she didn’t idly kick her foot or anything like that. Chloe was completely still. Her face was expressionless. The black blindfold covered her eyes and skimmed her cheeks.
“Yeah, I get that she’s fucking gorgeous,” the man across from Joel tossed more chips onto the table. “But how about you try focusing on the game?”
Joel gave the jerk a slow smile. He’d already noticed the ring on his finger. “I am focused, champ.”
The man grunted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re a champ, aren’t you? That’s a championship football ring on your finger.” He leaned forward for a better look. “High school. Let me guess…big man on campus back in the day?”
The fellow laughed. His fingers tapped against his cards. “Not my ring. It’s a trophy.”
Killers keep trophies. “Good for you.” Joel knew he sounded bored.
There had been no introductions at the table. Joel got that this wasn’t exactly the kind of place where names were exchanged. So he had no idea who the fellow currently tapping away at the cards actually was.
A pretty boy. With a bored air. And a trophy on his finger.
A killer? Maybe.
“I’m out.” This was from Morris. At least, Joel knew his name. Morris had been steadily losing all night.
Joel had won and lost. He was actually up about fifteen grand overall.