Raising the Stakes: Three of a Kind, Book 2 (5 page)

His release spurred hers. She pressed hard against her clit and juice spilled from her pussy as she lost control. His cock pulsed in her mouth and she shuddered around her finger.

When the tremors and the shivers finally subsided, and Alex’s spasms had long run dry, she released his softened cock with a shuddery sigh, collapsed on her knees and rested her forehead on his thigh.

She waited until he’d come down from his high before she looked up at his face and smiled. “I love you, Alex Truman.”

His answering smile was a bigger reward than any she could ever have asked for.

Chapter Three

“Full house,” Meg announced with glee, showing her cards.

“Unbelievable.” Max shook his head and tossed his hand facedown on the table. “You’ve been playing for all of a week and you’re already cleaning us out.”

Meg grinned. “What can I say? Alex is a great instructor.”

“More like you’re a quick study.” Alex winked at her.

Her grin stretched into the Meg-a-watt smile when she looked Alex’s way. “I should have learned the game years ago. I could have quit teaching and become a professional poker player.”

Des tried not to bristle. It wasn’t as if he
hadn’t
proposed to show her the game a hundred times. He’d been a willing coach, but she’d refused his every offer. A week under Alex’s tutelage and Meg was a skilled player. Or maybe she was just a good bluffer. Either way, her chips were stacking up while everyone else’s were diminishing.

Trevor gathered the cards to straighten and shuffle the pack, readying them for the next hand.

Meg drew her chair closer to Des, scraping the legs against the wooden floorboards. “Hey, you.” She bumped her shoulder against his arm affectionately.

“Hey, yourself.” He bumped her back. He couldn’t help the grin that spread over his face. No matter what shit he had to sort through, and no matter how jealous he might still be after two months, being with Meg always raised his spirits.

Instead of moving away like he’d expected her to, she stayed right where she was, with her shoulder pressed up against his arm. “Wanna see a movie tomorrow night?”

Des almost laughed out loud. Sit beside her in a darkened theater for over two hours? Not likely. A couple of months ago that would not have been a prob. Now? Fucking torture. “I’d love to, but I’m busy.”

“Hot date?”

Oh, yeah. Just him and his telly remote, curled up on the couch together. “Work.”

Was it his imagination, or was Alex watching them?

She scrunched up her nose. “On a Saturday night?”

“There’s a new phone releasing on Monday. I have to be ready for it. Figured I’d slack off tonight at cards and use the rest of the weekend to work.” When had he become such an expert liar? Even if there was a new phone releasing, his store managers were more than able to handle the buzz without him.

“You work too hard,” she muttered, and leaned over to collect the cards Trevor dealt. They played the next two hands without speaking, but that didn’t mean Des wasn’t acutely aware of every move she made.

She neglected to pull her chair back to its original spot, instead remaining right where she was, her arm plastered against his. Usually it wouldn’t have bothered him. Meg was always affectionate. He should be accustomed to it.

A couple of months ago he’d have stretched his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. Kissed her head and teased her about the stars that seemed to have settled permanently in her eyes. Now? That same damn arm was cramping from stiffness, and he couldn’t think up one amusing thing to say.

Besides, Alex was watching them again.

Heat radiated off her, burning through his shirtsleeves at the exact places their bodies touched. The familiar floral scent of her shampoo wafted through his nose, and her curls tickled his neck whenever she turned her head.

She drove him slowly insane. His cock had perked up the instant she touched him. His pants—which fit just fine earlier today—drew tight over his groin, making his current position even more untenable. If he had to sit here for the next hour or so, smelling Meg, he’d do himself irreparable damage.

Frustrated, Des rubbed his eyes and imagined as much blood, guts and gore as possible. Of course it made no difference. The erection from hell still plagued him, and it wasn’t going down anytime soon. Not when the sweetest laughter he’d ever heard tinkled through his ear and vibrated through his chest.

He lost the next two hands and half his chips along with them. His concentration was shot, and the most simple of plays was beyond him.

Meg took great pleasure in drawing the winnings of the second hand over and stacking them in color-coordinated piles. Much as he enjoyed her taking delight in her spoils, the click-clack of one chip hitting another tortured Des like a slow-dripping tap.

Jay called for a five-minute bathroom break, and everyone got up to wander around and stretch their legs. Alex blew Meg a kiss and offered to get her a vodka cruiser. She accepted with a smile.

Des was a beer man through and through, but he kept a constant supply of cruisers at home for Meg. When Alex called to say she’d be joining them for poker, he’d set several bottles down beside the regular stash of poker-night beer and scotch.

“You want a beer, mate?” Alex offered. His tone was friendly enough but his gaze was cooler than usual.

“That’d be great, thanks.” Any other time he’d get up and help himself, ’specially seeing as this was his house. Two things kept him seated. The first was Meg. He wasn’t moving an inch away from her anytime soon. The second was his damned erection from hell. If he stood now, his hunger for Meg would be as obvious to the rest of the poker school as it was to Des.

She linked her arm through his. “It feels like we never spend time together anymore.” She squeezed his biceps. “I miss you, Des.”

He sighed. “I miss you too, Meggy-mine.” Way more than she’d ever fathom.

“So why don’t you pick up the phone? Talk to me sometime?”

Des snickered. “Because it’s too damn heavy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I have so many text messages from you, they’re weighing down my mobile.”

She grinned at him. “You could delete them.”

“And erase all those pep talks? Not on your life.”

Meg had taken to texting him at least twice a day. At first she’d just sent simple,
hang-in-there
or
I’m-here-if-you-need-me
messages. Then they’d morphed into profound philosophical quotes about hope, which made Des want to throw up. He texted her back to tell her as much. Never one to be deterred, Meg’s messages became snarky one-liners or silly jokes she’d just heard.

“You don’t like my texts?” Her eyes twinkled.

Des tucked in to his back pocket and withdrew his iPhone. He scrolled through his texts, found the one he sought and showed it to her.

“
If you fart too hard you go flying upward
,” she read out loud.

“They’re inspiring, Meg. Really help me to get through a day.” His voice was deadpan.

Peals of laughter rang from her. “I knew you’d like that one. Had to share it ASAP.”

He couldn’t help it. He laughed right along with her. “You’re bloody nuts.”

“I am,” she agreed wholeheartedly. “And that, my friend, is why you love me.”

This time his laugh held no humor. “That and a whole host of other reasons.”

Megan blinked hard. The muscle in her cheek ticked. For a long moment neither one of them spoke. Des just stared at her, knowing he shouldn’t have made such a dumb comment, but unable to regret it. Damn it. He did love her for a whole host of reasons. Hundreds of them. Thousands.

Megan bit her lip while her cheek ticked away. She broke the awkward silence with a cry. “Hey. You haven’t commented on my poker skills. What do you think?”

“Oh, I’m impressed. Bloody impressed.” He nodded to reinforce his words. “But confused too. You? Learning poker? Doesn’t compute. What’s the story?”

Her brow wrinkled. “You really wanna know?”

“’Course I wanna know.”

“I learnt it for you.”

That had him sitting up straighter. “Me? What have I got to do with your card skills?”

She jutted her chin out, looking defiant. “Well, you said it before. You’re dealing with something, and you need your space. You didn’t want me poking around in your business.”

He winced. “Shit, I really said that?”

“Yes, Des. You really said that.” She lowered her chin a little. “Uh, maybe not the part about not wanting me poking into your business, but definitely the bit about needing space. From me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too. I figured since you rebuffed all of my attempts to talk to you, and haven’t been round to my place in over six weeks, if I wanted to see you, it would have to be on your terms.” She grinned triumphantly. “What better terms than poker?”

Fuck the awkwardness. He pulled his arm away from hers, dropped it over her shoulder and tucked her in close. Then he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, just as he had on any number of occasions. “You’re a good friend,” he whispered, his nose still burrowed in her hair. “The best.”

Christ, he’d missed her. Never mind the bit about needing to haul her into his arms, hold her there forever and kiss her senseless. He just missed his friend, Meggy.

“I know.” Her smugness made him laugh. “And in just a few short weeks, I’ll be a good poker player too. The best.” She tilted her head back and looked him in the eye.

Hers danced with humor, and something else. Something Des could not fathom and didn’t try to. He just enjoyed this easy moment with her, relished the closeness they’d found again. The rest of the world faded to nothing as the two of them chuckled together.

Of course, Alex chose that moment to break in, setting two bottles on the table. “Here you go, baby. A cruiser for you and an ice-cold Tooheys for your friend.”

Des nodded his thanks at Alex and watched as the man sat on the other side of Meg, in Julia’s chair.

The moment between him and Meg was gone.

Des removed his arm with reluctance and Meg sat up. He kept his grin plastered on his face, hoping it didn’t look as empty as he felt.

Alex stretched across the table and pulled his phone and wallet over, telling Des, without words, that he was staying right where he was. Des-and-Meg time was officially over. Her boyfriend was back.

What the fuck? Did Alex just get territorial?

His spine prickled. He resisted the urge to tug Meg back against him and show the guy just who she’d belonged with first. Long before Alex stepped on the scene.

Fortunately, one by one, the rest of the school joined them at the table, preventing Des from making a complete moron of himself. Jules never said a word about her usurped seat. She just flashed Alex a knowing smile, shifted Hunter up a place, and sat in his chair. Everyone else moved one chair to the right and it was game on.

Des’s good mood dissipated. Tension ran through his shoulders and up his neck. Much as he tried to ignore Alex’s hand, which had found its way to the small of Meg’s back and rubbed tiny circles over the top of her butt, it seemed to be all he could see in his peripheral vision.

The soft, sexy sighs Meg released every few minutes did nothing to improve his disposition. Gone were the few minutes of fun he and Meg had shared.

So help him, he was jealous. Jealous, frustrated and more than a little pissed off, both with himself, for not coming to his senses sooner, and with Alex, for touching the woman Des loved. Every bet Alex made, he challenged. So aggressively, more than one comment was passed around the table.

“Not in your character, Reedy.” Jay laughed.

“You pissed off or something?” Trev wanted to know.

Des didn’t give a shit. He played for all his worth. There might be social restraints dictating the way he had to treat the guy, preventing him from physically attacking Alex. There might also be that small issue of size holding him back. Alex was a head taller and a good few inches broader than Des. Still Des felt an absurd need to get to him, to show the man up any way he could.

He won three consecutive hands and felt no better.

The later the evening became, the blacker Des’s thoughts turned. Alex’s hand was no longer on Meg’s back. It was on her knee. His mouth was by her ear, and even on the other side of her, Des could hear the rasping of Alex’s voice as he whispered to her.

When Alex walked his fingers under the hem of Meg’s sundress, Des had enough. He threw his cards on the table and jumped up.

“I fold.” He stalked over to the sliding doors.

“Where are you going?” Meg asked.

“Outside.” Christ, he tried not to snap at her but couldn’t stop himself in time.

“Why?”

Because if I don’t, I’m going to break every finger on Alex’s hand.
“I need a cigarette.”

With that, he stepped outside, managing to resist the urge to slam the doors shut behind him. He crossed the small garden in a few long strides, heading for the shadows of the big gum tree in the back. Under the cloak of darkness he let rip with several foul curses and kicked the thick tree trunk hard enough to break his toe.

It didn’t help one fucking bit.

Alex looked from Megan’s face to the sliding doors and back to Megan’s face. Her mouth hung open and her eyes had widened. They were filled with confusion and turmoil.

Her good mood slipped away as tangibly as if she’d wiped the smile off her face.

Tension coiled in Alex’s gut. All was not well in paradise. He’d been a fucking idiot in the car over here, asking if she still loved Des.

Her nod had been a poker through his chest.

He’d grimaced. They’d spent the preceding hour naked and sweaty together. On her initiation, not his. Not that he’d complained. She’d slid her dress over her hip, flashing him a glimpse of her pantiless butt, and he’d been a goner. Before she’d let the skirt fall back into place, he’d dropped to his knees, buried his mouth in her pussy and licked her like a lollipop. But it was his strategically placed finger in her ass that had set her off on her first round of convulsions.