I push him out of my mind—and everything else—as I try to convince myself sloppy play is the answer to my problems. If I give in and quickly run down the $630 in chips I have left, this thing with Maverick will be over within eight hours. Or maybe, if I’m really lucky…more like twelve.
Point is, tomorrow night, I’ll be back at the poker table with a newfound focus. I can get back to what I do best—winning.
Losing doesn’t come naturally for me. In fact, it’s painful. My dad raised me to be smart with my bets so I’m not rapidly swinging my pot up and down.
As the dealer works, I fall into my default mode of covertly counting cards. It’s what I do when I play blackjack, which isn’t often. If I can stop looking at Maverick and thinking about what his scruffy beard would feel like between my thighs, I can make my money back.
Is that what I want, though? My instinctive drive to win is at war with my desire to find out what Maverick looks like underneath the gray Saints t-shirt and black shorts he’s wearing.
I take a deep breath, resetting mentally. When my eyes meet his across the table, though, and he breaks into a full-on, sexy as sin grin, I’m once again hot all over.
The waitress approaches with our drinks and as soon as she hands me mine, I pass her a red chip and tip the drink back, taking several huge swallows. It burns, which is fitting since I feel like I’m on the verge of bursting into flames myself.
The line between winning and losing has never been so blurred. I want to win, but I also want Maverick. There’s no sage advice for a situation like this.
I have to know. My usual patience is nowhere to be found as I stack $300 of chips in place for a bet. I’ll either win big or lose big. Either way, I can’t stare across this table at Maverick for hour after hour. He makes me want to defy my years of training. He makes me want to be reckless.
His gaze blazes like the bright blue flames of a fire, its flicker making me shiver as surely as his touch would.
Maverick has to be wondering if I’m playing risky in hopes of winning or losing. And honestly?
So am I.
To PREORDER Maverick, releasing 8.24.21, click HERE.
Also by Brenda Rothert
Chicago Blaze Series
Book 1 - Anton
Book 2 - Luca
Book 3 - Victor
Book 4 - Knox
Book 5 - Alexei
Book 6 - Easy
Book 7 - Jonah
Book 8 - Kit
Book 9 - Olivier
Sin city saints Series
Book 1 - Maverick
Fire on Ice Series
Book 1 - Bound
Book 2 - Captive
Book 4 - Drive
Book 5 - Release
On the Line Series
Book 1 - Killian
Book 2 - Bennett
Lockhart Brothers Series
Book 1 - Deep Down
Book 2 - In Deep
Book 3 - Drawn Deeper
Book 4 - Hidden Depth
Filthy Series
Book 1 - Dirty Work
Book 2 - Dirty Secret
Book 3 - Dirty Defiance
Standalones
Come Closer
Buried
Sweet Sixteen
His
Alpha Mail
Healing Touch
Barely Breathing
About the Author
Brenda Rothert lives in Central Illinois with her husband, children and two dogs. She loves to hear from readers through her website or her Facebook Group, Rothert’s Readers.