“It’s her decision.” I shot Ryker an angry glare.
You made the bet and you said she might like it—stay out of this.
“Yeah, I don’t know.” Aurora peeked at her cards again.
“He’s going to spank you hard. He wasn’t kidding about that.” Ryker reached over and patted Aurora’s hand. “There’s no shame in folding and calling it a night—we’re going to have a lot of fun regardless.”
“I might win, though…” Aurora sighed and tilted her head. “But is it worth it?”
“That’s up to you.” I shrugged and smiled.
She’s actually thinking about it. She must have three of a kind—there’s no way she would bet on anything else.
“Okay.” Aurora stared for a moment, seriously contemplating her decision. “I’m all in.”
“Fucking hell.” Ryker exhaled sharply and shook his head.
It’s worth it for the chips I’ll lose just for a chance at her Punishment Chip.
“I’ll call.” I threw out enough chips to match her bet. “Let’s see what the last card has for us.”
“Jack of Clubs.” Ryker flipped it over.
Holy shit. I won. There’s no way she can beat my three of a kind.
“Let’s see the cards.” I smiled and flipped mine over.
“Oh my god!” The color drained out of Aurora’s face and she flipped over a pair of sixes, which had been turned into three of a kind with the initial flop. “I—I had it. I had the win.”
“The cards always betray you eventually.” I reached over and picked up her Punishment Chip. “It’s a painful lesson to learn sometimes—like now.”
“Come on, Cole.” Ryker turned his head towards me with his eyebrows clenched together in anger. “Give her a pass on this one.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” I glared at him. “You’re the one that made the side bet to begin with.”
“Wait, what side bet?” Aurora looked at Ryker and then to me.
“Ryker bet me that I couldn’t spank you before the end of your vacation. He thought you’d like it.” I leaned back and chuckled. “He just lost the bet.”
“I also said that you didn’t have to go through with it if she wasn’t into it, and by the look on her face, I’m going to guess my original assumption was wrong.” Ryker reached over and took Aurora’s hand. “You don’t have to do it. I’ll call off the bet.”
“I mean…” Aurora looked down at the table and sighed. “It did turn me on a lot, but that was different. It was the heat of the moment.”
“Sorry, Aurora.” I picked up the Punishment Chip and leaned forward to put it on front of her. “I’m not cruel. If you’re not into that sort of thing, and Ryker wants to call off the bet, you can have your chip back.”
Well, that’s a downer. Fuck. Leave it to me to take a giant shit on a great evening.
Chapter Seventeen
Aurora
I liked Cole’s dominance. I loved the way he treated me in the bedroom. It made me feel things that I had never imagined. That was different from a real spanking, though—panties down, across his knee, having my bare bottom blistered like a disobedient child. That wasn’t the same. I stared at the Punishment Chip once he put it back in front of me, my thoughts tangled. It felt wrong to take it back. He had won it fair and square, even if there was a hidden agenda between them with their side bet. I didn’t know if I would necessarily hate being spanked. I just didn’t know if it would turn me on the same way his dominance did when we were in bed together. Still, I was the one that made the decision to risk it and I lost. That part was on me, regardless of how it ended up becoming my Punishment Chip to begin with.
“Okay, well—I think this game is done. Maybe we should go to the bedroom and have another memorable night.” Ryker looked at me and then turned towards Cole.
“Has anyone lost their Punishment Chip and had their punishment excused?” I picked up the chip and stared at it, completely ignoring Ryker’s suggestion. “Like, if either of you had lost it, would you have chickened out?”
“Probably not.” Ryker shook his head. “But we don’t have to think about that. This is your vacation—not a trip to the Principal’s office.”