Janine twirled around and grinned. “I thought it might be fun to play some cards.”
“Cards?” It wasn’t exactly what Sloan had expected Janine to suggest with three men at her disposal.
“That’s right. You like poker, don’t you?”
Ah, that’s what this was about.
“I’ll get the poker chips,” Derek said.
Janine draped her wrap over the back of one of Derek’s dining room chairs, then sat down. Jonas sat beside her. Realizing that this would probably turn into a game of strip poker, Sloan decided to sit across the table from her. With the round glass dining table, it would be a spectacular view. He gazed at the sexy sight of her long legs crossed at the thighs. Actually, the view was pretty damned hot right now.
Derek returned with a wooden case and set it on the table. He opened it to reveal brightly colored poker chips with white stripes along the edges. He started stacking the casino-quality chips on the table, sorting by denomination. Red at five, green at ten, blue at twenty-five and, finally, black at a hundred.
“Jonas, would you distribute one of each color to everyone while I grab some drinks?” Derek asked.
“Sure.” Jonas stood up and began setting out the chips into four equal stacks.
Janine rose. “Sloan, I’m going out on the deck for a minute. Want to join me?”
Sloan stood up and followed her across the living room and out the sliding door onto the back deck, then closed the door behind them. Janine leaned against the railing and stared at the stars glittering above them. Sloan noticed that the cool night air sent goose bumps along Janine’s naked arms.
“You’re cold. Would you like me to get your wrap?” he offered.
“I’m fine, thanks.” She turned to him. “Sloan, I have another request for tonight.”
“Really?” He grinned. “You want to neck?”
He stepped closer, ready to draw her into his arms, but she pressed her palm flat against his chest.
“No. In fact, quite the opposite.”
Uh-oh. He didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”
“Well, things could get pretty wild tonight.”
He shrugged. “That’s why I’m here. To prove you can’t scare me off. So what’s your request?”
“I don’t want you to … participate in this evening’s activities.”
“What? You want me to leave?”
“No, I just mean I don’t want you and I to have sex tonight.”
“But we’re playing strip poker?”
“That’s right.”
“So this is all about getting teased? No follow-through intended?”
He was actually relieved. Being thrown in full force, with two other guys, wasn’t his idea of a dream date with Janine.
“Well, for you. But with Derek and Jonas … it could go further. I mean, if they want to…”
Damn, she was going to strip off her clothes in front of them, then if the other guys wanted to she would have sex with them. There was zero chance they wouldn’t want to.
“So it’s just me being left out? That’s not a hell of a lot of fun.” He frowned. “So I just sit in the living room while the three of you go off and—”
“Oh, no. You can watch. In fact, I think it’s a good idea if you watch.”