Nico gave me a stack of hundred-dollar chips I had to use in five spins of the wheel. I took a quick inventory, surprised we each had ten thousand dollars in casino chips.
We stood in front of a high-roller roulette table, where a thousand dollars was the minimum bet. I put my chips on the color black on the felt table.
“Playing it safe?” Nico’s smile widened as he glanced down at me. “It’s a one-to-one split if you win on a color.” He tipped his head at the board. “Same if you bet on odd or even numbers and eighteen and above.”
Of course, I knew the odds.
I wanted to lose.
I licked my hips as our eyes met. “Since you’re so wise, how should I bet, Mr. Luciano?”
He bent down to whisper into my ear, “By the end of the night, you’re going to be screaming my name, baby.”
I hope so.
Pressing my lips together, I smeared the pink gloss. Nico stared at my lips like he wanted to kiss me. We locked eyes for a moment before someone cleared their throat.
“Stop holding up my table, Nicodemus.”
Dante stood beside the pit boss, Vinnie Morelli, Sneaky Pete’s father. His son looked like him, with the same dark hair and complexion.
Nico waved his hand dismissively at Dante and muttered a string of curses in Italian. He put his chips on twenty-three red.
“Should I change my bet?” I asked him.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing I want to win more than your pussy.”
I cleared my throat, my heart beating like crazy in my chest.
The croupier waved his hand over the table after we placed our bets. He spun the wheel, and my stomach twisted into knots. I wasn’t sure why I was so nervous. This was what I wanted, what we both had been thinking about all night.
Nico chuckled when the wheel landed on twenty-three red.
I shook my head in disbelief. “You cheated.”
“First rule of gambling, the house always wins.”
ChapterThirty-One
NICO
Iwon the bet. Ava played it safe for the other four spins, even though she knew the odds. But she stuck to her guns, kept putting her chips on black, and hit it twice.
This was my casino.
The house always won.
We walked into my penthouse with my hand on Ava’s back, guiding her into the foyer. She wore the Dolce & Gabbana dress I chose that hugged her perfect curves and the Ferragamo pumps that stressed her killer thighs.
Perfect.
I couldn’t stop thinking about bending her over on my dining room table with her looking this hot. She was mine for the night and would have to do whatever I wanted. But I could tell she wasn’t upset about losing. Because either way, she still fucking won.
I trailed behind her to catch another glimpse of her magnificent ass. Her legs were lean but slightly muscular. All I could think about was shoving my face between them again.
There was a spiral staircase to the left, which led to several bedrooms. I also had an office and two other rooms on this floor.
Ava stepped into the open-concept living room with her eyes pointed at the balcony doors in front of us. Floor-to-ceiling windows spanned the entire first floor. I had the best view of the city. And when I opened the patio doors, waves from the Atlantic Ocean crashed on the beach below us.