The tap became more insistent now.
I whipped my head around to see a security guard. “What the hell are you doing? Can’t you see I’m about to start playing a game?” I snapped as I looked him up and down.
Dark-haired, heavily-tatted, and his piercing silver eyes registered pure shock at my growl. He was blocking my opportunities.
The dealer didn’t even have the courtesy to wait for me.
“Sorry, but you might want to start the game with all your chips, don’t you think?” he replied sarcastically.
When I glanced up at him, I noticed he had exquisite lips and a flutter hit my stomach, agitating me even further.
He held out three twenty-dollar chips while grinning at me.
“Ugh.” I attempted to snatch them out of his hands and missed one of them as it dropped to the floor.
“You could try, ‘thank you for picking up my chips.’ That’s what a normal human would say,” he countered.
I rolled my eyes at him as I breathed in his musky cologne. Unfortunately, he smelled good too. I didn’t want to bask in him, but I found myself doing it. Security guards. I avoided them like the plague. They were like rent-a-cops. His eyes though… they were piercing, but they held kindness as well. The display of compassion made me feel uneasy. I wanted to get away from him and back to the business I knew—deception and quick hands.
We both attempted to pick up the fallen chips at the same time and bumped heads. The knock made me fold inward with pain and hold my head on the way up. The hairpins I had so tediously slid into place dislodged themselves on one side and my hair fell forward over my eye. Now I was really pissed. “So annoying! Just give me the chips and move on.” I grabbed the chips out of his hands and felt the undeniable warmth from his fingers. It shocked me as I glimpsed up at him through my heavy lashes.
“Yes, ma’am, you are a sassy one.” He watched me rise.
I didn’t know whether to be turned on or annoyed by him. He was much taller than me with a raw, rugged appeal that was hard to ignore. “Only if you get in my way,” I mumbled as I cut my eyes at him.
He chuckled. “Point taken. Miss?”
I turned back to the table. “None of your business,” I bit back quickly.
He put his hands up, still holding a gentle smirk on his sexy lips, and walked away.
I resumed my spot at the table, where it appeared they were halfway through the game. He’d thrown me right off and it took me another two games to get back in the groove. After the dealer signaled that the game was over, I laughed loudly to distract him, pretending to be excited by something the man to my left said. I made a swift but slight movement with my finger and pushed the chips into position on the felt board.
I placed a post bet on the winning hand and picked up another $3000. I moved to the next table and worked my magic, picking up another $1000. By the end of the night, I’d made another five grand and walked out of Red Stone on a winner’s high, a breezy grin on my face.
The Red Stone Casino was child’s play, and I would stack my chips until I bled my marks dry. I had my eye on a bigger prize, the high roller Mahogany room. That’s where the big money was.
Security guards. Best to stay away from them. They were the enemy.