My heartbeat poundedin my ears as we stared at each other from across the room.
No matter what hand I played tonight, the outcome remained the same.
I lost.
Hell, the game had started and ended the moment he stared at the camera and punched the code for the elevator doors.
Everything that had happened since then was him playing with me, watching my tells, raising the stakes, toying with me.
It was mind-fucking at its best.
He’d had me where he wanted me from the moment I saw him in the botanical gardens on my knees.
The fact I was more aroused than I’d ever been in my life pissed me off to holy hell.
Of all the men in the world, why would the gods decide it was this one to pull this kind of reaction from me?
Trust me to find a jackass attractive.
Every little touch drew me, every look, every interaction, as if he wanted me to crave him, need him.
Asshole.
“Nothing to say, Nyx?”
“What is there to say besides there isn’t a chance in hell I can win this.”
“How would you know without dealing the cards?”
I swallowed to relieve my dry throat. “Because you rigged this game the moment you learned about me.”
“Is that when it happened?”
Hell, he’d all but admitted it. He wasn’t a liar. I could give him that.
“Why do you want me, when you have women falling all over themselves for you?”
He moved closer to me, making my breath grow shallow.
“Because of the thought of sliding my cock into your mouth…your cunt…and your ass has haunted me from the moment I saw you on your knees in that botanical garden.”
Visions of everything he said bloomed in my mind, and I couldn’t help but lick my lips.
The closer he came, the faster my pulse hammered into my chest. A lightheadedness filled my head, and this need to run, to escape pushed at every nerve in my body.
Instead, I asked, “You want to marry another woman, so how can you expect me to agree to this?”
His hands gripped my waist, walking me backward until he had me pressed against the wall. “Who says you have a choice? You want out of this marriage with a pristine reputation for yourself and your family, then I get you whenever, wherever, however I want for one year.”
Tilting my head up, I tried to focus on his face and not the insanity of the arousal and panic coursing inside my body. “And then?”
“You get to live your life. Enjoy your secret club, your freedom.” His piercing green eyes burned into mine. “We will fuck each other out of our systems, and I will return to New York and marry the woman I’ve chosen to fit into my life.”
I clenched my jaw. “You’re an asshole.”
“This is a fact I never denied. It’s probably the tamest of the things people call me.”
“I’m not a whore.” I pushed at his chest, and just as fast, he grabbed my arms, pinning them above my head.