Her Wilde Marines (Wilde, Nevada 4)

Adam downed the last drop of the wine. “All gone. Should I head down to the bar for another bottle, Em?”

“No thank you.” She smiled. “I’m fine. Actually more than fine.”

God, I love the sound of that. Bane looked at his watch. “It’s oh-two hundred.”

“Two in the morning? It’s still early.” She clearly wasn’t ready to be alone. “Any ideas of what we can do next? Do you like games? I saw a deck of cards in one of the drawers of the dresser. How about poker?”

Adam raised one eyebrow. “What are the stakes, Em?”

He knew exactly where his brother was headed to give them an advantage. The two of them were masters at manipulating the cards thanks to a love of magic tricks when they were teenagers.

“I’ve got some change in my purse. It would just be for fun.”

Adam grinned. “I know what is really fun. Strip poker.”

She giggled. “Seriously?”

He’d never wanted a woman more than he wanted Emma right now. “Now that’s a game I could get into.”

“Oh really?” She got up and pulled out the deck of cards. She came back to the table and shuffled them expertly. “You two better reconsider. I’m quite good at poker. If you’re not careful, you’ll both be walking out of this room naked.”

“Oh. That’s really a challenge.” He and Adam were pretty good at poker when they played fair. When they chose to use sleight of hand, they were extraordinary and unbeatable, not that they ever cheated in any real game. It was always just fun, but tonight he knew would make all those other times seem dull and boring. Tonight, with Emma, would be amazing. He and Adam needed to throw out all the stops. “Waving the red flag in front of us, are you?”

“You bet.” Her grin nearly drove him mad with desire. “Would one of you like to cut?”

He nodded and picked up half the deck, placing it underneath the rest of the cards. His old magic skills were still intact, as Emma didn’t notice that he’d palmed several cards when he brought his hand back and placed it under the table.

“Here are the rules.” Emma’s confidence was evident. “Five card stud. The winner of the hand decides who takes off a piece of clothing.”

Adam nodded. “Pretty sure of yourself, sweetheart, aren’t you?”

“Just wait and see, fellas. Wait and see.” She dealt the cards.

He turned to Adam, who gave him a knowing look. Let her win a couple of hands first. Perfect.

“Three sevens.” She smiled broadly. “I win. Told you.”

“Damn,” they both said in unison, trying to hold back their laughter.

“Bane, take off your boots.”

“Wait a second, Miss Card Shark.” He loved her smugness. “Shouldn’t it only be one boot?”

“Fine. Take off your left boot.”

He took it off and tossed it to the side. “My deal.”

He shuffled the cards, making sure she had the winning hand again.

“A full house. I’m on fire. Adam, take off your left shoe.”

“Shit.” Adam turned to him. “We might be in real trouble with this one.”

It was all part of the ruse and it was working perfectly. The four hands they’d let her win had given her a confident laughter that was contagious.

Time to turn the tables on you, baby. “Give me the cards, Em.”

“If you two want to call it quits, I would understand completely. You are outgunned.”