The Marriage Dare

“Why?”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll tell the world that you’re a liar, and a cheat, and a scammer, just like dear old daddy.”

She hisses out a breath and takes a step back like I just struck her. And in a way I did. I knew that would get a reaction. Monica had nothing to do with her father’s indiscretions. I know that, and she’s clearly desperate to get away from that image. But the instincts are there. I can see them. Written in the lines of her face and that brilliant smile that she uses to mask and manipulate. That thing that made her stand up and call me a cheater.

She’s glaring at me now, all sign of arousal and desire gone. “Fine,” she spits out. “I’ll marry you. You can steal my life. I’ll belong to you, and you’ll have the paper to prove it. But I’ll never love you. I swear that you’ll never have that. My heart will always be my own. You can hate me and I’ll hate you. A match made in heaven.”

I take a breath to calm my body down, that anger and spark making me want to cross the room, slam her against the wall and kiss her and never stop. But I get control of myself. This is perfect. Because she’s given me one more weapon to use against her, and I absolutely will.

Standing, I cross the room slowly, steadily. She backs away until she’s against that same wall that I wanted to push her against, and I don’t stop until I’m crowding her, so close to touching her but still a breath away. “Let me make a couple things clear. First, if you call me a cheater again, there will be consequences. You won’t like them. Second, I think I’ve made it obvious that I’m good at getting what I want. I don’t need your heart, Monica.”

I let her breathe for a moment, looking up at me. It’s hard to ignore the way her chest is rising and falling rapidly. She’s affected by my closeness even if she doesn’t want to be.

“I don’t need your heart,” I say again, “but I’ll have it. But not just that. I’ll take your mind, your soul, and your body too. You’re going to give them to me. You’re going to beg me to take them.”

“Never.” The word is low and fervent, even as she leans closer, her body begging me to kiss her.

“We’ll see,” I say. And I smile.

4

Monica

This can’t be happening to me. Really? Is it?

I lost. I really didn’t think I would. I mean, I know that two pair isn’t the best hand in poker, but no way did I think he would have three of a kind with all those bullshit cards! I had convinced myself…

I don’t know. Maybe I let the whiskey get in the way of my brain. Maybe I let how sexy he was distract me. Maybe the universe can go fuck itself for not giving me a single beginner’s luck win. Or maybe—and this is the truth, even if I don’t want it to be—he played me. I had no idea that he had made this fortune by being amazing at poker. Though the evidence was right there for me to see when I entered the room, I just didn’t notice.

How exactly did I think that he just happened to luck into owning Brazen Casinos? The money to start this place had to come from somewhere. And he probably knew that I wouldn’t overthink it, because up until recently, money was just readily available to me, I never had to question where it was coming from. But he did.

Funny, really. It’s the rags to riches story in reverse. I went from having everything to nothing. And he went from nothing to everything. I can’t ignore the relief I feel, even if I hate it. There are worse fates than marrying who’s worth is likely in the billions. Even if he wants to tear me apart. All I know is that I won’t be sleeping on the street in a week, and that feels good. Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, even if I would much rather have walked out of here with two million dollars.

But just like the last few years of my life, I’ll deal with it.

I’m sitting now in the penthouse suite of this building. It’s Daniel’s private suite, and it’s fucking glorious. The windows overlook the sparkling city, and the couch I’m sitting on easily costs more than some people’s yearly salary. Just like the poker room downstairs, it’s tasteful and luxurious. It reminds me a lot of what my family’s holdings used to look like when I was younger. Back when we spent money like it was water and didn’t care about the waste of it.