Secret Weapon

He grinned. “You want me to watch?”

She nodded.

“While you have sex with two other men?”

She shrugged. “Well, yeah. That’s sort of the point. If you can’t handle watching—”

“Then you and I are over before we even start.” His lips compressed. Damn it, she was testing him. “Look, I told you I can handle it.”

“Great. Then there should be no problem.”

“Don’t you think watching will make it worse, not better? At least, if I’m participating, I’m distracted.”

“I’m not trying to make it easier on you.”

“Great. Thanks.”

“Sloan, if you can’t do this, then it’ll be clear you can’t handle my lifestyle. If that’s the case, let’s find out right up front. Okay?”

He frowned. “Do I have a choice?”

“You always have a choice.”

His eyebrow quirked. “So I can have sex with you tonight?”

“No. I said you have a choice. That’s just not one of them.”

He glowered. “Fine. We’ll do it your way.”

She nodded and stepped toward the door, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her against him. He tipped up her chin and gazed into her topaz blue eyes.

“I’m going along with what you want now, but at some point, I’ll want some concessions of my own.” He stroked her cheek, delighting in the softness of her skin. “And just so you know, sex or no sex tonight, I intend to kiss you.” He leaned closer, breathing in her sweet floral yet citrusy scent. “Now. And later.”

He captured her soft red lips and drove his tongue between them, tasting her cherry-flavored lip gloss. At first she stiffened, but then she melted against him. He loved the fact she couldn’t resist his kisses, even when she was being stubborn. Every time she melted against him, his body hardened in response. Like now. His cock ached with wanting to drive into her.

The sliding door opened. “Hey, you guys. The party’s in here,” Derek said.

Sloan released her, gazing at her lovely face, her eyes closed. When she opened them, she looked soft and vulnerable. Like a woman who’d just been soundly kissed, and loved it. He wanted to drag her back into his arms and kiss her all over again, but she drew away and headed for the door.

Jonas waited at the table for them. “I thought you’d all abandoned me.” He grinned, then took a sip of his beer.

Janine sat down and Sloan took his place across from her. At least he’d be able to enjoy watching her. That was winning right there.

“So how does this work?” Sloan asked. “Why do we have chips if the object of the game has nothing to do with money?”

“Well, the chips don’t actually represent money,” Derek explained. “They represent the increasing stakes.” He picked up one of each color chip. He flicked a red one on the table. “The lowest is Truth. The losing player must answer a question of the winner’s choice.”

“Is the one with the lowest hand the losing player?” Jonas asked.

“No, everyone who is not the winner has to pay up.”

Derek picked up a green chip and tossed it with the others. “Green is Clothing. Self-explanatory. Everyone but the winner removes a piece of clothing. Each player chooses for him or herself what to take off. Two socks count as one item.” He glanced at Janine and smiled. “As do stockings.”

Derek flicked a blue chip beside the red and green. “Blue represents Dare. This is where the loser must perform some action determined by the winner.”

“Wait a minute. What happens if someone folds and the others continue betting?” Jonas asked.

“If someone folds, they have to do whatever action is represented by the last chip they tossed in.”