Page 5 of Lord of Passion

"A pleasure," she intones.

Caroline is seated directly across the table from me, Liria on one side, Alexsey on the other. Her dress skims along spectacular breasts, hitting about mid-thigh on her legs. They're long and toned, runner's legs, I think. She has thick, brown hair, shoulder length, descending in waves from a face with sharply arched eyebrows and beautiful green eyes. A deep green, like the moss on trees in the forest.

And that mouth.

Fuck, it's lush, like a peach or a plum. I could kiss and suck on it for hours. I sit back with a jerk as if trying to disentangle myself from my own filthy musings. Where the fuck did that come from? She's the General Manager of one of our hotels, with dead brothers who betrayed the Bratva and nearly got Liria killed. Only Alexsey and the Morozov women's aggressive championing of her have allowed Caroline into the inner circle.

"Shuffle up and deal."

Mora, the blonde, tuxedo-clad dealer has worked for our family for years. The cards fly with quiet efficiency and we all check our hands. Caroline is sorting through hers, expressionless.

"Action is on you," Mora says to Andrey.

"Fifty thousand," he says, pushing his chips to the center of the table.

"Call," says Liria, Caroline says the same.

"Raise," Castillo pushes an additional fifteen thousand to the pile with a wink at Caroline, who doesn't see it.

"Raise," I say, pushing another twenty thousand into the pot. Caroline has a good stack of chips in front of her. How does a hotel manager have that kind of money? Liria and Alexsey must be fronting her.

The next round starts and Caroline keeps up an easy flow of banter with Alexsey and Liria. I order another drink, irritated by Castillo's attempts to worm into their chat. Andrey ignores us all.

There is muted conversation from the other tables, broken up by the occasional round of laughter. Poker Night is one of my favorite Morozov get-togethers, it's an easy way to entertain clients and trash-talk my cousins. Caroline's presence is distracting, the confident way she pushes in more chips, her utter lack of tells.

Alexsey, for instance, will tap his fingers against the felt surface of the table when his hand is good. Liria hums, just slightly. Castillo puffs more vigorously on his cigar and the smoke is getting annoying. My brother Andrey? Who fucking knows. I can't tell whether he's happy or sad or pissed off, much less what his poker hand is.

Taking a delicate sip of her wine, Caroline calls "Pass!" in the third round. Her steady gaze moves around the table, resting briefly on me before moving on. My next card is dealt: a ten. A surge of satisfaction warms me. Four of a kind. "Raise," I murmur, pushing in another two hundred thousand.

Fourth round. The cards are dealt, discarded, hands shuffled. Everyone calls for another drink. We're all dramatic assholes, enjoying drawing the moment out. Mora looks at Andrey. He lays out a good hand, three nines and two sevens.

"Full House," he says, still expressionless.

Castillo curses, throwing his cards on the table. "I'm out."

Alexsey shrugs, laying out another Full House, but lower than Andrey's. Liria laughs. "Just a Flush," as she puts out her hand.

It's between Caroline and me. That's a hell of a lot of money, and close to a quarter million of it is hers. Can she afford to lose that kind of cash?

Then she shouldn't be playing.

I lay out my hand, a ten of clubs, a nine, eight, and seven, along with a Queen of clubs. "Straight Flush."

The table is quiet, everyone, even Andrey, is watching avidly. Caroline takes her time, straightening her cards then lays them down. "Straight Flush. Queen of hearts, Jack, ten, and nine."

The first out of his chair is Castillo, cheering for, "The clever Caroline!"

Suck-up. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell with her.

She keeps her gaze steady on mine for a moment before leaning over to hug Liria.

"Well-played, Caroline," Castillo's oozing up to her with what he thinks is his most charming smile. I've seen him use it on numerous women this week.

She nods, stepping away to stretch a bit. His gaze drops, as I knew it would, to her spectacular breasts. That dress is doing a good job of holding them in, which is a shame. Pulling her neckline down and setting them free so I could fasten my lips around her nipple would be extremely satisfying right now.

The image is so fucking vivid that I shift uncomfortably. I'm getting hard just looking at her? I need to get laid more often.

"At least I get to enjoy the sight of a beautiful woman crushing her opponents." Castillo's still working on her. He's got a slick delivery and that smooth Spanish accent. Some women seem to find it seductive. It's hard to know with Caroline.