Page 118 of Forged

She laughs. “Probably.”

I glance between the two of them suspiciously.

“Give me five minutes to change,” I say. “Then you can explain what exactly you’ve been plotting without me.”

Neomi’s grin widens immediately.

“Oh,” she says lightly. “You might want to wear a lot of layers.”

I pause at the bottom of the stairs and turn back.

“And why is that?”

Gabriel's laugh reaches me from the couch.

“Neomi has a plan,” he explains.

“Which apparently involves my wardrobe.”

“It involves cards,” Gabriel says.

I blink once.

Neomi leans forward, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Strip poker.”

“Gabriel, we’re in trouble, we’re the underdogs in this game. But I’ll get the cards,” I say as a chuckle breaks free.

Behind me, I hear Neomi laugh. And Gabriel’s voice follows with amusement.

“This is going to be interesting.”

Neomi shufflesthe deck as we sit at the small table just off the kitchen. I have a glass of whiskey, Lars poured himself a scotch and Neomi chose red wine.

Did I wear as few items of clothing as possible this evening? Yes.

All I have on is a T-shirt, my jeans, and my loafers. Socks and boxers be damned.

I’ve fucked my own hand far too many times since the night we simply slept together, thinking about Neomi’s lips around my cock, how I would fuck Lars until he couldn’t speak or the thought of watching them making love. My mind has run the gamut of positions and combinations we could be in. So, tonight I wanted as little as possible between my dick and their bodies.

“Okay boys,” Neomi declares, dealing the cards across the table into our waiting hands. “Five card draw, but let’s make it interesting. Twos and Kings are wild, Aces can steal, and if you bluff and get caught, you lose two pieces instead of one. The best hand wins, and you choose who suffers. Clothes only—at least for now.”

The pendant light above the table casts shadows across our faces and it reminds me of a seedy backroom poker game.

“I feel like we should be smoking cigars.” Lars smirks.

“Right?” I blurt out. “Neomi, you should be wearing one of those hideous plastic dealer visors.”

“Maybe next time. That would just add an article of clothing you gentleman would need to win off me.”

Lars picks up his hand, arranging the cards and placing two face down in front of him. “You’re right, save it for next time. I want you naked as soon as possible, Bella.”

His voice is laced with amusement, and Neomi’s cheeks turn a pretty shade of light pink.

“Lars, you and I should work together to end this game as quickly as possible.”

Neomi huffs out a breath. “No colluding. I want to win fair and square.”

I take a sip of my whiskey and draw three cards, letting my gaze drag slowly over her as I settle back in my chair.