Seemingly satisfied with her response, Cole clarified. “I engage mostly in ménages with married couples. Which makes me the third.”
He was letting her know who he was so she could make up her own mind.
“Now, tell me more about you.” Cole stated, turning the conversation to something much safer for him, but not so much for her.
With a deep, fortifying breath and a long swallow of wine, Sierra proceeded to tell him the details of her life. If he trusted her enough to share, she might as well divulge everything.
Chapter Ten
Cole charged dinner to his room, although they insisted that Luke had already instructed them to do no such thing. Taking the waiter aside momentarily, when Sierra had slipped away to go to the ladies room, Cole told him in no uncertain terms that he didn’t give a shit what Luke had instructed. That had changed the waiter’s perspective and resolved their issue entirely.
When Sierra returned, Cole was waiting, and the two of them wandered through the casino until they came upon an empty blackjack table. Insisting that he play, he found himself unable to tell her no. There was something so compelling about the woman that Cole wondered if he would ever be able to tell her no.
He didn’t bother to tell her that he had no idea how to play the game, so when he started losing she turned to him in wide eyed wonder.
“Have you played before?”
“Nope.” He admitted, grinning. “Can you tell?”
When Sierra laughed, Cole’s insides tumbled repeatedly. Her laugh was the sexiest sound he had ever heard. Her carefree attitude and always there smile was refreshing, and Cole found that he would do whatever it was she wanted, lose as much money as necessary if he could only keep her smiling.
His admission apparently didn’t sit well with her, so she ordered two beers from a passing waitress and insisted on teaching him how to play. He was doing relatively decent until a couple joined the table, but at that point, he didn’t give a damn how much money he won or lost, he just wanted to sit beside Sierra and watch the beautiful way her face lit up when she would win a hand.
The dealer turned her attention on Cole, and he glanced down at his cards. Two aces. What the hell was he supposed to do with that? “Hit me?”
“Wait.” Sierra pleaded. “Split them.” She urged, and Cole had no idea what she was talking about. “He wants to split them.” She told the dealer who then looked at him for confirmation.
“Whatever she says.”
Sierra told him what to do with his money, adding more to the table that he was likely going to lose, but what the hell did he care. Then the dealer proceeded to deal out more cards, and Sierra squealed in delight.
“Blackjack! Twice!”
Cole wasn’t sure what that meant to him, other than he had won, but when Sierra threw her arms around his neck, wrapping him in her sweet, spicy scent, Cole no longer cared. When she buried her nose into the crook of his neck and her warm breath whispered across his skin, he damn near came up off the chair. His dick swelled and throbbed, making his jeans increasingly uncomfortable – a sensation he was becoming all too familiar with.
“You won.” She told him when she pulled back, and Cole could only stare back at her.
Did she feel the same thing when they touched as he did? That sharp tingle that started somewhere deep inside and radiated outward. When their eyes met, and held, he knew instantly that there was definitely something going on between the two of them.
Throughout dinner, Cole had continued to answer Sierra’s questions, although he admittedly was trying to determine her motive. Yes, his insecurities had led him to believe Sierra was grilling him only to find out more about Luke. He’d been there before. On more than one occasion and he had to say, it wasn’t his favorite pastime. So when she seemed to be genuinely interested in him, Cole had let down his guard a little.
He’d tested her with his admission about his trust fund, and her reaction, or lack thereof, surprised him. Yes, Cole had money. Boatloads of it. More than he could spend in a lifetime thanks to his grandparents and his parents.
Did the money define him? No. But, he was the first to admit that the money was part of who he was. It allowed him to do what he loved without the worry of whether or not he would be able to eat. That was a blessing that he didn’t take for granted.
The one thing he had learned about his money… it changed people. Other people. They measured him based on the sum of his bank accounts. Which was partially why Sierra’s personal interest in him had been so shocking.
The questions she asked weren’t related to Luke or to Cole’s money, and for the first time, Cole had been taken aback. Almost to the point that he hadn’t known how to answer her questions.