Games Demons Play (Mystic Isle, Book 3) (12 page)

“You guys again, huh?”

She admired his golden good looks as she
stepped toward him. He was tall and lean and wore a suit very well.
She could see his appeal and understood why women flocked to the
island. But as far as she knew he wasn’t involved with anyone.

“It was my fault. Again. Grayson did not know
Shade and I are involved. He was looking out for me.” It felt good
to be able to tell the god the truth this time. All those months
ago, she’d been so furious with Grayson’s “friend,” so overwhelmed
that she had tucked tail and run.

Latham’s blue eyes twinkled as he looked
their little group over. The regular background noise of talk,
laughter and music that she’d come to associate with Mystic Isle
picked back up and she felt a little less like a fish in a bowl.
Although, when the god’s eye zeroed in on her again, she felt like
he could see every thought in her mind, every sin she had ever
committed.

It didn’t help that he smiled as if he knew
exactly what she was thinking.

“I believe these belong to you.” He held out
a clear acrylic box containing her chips.

It took considerable effort not to pounce.
She had gotten so distracted with Shade and secrets and friends
that chips, poker, and winning money had slipped her mind.

“Thank you.” Nibbling her lower lip, she took
the container and held it close.

“I hope you’re feeling better, Ms.
Lukin.”

She nodded up at the god, a little
speechless. How had he known?

“Why weren’t you feeling well?” Coco asked,
slipping an arm through Izzy’s.

Izzy did not want to get into it. It was
embarrassing enough to fall asleep at a bar, much less rehash it to
her closest friend.

“If you’ll excuse us, Latham, we’re on a bit
of a deadline,” Shade said. The god nodded and turned away. Izzy
felt thoroughly excused, but Shade was right. They were on a
deadline.

Without asking permission, Shade took the box
and reorganized the chips. “You’re two thousand short,” he
murmured.

Was it possible for vamps to have heartburn?
Izzy was sure the pain in her chest was heartburn.

She had done well so far. In the scheme of
things, two thousand was not much. Not compared to what she had
already won. Not compared to what she needed to win. But it meant
sitting at a blackjack table and praying for two more lucky hands.
Because the alternative was go home empty-handed and face
Valencia’s wrath.

For a brief moment the image of Valencia’s
porcelain doll features contorting into rage filled her mind’s eye.
Snarling red lips, depthless midnight-blue eyes, pinched brows. And
that didn’t even include audio.

Feeling flushed, Izzy nodded up at Shade. It
was time to forget quickies and get serious.

“Izzy?” Coco sounded worried.

“It was nothing.” She started for the
casino.

“She’s not drinking enough,” Shade scolded,
bringing up the rear with Grayson.

She shot him a look over his shoulder. “You
have fixed the issue. On to new problems.” Like that last two
thousand.

Two more gold and green chips with the Mystic
Isle logo and she would have her seat in the tournament.

“This is Shade, by the way. Shade, Coco.”

Coco turned and shook Shade’s hand. “The best
friend,” Coco said with a wide smile.

“And your sparring partner is her mate,
Grayson.” She saw the two men shake hands from the corner of her
eye.

With the introductions made, she continued
on. Her three-hour deadline felt closer to two and a half now.
Maybe less. Nothing like waiting until the last minute,
Izzy.

“So you and Shade, huh?” Coco whispered in
Izzy’s ear.

“It just happened,” Izzy whispered back.

“You didn’t tell me he was on the
island.”

“I did not know at the time we talked. He
showed up after.”

“In the nick of time, if you asked me. Don’t
tell Grayson, but good job, girl.”

Izzy paused mid-step. “It is not like that,”
she whispered, eying the man she had spent the night tangled up
with. “Shade is… Different. Special.”

“Special?”

They stepped around a wayward couple who
wasn’t paying attention to where they were walking. “Yes. He takes
care of me.”

“I think he’s not the only one who’s
different. You seem different too. You’re glowing. I should thank
him.”

Izzy tightened her arm on Coco’s. “Do
not.”

Coco snickered. “I can give you the last two
thousand. Let’s go hang out until the tournament starts.”

Izzy shook her head. “I am close,” she
murmured as they entered the casino.

“Why must you be so stubborn?”

“I was made this way?” Izzy replied and gave
her best impish smile.

Coco laughed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. You
go win your money. We’ll be around.”

“You will be humping like rabbits,” Izzy
surmised.

“Izzy!” Coco hissed, glancing around to make
sure no one else had heard.

“It is da truth.” And no one on Mystic Isle
would be shocked. They could strip down and do it in the middle of
the casino and no one would care. Many would probably enjoy the
show.

Izzy turned to ask Shade for her chips and
found him twirling one between his fingers. The movement was so
smooth, so unconscious that truth sank in. He really was as good as
he said he was. He knew his way around a poker chip.

As if feeling her gaze upon him, he paused in
mid-sentence and diverted his attention from Grayson. Then he
smiled. She felt warm all over.

He excused himself from and stepped toward
her. “Izzy, sweetheart, I have a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

He held the chip up. “You accompany me to
that roulette table over there.” He pointed across the room with
two fingers, the chip locked between them. “I bet this chip and if
I win I get a kiss. If I lose, I’ll give you the money to enter the
tournament. Then we can all go enjoy a drink.”

“I’m in,” Grayson said, patting Shade on the
back.

“Win-win,” Coco added.

Izzy sighed. He was so sure of himself. While
a part of her, a small part, was annoyed that everyone was trying
to win her battles for her, especially since it was her own fault
that she was in this situation, the other part found him charming.
Irresistible, really.

He ducked his head, studying her, watching
her through thick, dark lashes.

“Fine.”

“Excellent.” He tossed the coin into the air
and caught it easily. Grinning as if he had just won the whole
tournament, he escorted her across the casino.

She watched, heart in her throat, as he
placed the thousand-dollar chip on the felt inside a box marked one
to twelve. Coco and Grayson stood off to the side; her friend gave
her a thumbs-up. With a flick of his wrist, the dealer let the
little silver ball fly.

This was not poker. Not a game of numbers and
skill. He’d bet it all on one set of numbers. She didn’t know
enough about roulette to know if he was smart or crazy. It made her
queasy.

“I cannot watch,” Izzy said and covered her
eyes with her hand. Her other senses heightened. The low din of
discussion, the dull ding-ding-ding of the slot machines, clothes
shifting, the collective gasp of—

“Hold out your hand,” Shade whispered.

Her eyelids popped open and she did as he
requested. He placed three green and gold chips on her palm.
Three thousand…
her entry. She stared at them a few more
seconds, counting one more time, then lifted her gaze to his. “You
are
the luckiest person I ever met.”

He gave her a tender smile. “I sure am.” Then
he kissed her.

“I’ve never seen anything like that. What’s
his story?” Coco said as soon as they were settled into adjoining
patio chairs in Club Daylight, the vampire lounge. Bright lights
and clever paintings almost made Izzy feel like she was outside
again.

“It’s the heat lamps,” Coco said when she saw
Izzy looking up at the ceiling. “Almost feels real, doesn’t
it?”

Izzy nodded.

“So. About Shade and his bag of tricks…”

Izzy glanced over at the bar where the men
were getting drinks. “He says he never loses.”

“Wow. Like never ever or never as in it’s
been a long time.”

“Never ever.”

Coco’s eyebrows lifted.

That’s what Izzy had thought when Shade had
told her. Never ever lose… wasn’t that impossible? But then, she’d
seen the proof of his luck with her own eyes.

“How did you know Grayson was the one?”

Coco looked over at her mate and everything
about her softened: her gaze, her smile, even, it seemed her
breathing. “I knew it when I was willing to risk everything on
him.”

Izzy knew Coco included their friendship in
that pot of everything. While Coco had initially hidden her
relationship, Izzy now understood why. There was something nice
about being in a private relationship. Just the two of you. And
your secrets.

“I’m glad you took a chance. He makes you
happy. And you make him happy.”

“That’s what I want for you, Iz. This
feeling. Being able to look at a man and trust him completely. To
be happy.”

Did she trust Shade completely? Where her
human boyfriend had run away at the first sign of adversity, she
knew deep down Shade would be calm in the face of danger. He didn’t
shy away from helping those in need. She doubted he’d even
hesitated to pull over when she’d crashed. And he had cared for her
since. “So that is what love feels like? Trusting? Happiness?”

Coco smiled, and then laughed softly. “You’ll
know it when you feel it. Like you can’t stand the thought of
living without him. Like you don’t want to miss a single day of his
life because then you’ll miss hearing his voice, smelling his
aftershave, having him make you laugh. You’ll crave his touch every
minute and think about him constantly.”

She did think of Shade constantly. Even when
she should have been concentrating on winning enough money to enter
the tournament.

Luckily all that was over now. She was
entered. Now she just couldn’t screw up. She just prayed that she
would not have to go up against Shade until the final hand. Because
if she did, she was done for.

Shade brought her a goblet. “You ladies enjoy
your girl talk. Grayson and I are going to shoot some pool.” He
bent down and brushed his lips across hers.

“Does your winning prowess extend to pool?”
she murmured, hand against his chest.

Coco was right. It was nice to be a part of a
couple.

“I’ll try not to whoop him too badly. But he
did try to choke me.” Shade held a hand against his throat and
grinned down at her.

“Boys.”

“You said it, sister,” Coco said once the
guys were across the room.

“Valencia will know I wrecked Gorgeous.” Izzy
sipped her cocktail and stared over at her friend.

“It’d be hard to hide, sweetie. Serial
numbers. And what if you can’t get a car exactly like Gorgeous?
They’re pretty rare.”

“Believe me, I know. They sell less than a
hundred of them per year. Sometimes less than twenty. Finding a
twin of Gorgeous—”

“Maybe you’ll get lucky—”

“The only way I’ll get lucky is if Valencia
forgives me.”

“I’m sure she will. I know she seems reserved
sometimes—”

“Moody,” Izzy cut in.

“But underneath that, she has a warm heart.
She saved you, didn’t she?”

“Yes, and then I betrayed her.”

“You wrecked a car. A replaceable
object.”

“Replaceable? Do you know how perfect that
machine is?” Izzy listed the car’s virtues until Coco’s eyebrows
met her hairline.

“Well, you didn’t do it on purpose,
chéri
. And that’s what counts.”

Izzy sighed and nodded. Coco was right about
that much.

“You’re lucky Shade was there to rescue you.
You could have been fried-vamp.”

“I know.” Boy did she know. She worried her
lower lip and glanced back over at her lover. His head was thrown
back, laughing at something. Grayson grinned. What were they
talking about? “What do you think of him? Shade?”

“He seems kind and considerate, which is more
than I can say for most demons. And I can tell that he’s thoroughly
enamored with you.”

“Enamored?” Izzy asked.

“He’s into you. He likes you. His gaze
follows you wherever you go and he gets this slight smile on his
face while he stares at you. When he was waiting for the ball to
drop into a slot at the roulette table, he wasn’t watching the
ball, Izzy. He was watching you.”

Coco’s words melted something inside Izzy. A
part that craved romance and fairy tales and happily ever after.
That part of her had been frozen since Paris, two and a half years
ago.

“When I was a little girl, I used to lay
awake at night. Usually under mother’s orders to think about what
I’d done.”

“What you’d done?”

Izzy nodded and took a long sip of her
cocktail. “One time I got a, what do you call, wild hair?”

Coco nodded.

“I decided to go riding one afternoon after
my nanny told me not to. She said a storm was coming. I did not
listen. I wanted to see things, feel the sunshine and the wind. The
storm came quickly. Wind blew over a tree, spooking my pony. He got
injured. He was lame after that. If I had listened, he would not
have gotten injured.”

“
Chérie,
you were just a little girl.
Little kids don’t listen to reason. They don’t take stock of the
consequences. You only learn to do that as you mature.”

Izzy shrugged. “For me, it wasn’t about
consequences. It was… this feeling. This overwhelming feeling. Like
I was drawn against my will. I knew there was danger, but I could
not resist. I was helpless. I feel that way often. I felt it the
night I took Gorgeous out of the garage. Like I just had to do it.
I had to see where the road led.”