Games Demons Play (Mystic Isle, Book 3) (14 page)

Izzy smirked. “Not on your life. But may the
best demon win,” she said and then took her seat at the table.

After the first round had finished and a
break was called, Izzy stood up from the table and stretched. Her
blood was humming. She’d forgotten just how exhilarating it was to
sweep her opponents. Twisting side-to-side she eased the tight
muscles in her back. Anyone who claimed poker wasn’t a sport should
be forced to sit in a chair, still like a rock to give nothing
away, for hours on end and endure the brutal mental exertion. By
the last hand she’d been in need of a long walk.

“Good game,” the dealer said.

“Thank you.”

She felt someone’s stare and looked up just
as Shade bore down on her. He reached for her hand and pulled her
along like a kite on a string.

So much for reveling in her post-win
glory.

“Shade… what—”

He was around the corner and boarding the
private elevator to the penthouse before she could finish her
sentence. Something, adrenaline she would guess, surged through her
making her feel light and breathless. There was something desperate
about him. Needy in a way she hadn’t seen before.

He pulled her into his arms as the doors
started to close.

“I need you,” he uttered just before his lips
crashed against hers.

It wasn’t an easygoing,
I’ve missed
you
kiss. Not sweet or tender, but hot and consuming. His
tongue slid between her lips and touched hers, igniting a fire deep
in her belly.

She opened for him: lips, arms, soul, and
wrapped her arms around his neck at the same time. Lifting her
legs, she encircled his hips and hung on tight. Giving. Taking.

She heard the doors open. Shade stepped back,
taking her with him. His hips shifted between thighs as he stepped
off the elevator. She kissed her way down his neck and her bottom
hit something hard. A crash followed and she peered down at the
shattered lamp at their feet.

Shade uttered an ‘oops.’

Izzy would worry about the furniture later.
Right now she needed to feel his skin against hers. Shimmying
farther back on the narrow entry table, she reached for the buttons
on his shirt. He was quicker. With a jerk of his hands, the buttons
went flying across the tiled foyer. He shrugged off the material
and sent it sailing over his shoulder.

For a brief moment she got to enjoy the sight
of all that male perfection. Tan skin, lightly dusted with dark
hair. The thick column of his neck, broad sculpted shoulders, and
well-defined chest. She wants to wrap her fingers around his biceps
and lick a trail down his abs.

“That was sexy,” she said and stretched up to
kiss his lips.

He worked his hands beneath her shirt and
pulled it up over her head. The instant it was off, he was kissing
her again. Devouring her.

His palms covered her breasts, heating and
teasing them. She reached for his belt. He brushed away her hands
and picked her up again.

She giggled. He obviously wanted to be in the
driver’s seat. The hot length of his erection seared right through
the fabric of her jeans. She wriggled against him, craving his
heat. His body. Loved the sound of his groan, so deep and
masculine.

He settled her onto something soft, and came
down over her, his body pinning her. He made quick work of her bra
and then straightened just enough to fumble with his jeans.

“Hurry,” she urged, reaching for the button
of her own jeans.

He took over the task, rolling her jeans and
panties down her legs. Slowly, his hands slid back up her legs,
past her knees, over her thighs. His touch was reverent and his
eyes caressed her just as his hands did.

He uttered something in German, something she
understood only because of the raw tone and needy expression etched
across his handsome face.
He had to have her… soon.

Without another word, he scooped her up and
started walking.

“Mine.”

The single, guttural word made her heart beat
faster. She inhaled deeply, flush with pleasure. Lifting her mouth
to his, she speared her tongue inside and poured her feelings into
the kiss. Desire. Comfort. Happiness. But it was need that clawed
at her, made her ache.

“I love the little sounds you make,” he
murmured against her throat as he laid her on the bed.

She tugged at his hips, urging him closer.
The tease held himself away from her, denying her what she wanted…
needed.

Her protests fell silent as he focused on her
breasts, kissing and licking every inch except for the sensitive
centers that needed him most. She opened her mouth to plead her
case but the swirl of his tongue around her left nipple made her
moan instead. She needed more; was desperate for relief.

Squirming beneath him, as much as she could
when he was half lying over her, she tried desperately to rub her
clit against any part of him.

“Shade!”

He sucked a nipple into his mouth so quickly,
so sharply, that she bucked off the bed, gasping. Sweet
pleasure/pain swept through her and she came back down with a
sigh.

“Tell me what he said to you.” His voice was
low, dark and dangerous. She struggled to make sense of the words
when her body was feverish with need.

“Who?”

“Jordan. I saw him talking to you before the
opening.”

“Why are you talking at a time like this?”
She shifted toward him, reaching for his cock. A few good strokes
would get his mind back on track.

“What did he say?” he asked and wrapped a
hand around her wrist to stop her.

Sighing, she twisted her wrist out of his
hold. What was so important about this Jordan guy? Izzy could not
care less about him except that he was currently the topic of
conversation keeping her from an orgasm.

“Nothing,” she assured him, gently raking her
nails up his spine. Maybe if she placated him, he would forget his
silly line of questioning and make her come. “Nothing
important.”

“He doesn’t trust me. He thinks I cheat.” He
spoke in between kisses peppered against her skin.

“Yes. He said so. It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters. I wouldn’t put it past him
to—”

Frustration boiling over, Izzy cupped his jaw
and made him look up at her. “I handled it. I do not care what he
thinks. I told him. I do not think he will bother me again.”

“But—”

“Trust me. He is all talk. Wants to think he
is better than he is. But he does not matter. Not to me. Not to
us.”

“Right.” He gave her a quick kiss on the nose
and trailed a hand down her side to the apex of her thighs. She
ground her hips against his hand, telling him with her actions what
words could not.

“You’re a needy little thing aren’t you?”

“You have no idea, demon.” She all but
growled the words at him.

“I do, vamp. Believe me. My desire for you
is…” He glanced up the length of her body. “Insatiable.”

She moaned and tried to roll against him
again. Tried to get him between her thighs so she could find the
sweet friction she needed.

“Stop tormenting me, Isadora. My self-control
is finite where you’re concerned.”

“Then give up. Give in. Take me.”

Groaning, he speared a finger into her pussy.
“You’re wet.”

“Since you dragged me onto the elevator,” she
told him.

Her words seemed to ignite something in him.
He stared down at her for two full seconds, his gaze locked with
hers. What was he looking for? The truth? She’d told him the truth.
Her body gave away all her secrets.

He groaned again and dipped his head, kissing
her with unrestrained passion. Tension radiated from him and she
soaked it in. Hot, frantic kisses renewed her excitement. She moved
against him, hands stroking his skin, hips meeting his fingers as
he drove them into her.

He trailed his lips down her jaw and pulled
his hand away. Settling himself between her thighs, he slipped his
arms beneath her and his hands hooked over her shoulders.

“Hold on tight, sweetheart. This isn’t going
to last long.”

That was fine by her. She just needed to feel
him in—

He thrust his hips forward, entering her with
a single movement that stole her breath. Perfection. So big, hard,
filling her completely.

His powerful body rocked into hers, driving
her up into his hands. She arched beneath him, pressing herself
fully against all those delicious muscles. His handsome face
seduced her with his look of complete concentration. She would
swear he was studying her every breath.

She locked her ankles against the small of
his back and held on as he moved over her. In and out. Fast and
decisive.

She nipped his chest and was rewarded with a
groan. He reached beneath her and tilted her hips. His cock drove
deeper.

“Oh—”

He slanted his lips across hers, picking up
the pace. The sound of their ragged breathing and the bed shifting
beneath them filled her ears. Someone moaned. She couldn’t tell
where she ended and he began.

“Ready?” he asked against her lips.

Surprisingly, she was. The orgasm had been
lurking deep inside, as if waiting for his command.

Three more thrusts and he rubbed her just the
right way. She crashed over the edge. Her muscles tightened as she
cried out, then softened beneath him. As she was coming out of a
lust-filled haze, she realized he was taut as a drum above her, his
cock twitching with his release.

Completely sated, she smiled up into his
handsome face and raked her fingers through his hair. He kissed the
inside of her wrist and then collapsed at her side.

Breathless, naked, and blissful… she could
get used to that combination. She looked over at the demon. Yes,
she could easily get used to having him in her bed. “What brought
that on?” Not that she minded hot sex between rounds. Or any other
time, really.

“You. You kept touching your tongue to your
top lip the whole damn game. It was driving me crazy.”

Smiling, she curled against him and his arms
immediately wrapped around her.

“How much time do we have?”

He tipped up his wrist and glanced at the
sleek silver watch. “Half an hour.”

“Round two?”

“Ready when you are, sweetheart.”

Oh that accent. She glanced down at his cock.
He wasn’t exaggerating. In fact, he was still hard, thick, and
ready. She licked her lips and rolled on top of him. It was her
turn to take control.

Fifteen minutes later he called down to the
front desk to have a fresh set of clothes brought up for her as she
lay in bed admiring the view of his backside. This time a pair of
pouty lips with two bedazzled fangs peeking out, adorned the black
baby doll tee.

“I like,” she said, holding it in front of
her and staring at her reflection.

“And I like you.” He buttoned a fresh shirt
and strode up behind her. Hands on her shoulders he said “Let’s go
kick butt.”

“Yes, sir.”

“It’s your tell, by the way,” he said as they
stepped onto the elevator.

“What is?”

“The tongue thing.”

“This?” she asked, feigning innocence, and
touched her tongue to her top lip.

He growled her name.

Shade was starting think Izzy was
purposefully trying to distract him. For the first few hours, he
hadn’t been facing her directly and so the strain in his pants was
tolerable. But after space had cleared at the table and they’d
repositioned, she’d been right in his line of sight. A blonde
goddess, slightly mussed from their lovemaking.

A temptress sent to put him off his game.

And after their last tryst he was well-versed
in how fantastic that little pink tongue felt on all sorts of
places on his body. But now that he had the chance to watch her in
action, see how closely she studied her opposition, he was
fascinated. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

She narrowed her gaze at Blythe Jordan. They
were the last two at the table and the formerly quiet room grew
boisterous as Jordan studied his cards. What did he have?
Something, if the tick of the muscle next to his left eye was any
indication. If he wasn’t such an asshole Shade would have
befriended the guy. He was actually a hell of a poker player.

Izzy’s lips twitched. She exhaled as the
dealer flipped the first three cards. Eight, Jack, seven. The
corner of Jordan’s mouth quivered slightly. Shit.

“He’s got something good,” Latham whispered,
shoulder-to-shoulder with Shade.

“He’s certainly happy about it. Pocket
Jacks?” Shade leaned toward the god. If he had two in his hand, the
one in the flop would give him three of a kind.

Latham shrugged.

Izzy didn’t seem concerned in the slightest.
Shade frowned. Did she not see Jordan’s glee? Did she recognize it
for what it was?

Jordan raised. Izzy matched. Shade sighed and
crossed his arms over his chest.

Watching her was nerve-wracking. Worse was
watching
Jordan
watch her. Shade had been surprised at how
well she played. There was a story there he intended to get to the
bottom of. But right now, he needed her to win. Not bet crazy.

He dragged a hand down his face as the next
card hit the table. Four of hearts.

Useless.

Izzy glanced over at him. Once again, Shade
was mesmerized by her lips, the gleam in her lovely pale blue eyes.
Her tongue snaked out and touched her top lip. He heard a few
groans, his own included.

Not because of how sexy the gesture was, but
because she was bluffing. His heartbeat picked up.

Jordan checked. Izzy signaled to the dealer
that she too was checking. Shade sighed again.

When the final card hit the table the crowd
erupted. Nine of spades to go with the eight and seven of spades
already in play. Jordan’s lips twitched again. He didn’t even try
act cagey. Shade estimated that Jordan had forty percent of his
chips in the pot.