is…” The dealer got quiet, listening, glancing up toward the ceiling.
Jodie followed his line of sight and realized he was looking at a camera. Of
course, they were all over the casino. “Ninety thousand… That’s right… Yes,
sir.”
“We’ll
let it ride, Mr. Cole,” the dealer said with a smile, sliding the chips all
back onto the pass line. Just that action made Jodie feel a little ill. “Ninety
on the pass.”
“Holy
fuck,” Kimber whispered beside her. “Jodie, if you crap out…”
“Shut
up.” Jodie nudged her, throwing her a withering glance. “Don’t you dare jinx
me!”
But
there was no such thing as luck, right? It was all math—statistics. So
what were the chances that she could keep rolling and winning? The casino would
know the odds.
Oh
my God, that’s why they let him make the bet. They knew he was going to lose!
“Dorian…”
It was the first time she’d said his name out loud and it felt good, right, in
her mouth. “Maybe you shouldn’t…”
“Let’s
ride it out.” He shifted against her, so damned hard she actually made a little
noise in her throat at the feel of him. “Isn’t it exciting?”
Nodding,
she had to admit, it was. In so very many ways.
“Seven
or eleven,” he reminded her softly once bets were placed and the dice were
pushed their way, but she knew.
She
was already telling the dice what she wanted them to do in her head as she
picked them up off the felt in one hand. She saw several people were betting
against her. It wasn’t just possible that she would throw craps—it had to
be more than a probability. Ninety thousand dollars. That much money
could have paid her college loans with enough left over to buy a small house.
“Win,
Jodie.”
Oh
my God, her name, he said her name and it moved over her like a caress. She
took a breath, closed her eyes, and threw the dice. She imagined them bouncing
off the “rubber alligator,” as the stickman had described the corrugated rubber
backing on each end of the table, bouncing, landing…
“YO!
Eleven!”
Kimber
screamed so loud beside her Jodie thought she might have actually gone deaf in
her right ear for a minute. The girls jumped up and down like little kids and
everyone surrounding the table cheered. The only people who grumbled were the
people who had bet against her. Dorian laughed, turning her in his arms and
planting a very big kiss on her lips in the excitement.
She
broke it off quickly, too afraid of what Kimber and the triplets would say, but
the memory of his mouth swept through her instantly, turning her legs to Jell-O
and her nipples to glass, and she wanted more. More, more, more.
“Can
you do it again?” His eyes brightened.
She
laughed. “I’m not a miracle worker.”
“Can’t
let that ride, sir,” the dealer informed him. He was already on the phone and
he didn’t look happy.
“Well
I can’t bet against you.” Dorian gathered his chips, once again doubled in
size. “You want me to sit this one out?”
“Yeah.”
Jodie nodded, frowning at the table. “I just have a bad feeling…”
Kimber
overheard, leaning over to tell Lauren and the rest of the girls.
“Well
your instincts have been right so far.” Dorian took seven of his chips and put
them in the “don’t pass” field.
“Betting
against the shooter?” The stickman raised his bushy eyebrows, so thick they
almost matched his mustache, but the dealer placed the bet.
“I’ll
sit this one out,” Kimber said, counting up the chips sitting in her rack in
front of her. All of the girls had made a ton of money but they were following
Kimber’s lead, holding back from placing any more bets.
“Want
to make a little side wager?” He waggled his eyebrows at Jodie when she turned
her head to look at him. His arms around her waist felt perfectly comfortable
now. “Make it even more exciting?”
“What
kind of wager?”
“How
about…” He slid his hands over her hips, smiling slyly. “If you crap out,