Read Some Like It Hotter (Sweet Life in Seattle #3) for Free Online

chips from her stack and tries to hand them over to him.
    “Here, take these. Then find a cab out front and go home.”
    “Fuck you! You think I want your money? Keep it, you stupid whore!” He shoves her hand away.
    She tries to hand the chips to him again. “Take them, you dumb ass!”
    Finally, he grabs them from her and staggers off. Instead of leaving, though, she watches him go right up to another poker game.
    “Forget him. He is a lost cause,” some guy with a Russian accent says beside her.
    She turns and discovers somebody new has already taken the place on her right. A muscular guy with short dark hair. He studies her with black eyes and an interested smile.
    She stays to play another hand. The guy on her right keeps asking her questions about herself in a thick Russian accent, trying to make eye contact, but she only answers them politely. The vibe coming off him is unsettling.
    Just as she decides to make this her last hand, she senses someone behind her shoulder, surprised to discover Giovanni.
    “I thought you left.”
    “No.” He leans in close and puts his mouth to her ear. “But you’re leaving.”
    She turns to look at him. “Excuse me?”
    “You heard what I said.” His face moves close to hers. “You’re finished here. I want you to fold.”
    “I don’t take orders from you!”
    “Tonight, you do.”
    She ignores him and lets her breath out in a huff. Who the hell does he think he is?
    “I mean it, Lindsay. I’m going to stand here until you leave with me.”
    She glances at her cards. Obviously, she was already planning to make this her last hand, but is so annoyed she’s tempted to stay.
    The Russian guy, who’s been coming on to her, glances at Giovanni, then leans in. “Is all okay?”
    “It’s fine.”
    He nods slowly.
    Her eyes flash down to the guy’s hands for some reason. His left is resting on the table, and he has some kind of elaborate black Cyrillic tattoo webbed on all his fingers. She’s had a lot of boyfriends with tattoos, and has some ink herself, but has never seen anything quite like this guy’s.
    The dealer lays the flop, and Lindsay calls. After the turn, she’s in line for a ten-high straight and doubts anyone else will beat it. She considers raising. She already has four hundred in, but then Giovanni’s mouth is at her ear again. “I want you to end this now .”
    She grinds her teeth. When it’s her turn, she hesitates, but does what he tells her and folds. For a split second, the Russian seems surprised but quickly hides it, and she realizes he’s a skilled card player.
    She announces she’s calling it a night. All the men at the table watch her as she gathers her pile of chips together, tossing the dealer a generous tip.
    Giovanni follows her over to the cage so she can cash everything in.
    “I hope you’re happy,” she mutters. “I don’t know why I listened to you.”
    He doesn’t reply, just watches the pile of bills being counted out to her.
    “I would have won that hand. You just cost me a lot of money.”
    “Stop complaining. I did you a favor.”
    She scoffs. “How?”
    But he only shakes his head and scowls. “Let’s get out of here. This place is giving me a headache.”
    Lindsay’s not sure why she’s going anywhere with him, but she follows him out to the front. On the way, she sees Dagmar and her boyfriend, Werner.
    “I’m going to tell Dagmar I’m leaving.”
    They go over to where the couple is standing at a table with drinks in front of them.
    Dagmar grins when she sees them. “How did you do?” She reaches for Lindsay’s arm to draw her in closer, then whispers in her ear, “And I see the doctor is still here.”
    “I did okay tonight.”
    “It looked like you were winning a lot! That is so great. You will for sure have enough money saved before you leave.” Dagmar knows all about her plans to go back to school in the fall.
    “What is all this?” Werner asks politely.
    Dagmar turns to him and speaks in