God, please don’t say you see me as a brother figure.
I didn’t want to hear that.
She laughed softly, and I couldn’t help but stare at her. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glossy. She was good and toasted, and I was glad she was feeling better, even if it was the artificial kind because of the liquor we’d been drinking. I didn’t want to see her upset, and if there were something I could do to make her smile, I would do it.
“I don’t see you as family.” Her eyes widened, and she stared at me. “Not that I don’t care for you, well, what I mean is I don’t see you as a brother.” She exhaled and closed her eyes. “God, I’m hoping you know what I mean.”
I started laughing, loving this uneasiness from her because she was nervous and tripping over her tongue.
“Yeah, I know what you mean.”
She opened her eyes and smiled, and my cock jerked, the sight of her making all common sense leave me.
But fuck, I was taking this as a sign from the heavens or fate; whatever the hell it was, it was giving me this opportunity, and I would show Meghan we belonged together.
“Let’s get the poker on then.”
3
Meghan
I had done it, just said fuck it all and agreed to get naked—semi-naked at least—in front of Brendan. The truth was I was drunk, and I knew he was too, but I was with it enough to know what was going on.
Maybe this wasn’t the wisest thing to do, but it felt good to just let go and say screw all the bad shit.
The air seemed even more chilled than it probably was, but then again I was sitting here in my bra and panties. Although I rationalized this was like a bikini, something Brendan had seen me in before.
Bikini, my ass. This is more intimate, and my damn nipples are hard enough I know he can see them through the thin cotton material.
Despite the fact I’d obviously had no clue this was how the night would progress, I cursed myself for not wearing something sexier.
It’s Brendan. He doesn’t see me that way.
“Well, let’s see what you have, Meghan.”
For a second, all I could think about was him meaning what I had beneath my undergarments, but I snapped out of that real quick and looked down at my cards. I was shit at playing poker, and I knew by the arrogant smirk on his face, Brendan had a good hand.
But even if I sucked, I was holding two aces, and I knew that was better than nothing.
At least I hoped it beat whatever Brendan was holding.
As it was, he was still fully dressed.
I laid my cards down and looked at him, feeling pretty damn nervous. I was drunk, and I knew he was too, but even so, the very thought of taking off one more piece of clothing, one more that would show either my tits or lower, scared the shit out of me.
This was Brendan, the man I secretly loved.
He leaned forward and squinted down at my cards. After a second, he looked up at me, leaned back in his chair, and lifted the bottle of liquor we’d been sipping on to his mouth for a drink. And when he set the bottle down, he shook his head.
“Fuck.”
I felt my grin grow. I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms, but when I saw Brendan lower his gaze to my breasts, which were now pretty popped out, I felt self-conscious. I unfurled my arms and sat up straighter. “Let’s see them,” I said and nodded toward the cards. He’d put his shirt on shortly after I arrived, much to my disappointment, but now it was my turn to see some flesh.
He tossed his cards down, and I saw he had a pair of twos. I felt my skin grow warm.
“Take it off.” I gestured to his shirt. I felt my face heat, and Brendan lifted his eyebrow, looking sexy as hell.
“You cheated,” he said, but I could hear the teasing note in his voice.
“Strip,” I said, making myself sound more determined. He grinned, and that sight had my body tingling all over the place.
He only waited a second before he grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head. He set it on the table and pushed it over to me. “You want to keep it like a trophy for beating me at this hand?”
I chuckled, although deep down I was thinking that would be pretty damn sexy.
He leaned forward and braced his forearms on the table, causing his muscles to flex and bunch under his golden skin. He then took the cards, shuffled them, and we started another round.
I felt my pulse start to increase, because I knew if I lost this hand, I had to get rid of something pretty vital. I looked at my cards, got rid of three, selected three new ones, and although I felt pretty good at the hand I now had, I kept my poker face in place.
“Call,” Brendan said, and I looked up at him.
Setting my cards down, I showed him my three of a kind. It was only fours, and I knew he could easily beat that if he had a good hand. I tried gauging his expression, but he kept it in place. “Well?” I lifted a brow, hoping to appear more confident than I really was. The fact was I was pretty drunk, and although I only had my bra and panties on, I was really hot. Beads of sweat were lining the length of my spine, my palms, and I even felt it between my breasts.