Chapter 16

“You would.”

Keilor brought two glasses with silver crests to the table and poured a generous shot into each. “If I’m going to be playing with real coin against shells, I’d have to agree with Jayems. We should at least get a kiss if we win the game.”

“No.”

Jasmine hesitated for a moment. Their newest plan depended on robbing these two blind. The question was, what was she willing to do to get home?

Anything.

Well, almost anything. Taking a bracing breath, she negotiated, “No tongues.”

“Jasmine!” Wiley cried in disbelief.

Eyes narrowed, Keilor bargained, “If you sit on our laps while delivering it.”

Wiley slapped a hand on the table, embarrassed. “Stop it, you two!” She was ignored.

Cupping her chin in thought, Jasmine ran a thumb over her lips, considering Keilor with mercenary eyes. If she had to sit on his lap then she darn sure was going to make it count. “Gold coin for every shell.”

Keilor smiled wickedly. “I’ll give you two for every shell if you sit astride.”

That gave her pause. Some of the fun of bargaining drained out of Jasmine as she considered whether possible bribe money was worth what he was asking. Her eyes flickered as she looked down, counting the cost to her pride.

“Don’t you dare,” Wiley warned her, breaking the tense silence.

“Oda ouya aveha anothera away ota etga oneyma orfa ibingbra ehta aurdsga, Wi?” Do you have another way to get money for bribing the guards? Jasmine asked casually and then added in English, “Don’t be a baby, Wiley. It’s just a little kiss.” Even as she said it she could feel her hot face betraying her. The very last thing she wanted to do was kiss Keilor, even if it might help them find a way to get home. The thought of sitting on his hard thighs, wrapping her legs around him, with only inches separating significant body parts…. Well, they’d just have to make certain they won most of the time.

“The winner gets the pot, the losers take a shot,” Jasmine told them and then explained the rules while Wiley shuffled the cards in nervous silence.

Predictably, the women won the first few hands, pulling in money hand over fist. Jasmine and Keilor had just folded and taken their shots, and

Jasmine was watching Wiley with a smug and slightly inebriated smile when Jayems laid down his first winning hand. She blinked, but the cards didn’t change.

Slow color flooded Wiley’s cheeks. Jayems pushed his chair back and laced his hands together over his stomach, a warm flame of pleasure and expectation in his eyes. Taking a quick breath, Wiley gulped her liqueur, squared her shoulders and then with more haste than grace, she straddled him.

No doubt she’d intended to make the kiss a quick peck, but it quickly became apparent that she was not in command, and tongues or no tongues, when Wiley finally slid off of Jayems’ lap, she was clumsy with more than alcohol. She knocked her chair sideways trying to sit down, and Jasmine couldn’t help a snort of laughter as she helped set it to rights.

Then she lost.

“Huh,” she said in consternation, and slowly tucked an escaping strand of hair behind her ear. She reached for her drink, attempting to stall.

Before her fingers could close around it, Keilor snatched it up. With a wicked glint in his eye, he toasted her. “I’d hate for your senses to be dulled for this, Dragonfly.” With a quick toss he finished her drink and then scooted back his chair, waiting.

She looked away from the electric promise in his eyes and told herself sternly to move. Just a little kiss, she reminded herself, rising. It wasn’t helping. Reluctance slowed her every movement and made the slide onto Keilor’s lap torturous for both of them. When she would have stopped halfway, he grasped her hips and pulled her flush, sending a shockwave of thrill through them both.

Jasmine grit her teeth and gripped his shoulders, stiff with willful desire. He grazed his cheek against hers once in acknowledgment and then slowly slid his mouth to her own. Invisible sparks flew as their lips touched softly. Her mouth parted a little of its own accord, and Keilor sipped, drawing delicately on the soft, damp interior, dragging his lower lip across hers. Her heart thumped like a piston as she slid her fingers into his dark hair, instinctively finding the clasp and freeing the silken strands.

So caught up was she that she failed to remember their audience until Jayems said with amusement, “Do you think we should leave him to her mercy or have pity and toss water on them?”

With a groan of heartfelt reluctance, Keilor ended the kiss and set her back. Aching, Jasmine scooted off his lap and felt her way back into her chair, her eyes still too dilated to focus properly. As her left hand connected with the back of her chair, she heard a clink. Dropping down heavily, she opened her hand to investigate and flushed. It was Keilor’s hair clip.

“Keep it.” He mimed a kiss. “A memento.”

The tide had definitely turned in favor of the men, and Jayems and Keilor kept stealing the ladies’ drinks in the name of sharp senses, though the liquor had little noticeable effect on them.

“You must be cheating,” Jasmine muttered, eyeing the pile of shells in front of their opponents with suspicion. They were on their last hand, and her cards were good. Almost unbeatable. As time went on she became less willing to take the chance of losing again. As it was she started trembling just thinking about the consequences of defeat.

Still...It was a lot of money. Maybe enough to get them home again. Could she afford to lose this chance when the odds were so completely in their favor?

Keilor raised the bet and Jayems folded. Wiley was already out, and Jasmine couldn’t cover the bet. Taking the last shot straight from the bottle for courage, she cleared her throat and asked huskily, “Would you be willing to take a promissory note on a game of strip poker for my ante?”