Gambling with Gabriella (Menage MfM Romance Novel) (Playing For Love Book 2) (10 page)

“Don’t you want to come again?” Carter asks me.

“There’s two dicks here,” I complain lightly. “And I’m being fucked with a bottle?” My voice rises with frustration. “Seriously?”

They both crack up, then Dominic relents and lifts me off my seat and sets me down on the outer ledge of the tub. I lean back against the tile wall, shivering a little at how cold it feels on my back. Carter rolls on a condom, and positions himself between my legs, while Dominic’s hard cock nudges at my lips. “I want to feel your mouth on me, princess.”

“I’m entirely on board with that,” I mutter. I open my mouth and take Dominic in, and at the same moment as his cock hits the back of my throat, Carter pushes into my pussy.

His thrusts are steady and hard. Each stroke presses my back against the wall, each stroke hits my g-spot. Dominic waits for Carter to establish a rhythm, then his cock shoves into my mouth, his own rhythm acting as a counterpoint. I suck on him the best I can, but mostly, I let him fuck my mouth, and it is amazing.

“God, your pussy is so fucking wet,” Carter groans.

It’s the mouthfucking,
I want to say. I wouldn’t have thought it would turn me on as much as it does, but my body doesn’t lie. Carter can tell, and I catch a glimpse of his amused face out of the corner of my eye. “Such a bad girl, Gabby,” he laughs. “You like being fucked this way?”

I’ll only be stating the obvious if I answer. Besides, Carter’s fingers find my clitoris at that point, and all thoughts escape my mind.

Dominic’s cock is buried in my mouth. I suck in my cheeks, and caress the underside of his dick with my tongue, and I bring my hands up to cup his balls. A prolonged groan greets that gesture. “Princess,” he grinds out. “You are killing me here.”

That’s sort of the point, Dominic,
I think. Carter’s fingers pinch and tease at my clitoris, and I push into his hand shamelessly, begging silently for more. So much pleasure. So much overwhelming, toe-curling pleasure.

“Please may I come?” I mumble around Dominic’s cock. “I need to come.” I don’t know why I’m asking for permission, except that it feels right. It feels necessary.

“Hold on,” Carter urges. His voice is tight, urgent. He sounds close to his own release. Dominic’s body betrays him as well. His strokes increase in frequency as he too nears his climax.

The swell of lust lifts us, and we are prisoners to it. The water in the tub cools, forgotten, as we chase our climaxes. Carter’s hands move faster and faster on my sex. Dominic’s hands tighten around my hair and it’s all too much, too good, too hard to hold back my release…

Dominic erupts in my mouth and I swallow each drop, and the deep groans that accompany his orgasm are the last straw. I shatter, my body flailing and my thighs clenching. Carter can feel me because I hear him utter a muffled curse, then his hands grip my hips, and he slams into me in release.

“Mmm,” I purr contentedly, as the two of them collapse next to me, splashing me with lukewarm water. “That was amazing.”

“That was only the start,” Dominic promises. “Let’s dry you off and get you to bed, and we’ll continue.”

I giggle. Somehow, I’ve hit some kind of magic hot-guy lottery. Either that, or I’ve managed to dream up the entire last few days, in which case, I don’t want to be woken up. “Since I did agree to obey,” I reply solemnly, “I guess I have no other choice.”

I stand and they both dry me off between luxuriously soft towels, and we go to the bedroom and make love all over again.

I
n order to
keep myself from going ballistic, I spend most of the next day trying to get a handle on what really happened with Gabby the night she lost ninety-something thousand dollars at the poker table.

In a perfect world, I could approach Sammy D directly. No one is accusing him of anything, and he should be just as eager as I am to see that his dealers are clean. If word gets around that his games are rigged, his business will dry up.

But things are never that simple. People are touchy, and they act before they think. It’s just as likely that Sammy will get offended and refuse to talk to me entirely.

Which leaves tracking down the dealer, or tracking down the couple that won big. The dealer is easier, so I start there.

Underground poker is a strange beast. Stopping people from gambling doesn’t bubble to the top of the agenda of New York’s overworked cops. As long as Sammy runs a clean game, the police will turn a blind eye to his activities. That doesn’t mean they don’t know what’s going on.

If anyone is likely to have some insight into this world, it’ll be my buddy JP. He’s worked on the force for twenty years. He’s smart and observant, and he has a soft spot for Noah. I dial his number, and the phone rings, once, twice, before JP picks it up.

“I’m on a date, Hughes,” he growls into the line.

“It’s nine in the morning, JP,” I retort. JP’s been married three times. He pays an absolutely crazy amount of money in alimony. If I’ve interrupted his date, I’m probably doing him a favor.

“Do you have any idea how much it costs to spring for dinner in this city?” he grumbles. “I’ve taken to taking them out for breakfast. Much cheaper. Plus, the women think I’m original.”

No doubt he’s got a line for the woman he’s with. If I know JP, it’ll be something to the effect of him wanting to start his day right. JP is a master at pickup lines. “I need some information,” I tell him. “I’m looking for a dealer that works with Sammy D.”

“The guy who runs the poker rooms?” He sounds curious. “He keeps out of trouble.”

“He’s not in trouble,” I assure him. “But one of his dealers might have drugged someone I know.”

“A girl?” JP sounds amused. “And just like a white knight, Carter Hughes rides in to save the day?”

I give him the finger, but of course, he can’t see it. “Can we focus on the dealer?” I grind out.

JP ignores my attempt to change the topic. “Girlfriend of yours? About fucking time you settled down.”

“JP,” I say patiently. “The dealer.”

He sighs. “You are no fun, Hughes,” he grumbles. “Okay, I’ll look into it. A crooked dealer will leave a trail.”

I know. If the dealer received a payoff for his role in that night, we’ll find him. When people receive an unexpected sum of money, they can’t resist spending it. In fact, if I correctly remember the statistic, most lottery winners are broke within a year. “Thank you,” I say to him.

I don’t tell him that Noah’s birth father has abducted him. I don’t tell him about the stress that weighs down on me, stress that lifts only in Gabby’s presence.

M
y morning is busy
. I meet with the teams that are working around the clock trying to find Ed Wagner. This should normally not be as hard as it’s proving, but Ed’s keeping his head down.

“No activity on his credit cards?” I ask for what has got to be the tenth time.

Neil Holder, the guy who’s leading up one of the search teams, shakes his head. “Not even a peep,” he confirms.

“We’re watching his friends,” Matt Gao adds. “We’ve got eyes on his former roommates, his older brother, his ex-girlfriend, everyone.” He looks sympathetic. “We’ll find him, boss.”

“I know you will,” I say. I’m tempted to yell and scream, but what’s the point? They are doing everything they can. Neil and Matt look like they haven’t slept for days. “Soon, this will all be behind us. You guys are doing a great job. Thank you for going above and beyond on this.”

The two of them stand a little taller; their eyes brighten. It’s the magic of a well-placed compliment. Now, they’ll work even harder to find Noah.

Yes, I’m a cynical bastard. But if it’ll bring back my nephew, then it’ll have been worth it.

I don’t see Gabby till well after lunch. She looks despondent as she opens her door. “Hey,” she greets me. She’s missing her customary fire, and it shocks me how much it affects me that she’s sad.

“Hey yourself,” I pull her in for a hug. “What did you do with yourself this morning, and where’s Dominic?” She was still sleeping when I’d left her room at dawn, and I hadn’t wanted to wake her.

“Moping, mostly,” she says honestly. “I feel like a fuck-up, Carter.”

“Hey there,” I soothe her. “Where’s this coming from? Where’s the Gabby that threatened to run over my foot with a wheelchair?”

Her answering smile is small. “It’s better that Crazy Gabby doesn’t make an appearance,” she says. “Had I tried harder that first night, had I not been so caught up in my own hubris, maybe Noah would be back here by now.”

Okay, she’s in full-on self-hate mode. I’ve seen this happen before with Chloe and I know, firsthand, how destructive it can be. “Stop,” I tell her firmly. “You did all the right things. It would have looked extremely suspicious if you’d abandoned a winning hand to chase after Ed.” I wink at her. “After all, Wagner’s no looker. Not like me.”

She laughs, a clear bright peal of laughter that transforms her. “Vain much, Carter?”

“Made you laugh, didn’t I?” I retort smugly. “Mission accomplished.”

She grins. “Where’s Dominic?” I ask. “I thought that he’d be here.”

“He had to work,” she says. “He did come and have lunch with me though.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s like neither of you trust me to spend a moment alone.”

“Come take a walk on the beach with me, and I’ll explain what that’s about.”

Her eyes gleam with curiosity. “Okay,” she agrees, “that sounds like a plan.”

I
t’s a weekday afternoon
, and although it’s still summer, the beach is relatively empty. Of course, in Atlantic City, this means it’s still crowded enough that we have to make our way around clusters of sunbathers. I shouldn’t complain too much. In the evening, these tourists will spend their money at Dominic’s casino, and their willingness to return to Atlantic City keeps me employed. The Grand River is growing while other casinos in the area are on the verge of shutting down, and I have plenty to be grateful for.

“Did Dominic tell you how my parents were killed?”

At my words, her beautiful brown eyes lock on my face, wide and stricken. “Oh Carter,” she says softly, taking my hand in hers. “No, he didn’t. I’m so sorry.”

It should stop hurting after all these years, but the pain is always there as a dull background ache. “It was a long time ago,” I shrug. My attempted indifference isn’t fooling her; her grip on my hand tightens, and she moves closer to me.

“How? When?”

“It was the stupidest thing,” I reply. “A house robbery gone wrong in Buffalo. Some kids were searching for money.” I pause before I speak the next words. “To buy drugs.”

Life can be so ironic sometimes. The same forces that killed my parents killed Chloe.

I can see from the flash of understanding in Gabby’s eyes that she gets it. “How old were you, Carter?”

“Sixteen,” I tell her. “Chloe and I were twins. We were both sixteen.” I try not to think about Chloe. “Both of us had a hard time coping with their deaths,” I continue. “But we reacted in very different ways. I threw myself in my studies. While I was busy busting my gut in college, Chloe fell in with the wrong crowd. She started using.”

“And she dated Dominic?”

I nod. “Dominic and I were college roommates. She’d come up and visit sometimes. He was crazy about her. He asked her to go out with him for years before she accepted.”

“He didn’t tell me that.”

“It’s in the past,” I assure her. “I loved my sister more than anyone in the world, but even I can tell you that the idea of dating Chloe was much better than the reality of dating Chloe.”

“What do you mean?”

“She could be flighty,” I say. It feels disloyal to talk about my dead sister this way, but it’s the truth. I can see that Gabby thinks that Chloe was the love of Dominic’s life, but it didn’t play out that way. Real life has a funny way of interfering with the fairy tale narratives in our minds. “She’d blow hot and cold. And, most importantly, she swore to Dominic that she was clean. And she wasn’t.”

“He broke up with her.”

“Part of him was hoping that she’d be shocked clean,” I confirm. “But there’s also a part of him that was relieved to be out of that relationship.” I grimace. “That’s the thing about the dead,” I say. “The things that you can admit to yourself when they are alive, you can’t say after they die. The truth that they weren’t right for each other. She hurt him more than she provided comfort.”

“How does this relate to the two of you not letting me out of your sight?”

I smother a smile. Gabby is so… well, Gabby. I hear the note of ire in her voice. “You’re upset today,” I reply. “Do you think either of us will let you bear that alone?”

“I’m not Chloe,” she replies. She’s two steps ahead of me. “I’m not fragile. Sometimes, I’m going to be upset, and want to be left alone.”

“You aren’t Chloe,” I agree. I don’t know how to articulate the desire to make amends for the past. Had I not been as busy with school, maybe I could have kept Chloe away from her friends, the ones that pulled her down. Had Dominic not broken up with her, maybe Ed Wagner would never have been in the picture. This time around, I’m determined to get it right. “And if you want to be left alone, all you have to do is ask.”

She puts her hand around my waist. “What’s that?” I tease. “Did I hear those words?
Leave me alone, Carter?
” I put my hand behind my ear in an exaggerated gesture. “Did you say something, Gabby?”

Her lips twitch, and she pinches my side hard. “Not an ounce of spare fat,” she marvels. “It’s very intimidating to sleep with two guys that are so physically perfect.” She pinches me again for good effect. “I’m enjoying this walk on the beach,” she says. “Every single woman here is looking at me with envy because I’ve snagged a hottie, and that’s pretty damn nice.”

“They are?” I haven’t noticed. I’m walking alongside the woman who’s taken residence in my dreams for many months now. Why would I look around?

She laughs. “Yes Carter, they are.” She rises on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For this. For noticing that I was sad in the hotel room. For caring enough to help me.”

Seriously, who are the fuckers she’s been dating? Still, I can’t complain. Had even one of those guys been man enough to keep her, she wouldn’t be ours now. I’m about to say as much when her phone rings.

She pulls it out of her pocket, making an apologetic face at me, then she looks at the screen and tenses. “It’s Bulldog,” she says to me. “Why is he calling me?”