Page 28 of Shamelessly Loyal

Smart man.

“You’ll be able to use your card, Mr. Noble, to directly access these elevators. There’s a skyway that you can use to cross from the hotel on this mezzanine level. Once inside, choose the top floor.” The doors opened and he reached in to press the top floor as indicated.

I nodded but didn’t say anything as he stepped back out. Then just before the doors closed, Mayhem gave him a little wave and a giggle.

“Stop it,” I told her, and she laughed, a deep and throaty sound that made me want to smile even as I tried to scowl. “That’s not stopping it.”

“C’mon,” she told me with a bump to my hip. “That was fun.”

I exhaled and shook my head. I could give her grief about the orgy, but I probably shouldn’t. Not when all I could think about was how easily that skirt of hers would move to the side and I could get a good grip on her hips.

The idea of fucking her out where everyone could see her but had no idea what I was doing exactly?

It appealed to me on a truly primitive level. Before I could linger too long on those thoughts, the elevator doors opened to a much more opulent level. Card games were being played and there were more people fucking, only they were behind glass and the sound of bodies grinding together was inaudible.

Mayhem shook her head as the concierge came to greet us. “Mr. Noble,” he said. I didn’t question that he knew who I was, considering the guard had used my card to summon the elevator. “Welcome to the Janus Club. We have set you up with a million-dollar line of credit per request. Would you like a second line for Ms. Rushman?”

“Please?” Mayhem said with a bat of her eyelashes, almost leaning forward into my arm as though to rub against me. The movement drew our greeter’s attention, and I sighed.

“Yes,” I snapped the single syllable and jerked the man’s attention back to me. Mayhem was far too good at this and I was already on edge.

“Of course, do you have a preference for Texas Hold ‘em or Five Card Stud tonight?”

I didn’t care. Playing games was not why I was here, but to stay up here and get a good look at all the others? Yeah… “Lady’s choice.”

“Oh yay!” She gave a little clap as she bounced once, and I almost swallowed my tongue to laugh at the artless choice. It netted her the attention of every man in the vicinity.

An hour and several hands later, Mayhem did another raise. She hadn’t changed a single card. She’d won more than she’d lost so far and played with an impressive poker face. She never looked at her cards more than once and seemed very good at flirting with every single man, even the woman, at the table.

The provocative behavior was going to drive me mad. I concentrated on my watered-down drink and tossed another chip in. I didn’t fold.

Ever.

Nor did Mayhem. She pushed the other players, laughing almost as much when she lost as when she won. The huskiness of her voice and the way she glanced at me kept me on my toes. But it was the secrets housed in her eyes that made me want to go deep diving.

As it was, since she handled them so expertly, I had the time to scan the room beyond our table. I didn’t know what I was looking for precisely, though we’d begun to build a profile of the man who called himself the king. No one jumped out.

Before long, an invitation arrived at the table. We’d won more than our share and had been invited into a higher-stakes game.

“Ms. Rushman may, of course, accompany you,” the waiter said.

“Take care of these,” I told the dealer, indicating our chips. They nodded as I held out an arm for Mayhem. As I guided her away from the table, more than a few guests stared after us. Our escort took us through a good chunk of this level. The private tables, the personal service.

There were dancers on the stages, all nude, and more than one writhing on a lap in the lounge areas. The smell of sex was flushed out with sweeter air blowing from above. Another set of doors opened into an even quieter room. There was a table populated by a number of unfamiliar people, but every single one of them wore a mantle of power.

They took their time assessing Mayhem and me. When I took my seat at the table, I tugged her down to sit on my lap. She might want to play distraction, but I wanted her where I could see her.

Chips were placed next to me, and the dealer gave me and then Mayhem a look. “Antes start at five thousand,” she said.

I picked up the chip and set it forward, along with every other player at the table. With a nod, she began to deal the cards. Mayhem shifted against my lap and I kept a hand on her hip to balance her. Long as I was touching her, I could focus on the others present.

I spared my cards a single look. I didn’t get the first bet, but when it was my turn, I tossed in the raise of ten thousand.

Which one of these pricks was the king?

ChapterNine

LAINEY