Chapter 122: 26| Poker-2

Anastasia shifted her weight and blocked my sight. "Don't befriend him. He's meant to protect me." "From me?" I mused. "From everybody," she replied, stepping forward and closing the door behind her. "Even you, even me." I paused, staring down at her. "He protects you from yourself?" "Sometimes," she shrugged. Before I could question her words, she brushed past me. "Come on, let's go. We'll be late." My gaze drifted to her back as she sauntered to the elevator, and my breath hitched in my throat for a moment as I took in her dress. The white satin gown flowed down to her heels, the fabric sitting on her body with such grace and elegance, hugging each curve and giving her skin a bronze glow that looked stunning. With a light cowl neckline, two straps went over her shoulders, widest at the top of her shoulders, then narrowing at her back again. Her back was left bare and on display, the cut dipping down to her lower waist while three diamond chains went across her back diagonally from her left shoulder to the right side of her lower back. "You coming?" she called out without turning to glance at me. I entered the elevator and stood beside her, my jaw ticking as I struggled to maintain my focus, struggling to keep my eyes off of her, let alone my hands. "Stop staring," she taunted, turning to me. "Careful, Mia Cara, or we won't be going anywhere tonight. Only back upstairs." She bit down a small laugh. "You sound desperate," she said. "I haven't been able to touch you in three days. Between work, arguments in the office, and running around investigating, you truly have no idea how desperate I am, Anastasia." As I faced her and took a step forward, ready to let everything go to hell tonight, if it meant I could touch her, kiss her, taste her… the elevator doors opened. My head fell forward as a groan died in my throat while she sashayed out with an extra sway in her hip. Oh, she'll be the death of me. The drive wasn't too long since the party was hosted on Wall Street, hence within fifteen minutes, we'd arrived at Enigma Hotel, one of the several places Kai owned amongst other similar ones. Hotels, clubs, office buildings. His family had been running Warner & Co. for years, even though Kai's contribution to it was minimal despite being on the board. By the time we arrived, a few other guests had, too, already playing their own poker games on the tables stationed around the room, circling the large rectangular table that sat in the center of the hall. I spotted Kai the moment we entered the room. If Anastasia felt my grip tighten around her waist the way I knew it did, she didn't comment on it, didn't even stiffen under my touch. She let me. "Wán de kāixīn," Kai said, the Mandarin rolling off his tongue as smoothly as it always did as he shook a guest's hand and told them to enjoy themself. Before one of us could call for him, he turned around to face us, sensing our presence. The edge of his mouth twitched up only for a split second as his eyes dropped to my arm around her waist, but it was gone just as fast as it was there. "Dante," he greeted, tipping his head down slightly in a nod before his eyes shifted to Anastasia. "Anastasia," he said. Nothing in particular changed about his voice, tone, or expression, yet somehow, the way he said her name alone was more pleasant than mine. He held a hand out for me. "How have you been?" I gave it a firm shake. "Good. You?" "Great," he said, withdrawing his hand. A beat passed, and then another, before Anastasia cleared her throat. "I'll go get myself a drink. Excuse me." Slipping away from me, she snuck off to the bar. "Relax, sunshine," he said with a teasing smirk, "I only said hello to her." I bit down on a reply and rolled my eyes before taking a glance around the room. "Where's your other half?" he asked. "Who?" "Tristan," he replied, "you two are more lovey-dovey than anyone else I know." "I take it your deal with him went well." "Of course it did," he replied, "I helped him out as best as I could." "And you're always the best, aren't you, Kai?" "Always." Fucker. Typically, at Kai's annual poker parties, his mother would attend. I didn't know much about her, but she seemed rather… overbearing. "Where's the infamous June Wang?" I asked. He shot me a blank look. "What? I thought we were past this, no? We're close enough for me to know just how much of a Mama's boy you are, Warner." "Go fuck yourself, Dante. You owe me." "I owe you?" I scoffed. "For tonight," he clarified. "You didn't believe I was doing this out of the goodness of my heart, did you?" "No, because that would mean you have a heart." I stifled another scoff. "Fine," he said, "if you don't owe me, your girlfriend does." Challenge accepted, Kai. "No, she doesn't." He lifted a brow at me. "Oh?" Clenching my teeth, I said, "No. Whatever she owes you… take it from me." "Hmm," he mused, staring at me for a beat. "Interesting." I'll bite back. "Did you invite Rose?" I asked bluntly. "Rose Chen?" His jaw ticked. There we go. "Why would I invite her?" he asked, his voice strained and hard. "Well, you two have history." "Yes, and none of it is amicable." At first glance, you would think Kai and Rose would get along well, especially considering how much they had in common. They both came from wealthy families and grew up in similar environments, both of them following Chinese culture, Kai, from his mother's side and Rose from her father's. It was rumored their families once had an alliance that went south decades ago, hence the animosity not only between Kai and Rose but even their families. When Marshall made the mistake a few years ago of pairing them up on a case, it ended in disaster, and it was safe to say, nobody was surprised. "Mind if I steal him?" Anastasia asked, cutting in as she linked her arm with mine, holding my bicep. "He's all yours," Kai said to her before walking away, offering me one last glare over his shoulder. Anastasia sighed at me. "So much for being civil." "He gets on my nerves sometimes. He likes it." "You bite back. Bringing up his history with Rose? Really? That was a low blow." "Sometimes, you need to get low to put him in place." She took a look around and then hummed slowly. "We have some time before the place fills up. Can I invite you to a game of poker? One on one." I stared at her, amusement settling in my eyes. "Really?" "You think you can take it?" she mused. "I'm game if you are." In response, I led us to one of the tables, where we settled, and seconds later, a dealer was there with us. "Care to up the stakes, Mia Cara?" I glanced at her from across the table. She lifted a brow in response. "If I win," I said, reordering my chips, "you're mine. All weekend." She hummed, a grin tugging at her lips. "And if you lose?" "You name it, and it's yours. But you should know, I never lose, sweetheart." . . . . . . Chapter 26