“Before I get too far ahead of myself, are you already here with anyone tonight?” He asked me. I shook my head, because no, I definitely wasn’t here with anyone. Tucker and his buddy had just made that painfully clear to me - again.

“Well then, my night is definitely looking up.” I glanced up into his bright green eyes, ones that crinkled around the corners, showing his age was probably right where I’d guessed it to be. It was only once I was this close that I noted the little bit of silver at his temples too, that made me wonder if I hadn’t actually undersold it. He might have been closer to 40 than 30. He was also ridiculously tall, maybe even close to six and a half feet. The man was also broad in the shoulders, even as his waist tapered down to a trim size. That too seemed larger than life and I found myself curiously wondering if he was just as big everywhere else.

Yep, my ego might have taken a few hits over the past couple of weeks, but that didn’t stop my dirty little mind from popping into overdrive. If this man were someone from the books I read, he’d probably take me out of here and do all sorts of unspeakable things to me later tonight. Hell, he might even refuse to give me back. I let my fantasies wander as he continued his winning streak with me by his side.

I was so deep into my fantasies; I almost missed the fact that Tucker and Wes were about to leave the casino without the women who had previously been on their arms. I did notice though, and then I turned away and went back to paying attention to the man of the hour. The giant beside me was apparently winning a damn fortune. It took me a while to figure out the denomination on each of the colored chips, but when I finally got it, I was stunned.

“What do you say, one more for luck, and then we’ll go somewhere a little more private?” He asked. I shook my head. “You don’t want to go somewhere?”

“I don’t think you should bet again,” I informed him. He tipped his head to the side, taking me in, and then he laughed so loud, it drew all kinds of attention to the table.

“You are too damn cute,” he mumbled between his laughter. “You just figured out what the chips meant, didn’t you?”

I glanced up at him and grinned while scrunching my nose up a bit. “That obvious, huh?”

“Yeah, it was darlin’. I’ll tell you what, I’ll humor you and only play one chip this round. He placed the chip down on the spot where he had been about to go all in and moved the rest of his hoard to safety. Then he had me blow on the dice before he threw them once more. Sure enough, whatever he had thrown was a big bust. He would have lost everything he’d earned. “Well, it seems I need to reward you for your instinct, little darlin’. Let’s go get you a drink.”