Masters of Seduction Volume 2: Books 5-8: Paranormal Romance Box Set Read Online Free Page A

attempted jab. “If I’d been after revenge, you would’ve paid it a long time ago, old friend .” Now the Nephilim glanced at him, confusion in her night-dark eyes. Sorin held her curious gaze but spoke to the demon beside her. “You’re in my House now. If you sit down to play, you’d better be prepared to lose.”
    To his surprise, she scoffed quietly. “No doubt especially in your House.”
    Her accusation was so unexpected, it took him aback. Sorin cocked his head at her. “Are you implying that Ebarron would stoop to cheating?”
    “You tell me.” Her expression was placid, unreadable.
    Maddeningly so.
    As the croupier put the wheel in motion and called for bets, Sorin reached over and took the Nephilim’s hand in his.
    She sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers closed around hers. “What are you—”
    He drew her hand toward him without explanation, feeling her pulse jackhammer under his fingertips. Their contact felt electric, hardening him in seconds.
    Her eyes were wide now, uncertain. But underneath her confusion, curiosity flared. The chilly front she tried to erect between them couldn’t hide the heat that still burned inside her.
    Sorin smiled a dangerous smile. He was a man accustomed to getting what he wanted, and right now, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to make this icy blond female combust in a screaming, soul-shattering orgasm. He could do it right now, with the power of the thrall, but where was the challenge in that?
    “You seem to think I don’t play fairly,” Sorin murmured as he brought her fingers down onto his pile of chips, his own hand still covering hers. “So, I want you to place my next bet.”
    “No, I—” She shook her head. Even though his grasp was loose on her, she didn’t try to pull away.
    “You and I both know this is what you want.” His grin deepened with meaning, and he could see she was smart enough to catch his innuendo. “Go on,” he demanded. “My fortune is in your hands.”
    Her soft features froze over a bit at his remark. The instant Sorin relaxed his hold on her, she shoved an entire stack of chips across the table onto the red number five.
    On the other side of her, Korda chuckled, then bet the same amount on a black number.
    The black won.
    Sorin didn’t miss the female’s pleased reaction as his chips were swept away. “I assume that answers your question about the integrity of my House.”
    She turned a frosty look on him. “Not especially. After all, what have you actually lost here? You’ve only transferred Ebarron’s treasure from one pocket to the other.”
    He grunted. “True enough, but losing at anything isn’t something I enjoy. I’m not in the habit of giving up what’s mine.”
    “So I’ve heard.”
    “Have you. From whom?” Damn, the woman was practically hostile toward him now. “Do you know me? I asked your name earlier, but you didn’t tell me.”
    When she stood in stony silence, Korda answered for her. “Told me her name’s Asha.”
    “Asha,” Sorin said, testing it on his tongue. “Asha, what? And where are you from?”
    She swallowed, but her dark blue eyes were locked on him in defiance. “Asha…Messenger,” she said, her reply too measured to be truthful. She licked her lips. “I came here from New York.”
    Sorin studied her. They most certainly had never met, and untrue or not, there was something vaguely familiar about her name.
    Although she was withholding something more than that from him and he knew it. As a gambling man, he watched for tells and he easily recognized when someone was keeping their cards close to their chest.
    And Asha Messenger from New York had a chest he very much wanted to explore.
    He wanted to discover all of her tells, explore every last creamy inch of her. In scorchingly intimate detail.
    Which meant it was time to get rid of Korda Marakel.
    Sorin glanced at the croupier and gave a subtle nod of his head, an unspoken command that sent the roulette