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  “Too bad.” He shrugged.

  “I want to make a deal.”

  “What deal?” His beady eyes narrowed. “Look, I’ll make you a deal. Either you play, or you get out.”

  “No.” She stepped toward him. “I’m not leaving without my sister.”

  A man moved toward us from the edge of the room, his hand slipping inside his coat pocket.

  “Then you ain’t leaving.” Pauly smiled.

  I stepped in front of her, forcing him to look at me. “Let Hannah go, and there won’t be any trouble.”

  “No trouble?” He laughed, the sound raspy. “You already caused trouble coming up in here where you aren’t wanted.”

  “We’re taking her with us.” Elias stepped beside me, aggression coming off him in waves.

  Hannah glanced up and focused on him for a split second before dealing the next card.

  “Frank.” Pauly kept his voice low. His patrons didn’t even look up, as if these sorts of dustups were just part of the game.

  The man with the hand in his coat moved closer, then pulled out a pistol.

  “Get them out of here.”

  Pauly turned, and Frank advanced on us.

  “I came to play.” Jason pushed to the front and sat down at the third table that had only two men playing. He tossed his money clip at the dealer. “Cash me in.”

  Pauly squinted at him. “Hey, I know you.”

  “Yeah?” Jason leaned back in his chair, completely at ease in this den of killers and thieves.

  Pauly moved around the table and stared down at him. “Holy shit. Holy shiiiiit.”

  “What is it boss?” The man with the gun shot him a look.

  “This is Commander Reptilian.”

  “No shit?” Frank backed up and got a look at Jason’s face.

  “No shit, man. It’s you, isn’t it?” Pauly stubbed out his cigar.

  “Yeah.” Jason kept his cool.

  “Fucking shit. Frankie, get him a drink. What you drinking? I got, I got…give him the top shelf shit.” Pauly pulled up a chair and sat across from Jason—Elias, Daphne, and I seemingly forgotten.

  I reached behind me and took her hand. I had no idea how this would play out, but I was willing to wait and see. Especially given Frank’s fondness for his gun.

  “I’ve seen all them movies. My crew, I make them watch them with me. My son, Mickey, he loves them too. Last three Halloweens, he dressed up as you. Got your posters in his room. I tried to get him into watching porn. He’s at that age, you know? He’d rather read comics about you.” Pauly ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I can’t believe this. At my table.”

  The dealer passed Jason some chips as Frank set a drink down beside him.

  “Thanks.” Jason began arranging his chips as Pauly continued to blubber on and on about each movie of the Aliens Versus Vampires franchise. He actually misstated the plot of the third film, confusing the Vampire Empress with the more obscure Tarrar Clan’s Ruler, but I didn’t quibble. Hannah kept glancing at Elias, each time shaking her head almost imperceptibly.

  “God.” Pauly sat back and grinned. “At my table. You are at my table.”

  Jason lost the hand he was playing. “Yeah, and you just cleaned me out of a grand right then.”

  Pauly laughed. “House always wins. You know that.”

  “Sure do.” He took a drink of his liquor. “That burns just right.”

  “It’s the good stuff. I don’t get it out for these bozos.” He jerked his head at the other guys.

  Some of them grumbled but continued playing. Frank returned to our side, his gun still out, but his attention on the Pauly-Jason lovefest.

  “Do you want women? I can order some women, easy. Maybe some food? I can get you whatever you want.”

  “I’m good for the moment. Thanks, though.”

  “My kid is going to lose his mind when I tell him about this. His thirteenth birthday is next month. It’s Commander Reptilian themed. I’ll have to get your autograph for him.” He pulled out his phone. “And a selfie.”

  “Sure.” Jason shrugged.

  “I’ve got a better idea.” I stepped forward, but Frank slammed a hand on my shoulder and jabbed the pistol into my ribs.

  Daphne gasped.

  “I’m okay.” I held a hand out. “It’s fine.”

  Pauly scowled at me. “What? What’s your idea?”

  I held my hands out in front of me and eased over to their table, Frank still gripping my shoulder. “What if Jason—err Commander Reptilian agrees to come to your son’s party? Wouldn’t that be great?”

  Pauly scratched his protruding gut and stared at Jason. “Yeah, Mickey would love it. Hell, all the kids and the adults would love it. But would you do that?” His inner fanboy colored his voice with a tinge of hopefulness.

  “I don’t know, man.” Jason placed his hands on the table and pushed back until he balanced on the back legs of his chair. “I never do parties like that.”

  I edged closer. “But surely you could make an exception?”

  Pauly leaned forward, taking the bait. “Could you?”

  “Hmmmm.” Jason leaned his head back, appearing to consider it.

  “I could pay you well for it. Good money.”

  “Come on, Jason. It’s for a little kid’s birthday,” I coaxed. “He’d remember it forever.”

  “I know, but he’d be the one kid in the whole world who had the real Commander Reptilian at his party. What if the other kids got jealous?”

  “Jealous. Yes.” Pauly clasped his hands together, his eyes rounding with hope. “Please do it for me—I mean, my Mickey. I’d be forever in your debt.”

  Jason dropped his chair legs back onto the floor.

  “Come on, man.” Elias pitched in. “It’s for the kids.”

  “The kids.” Pauly nodded.

  Jason sighed. “I-I guess I could make an exception this one time.”

  Pauly clapped, his grin wide. “Thank you!”

  He held up a finger. “But I’d need something in return.”

  “Right.” Pauly shifted his gaze to Hannah and then back to Jason. “I can guess what you want.”

  “Yeah.” Jason began playing again, stacking and re-stacking his chips. “We need Hannah, and we need you to let go of the debt. I’ll show up to your place for the party, decked out as Commander Reptilian. Hell, I’ll even fly my makeup artist out from LA to really sell the look.”

  My own inner fanboy piped up. “Maybe we can have some stand-ins for ScaleyThorn and Fangia?”

  “Damn.” Pauly nodded. “That would be…” He laughed. “That would be awesome. Mickey would never forget a birthday like that. I’d invite all the crews from the neighborhoods. They’d be talking it up to all the bosses.” He sobered. “But Hannah owes me a lot of money.”

  “Look.” Jason waved his hand at his chips. “I’ve got a thousand more dollars to lose in this game. That’s 2k right there.”

  Pauly’s expression soured. “That’s not even a dent on fifty.”

  “I’ve already paid you fifteen.” Daphne tried to step in front of me, but I wrapped my arms around her. No way was I letting her get any closer to danger.

  “Fourteen thousand, seven-hundred and twelve, to be exact.” Pauly flipped a chip across his knuckles, back and forth between his fingers as Jason played and the rest of us held our breaths.

  “Well, if you aren’t interested, I did have another engagement next month that I could go to.” Jason shrugged nonchalantly. “I can go ahead and have my agent book my flight for that.” He reached into his pocket for his phone.

  “No.” Pauly stopped walking the chip across his fingers. “No, I’ll do it.”

  Daphne let out a relieved breath. Frank let me go, and I was awfully proud of myself for not pissing my pants when he’d pulled the gun on me.

  Jason kept playing as Pauly walked up to Hannah and whispered in her ear. She nodded and finished dealing the hand before stepping back and letting Frank tak
e her spot.

  Daphne pulled away from me and grabbed Hannah in her arms. “Thank god.”

  “I’m okay.” Hannah rested her chin on Daphne’s shoulder. “Everything’s okay.”

  “Let’s get out of here.” Elias gestured toward the front door.

  Daphne and Hannah hurried away, Elias and I bringing up the rear.

  “Jason?” I waited.

  “Go on. I’ll be wiped out in a second, looks like.”

  “Okay. I’ll be right outside.”

  Pauly didn’t give us another look, only focused on Jason. “When the Vampire fleet blew up Commander Reptilian’s home world, how did his long-lost cousin show up in episode four with a…” His voice trailed away as we walked out into the morning.

  The sun still hid behind a layer of clouds, but it could have been snowing for all I cared. I scooped Daphne into my arms and twirled her around on the sidewalk.

  She clung to my neck. “Oh my god. You did it.”

  “Well, Jason did it—”

  “No, it was you.” She kissed me hard on the lips. I answered, leaning her back and pressing her close.

  We kissed until she laughed against my lips. “You conned him.”

  “I learned from the best.” I claimed her mouth again, spinning her in a circle as we celebrated with shared breaths and seeking tongues.

  When we came up for air, and I set her on her feet, we found Hannah and Elias sharing a passionate embrace.

  “Ew, sister kissing is the worst kissing.” Daphne turned her back and stared up at me. “I love you.”

  Had any other phrase been uttered so beautifully? “Say it again.”

  She put her palms on my cheeks, her brown eyes staring into mine. “I love you, Willis.”

  “What if I told you my real name isn’t Willis?”

  Her eyes widened. “It’s not?”

  “No, it is. Just a hypothetical.” I coughed. “That has now ruined the moment. Shit.”

  “You are a big, dorky, sexy nerd.” She pulled my face down to hers.

  “That you love.”

  “Yes.” She brushed her nose against mine. “That I love.”

  27

  Daphne

  We dropped Hannah and Elias at my apartment, then took a cab back to the city. Jason had waved away our thanks, playing it off with the sort of grace you’d never expect from someone famous like him.

  Willis and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other, even though Jason sat beside us and played on his phone. He glanced at us and grinned. “Get it.”

  By the time we got to Willis’s apartment and inside his front door, my top was halfway off, and his pants were unbuttoned. We mauled each other the entire way to his bed, stripping and kissing.

  “Fuck, I love you.” He pulled my pants and panties off as I unclasped my bra.

  Settling between my legs, he wrapped his arms around me and pushed inside without warning.

  I dug my nails into his back and arched into him. “Willis.”

  “You’ll be saying that a lot today.” He thrust deep, his cock filling me as I kissed his neck and shoulders.

  He started a leisurely rhythm, drawing out our pleasure with stroke after stroke. I clung to him, desperate for every touch, every bit of contact. My breasts rubbed against his chest, my nipples hard and needy as our sweaty bodies came together over and over.

  His hands smoothed up my forearms and grabbed my wrists, pinning me as his strokes got harder.

  “Yes,” I breathed. My pussy grew even wetter, the sounds of our lovemaking growing louder with each sultry push from his hips.

  He bent to kiss me. I rose to meet him, but he backed away, the devil in his eyes.

  I strained toward him again, but he stayed just out of reach, pounding into me and teasing me with the promise of his kiss.

  “Willis, please.”

  “That’s better.” He moved closer and nipped at my bottom lip. “Again.”

  “Please.”

  His kiss was just as intense as his cock inside me. I opened wide for him as he owned me with his tongue. He grunted into my mouth and released a wrist only to grab a handful of my hair. Craning my head back, he sucked on my neck, sending waves of euphoria swelling inside me. His teeth grazed me, then moved lower and teased my right nipple.

  I arched toward him. “Please, Willis.”

  He groaned against my breast, then took it in his mouth, his tongue doing wicked things to the stiff peak. I ground my hips on him, my clit buzzing with each delicious stroke of his body.

  “I’m close.”

  “Not yet.” He pulled out, ignored my frustrated cry, and flipped me onto all fours.

  His chest pressed to my back, and he entered me in a smooth thrust. Wrapping one forearm around my chest, he yanked me back onto his cock. Our bodies slapped, and his teeth on my shoulder had me pushing back into him, relishing each rough plunge.

  “You feel so good.” His warm breath at my neck was an aphrodisiac all to itself. And when he added his tongue, I shook.

  I gripped his headboard and reached between my legs with my other hand.

  He pulled it away. “That’s my job.” His fingers found the spot that made my mind blank and my body freeze.

  “Come, Daphne. I want to feel it.” His words blazed a trail of heat to my core, and I was forced to obey his command.

  My body shook, my pussy convulsing around his cock as I fell and fell, each moment sending me crashing deeper and deeper until I collapsed onto the mattress, my body hovering somewhere between Blisstopia and Fuckthatwasgoodland.

  “Not yet.” He growled against me, his cock still hard and deep inside me. With a hand at my waist, he turned me over and covered me with his body. “I want to see you. Give me all of you.” He pulsed inside me, slow, sensual, shattering.

  I stared into his eyes, the connection between us stronger than the Brooklyn Bridge.

  “I love you, Daphne. All of you. Your truths, your lies, your secrets, your facts, your past, and your future. This”—he thrust for emphasis—“is the now. Is real. Whatever came before is nothing to me. Just us.” He laced our fingers together. “I love you.”

  I didn’t realize I was tearing up until the wetness tickled my ears.

  A furrow formed between his brows. “As a general rule, crying during sex is bad.”

  I laughed and leaned up, kissing him with a full heart. “This one time it’s okay.”

  “Stop doing it. I don’t know if I can come when you’re—”

  I laughed harder.

  “Oh my god. When you laugh it squeezes.” His grip tightened on my fingers. “Stop or I’ll come.”

  He tried to pull back, but I dug my heels into his thighs and kept him close.

  “Daphne.” He narrowed his eyes at me.

  I cackled.

  “Fuck.” He drew the word out and slammed deep inside me. His cock thickened and kicked.

  I released my hold on his thighs, and he dropped his forehead to my shoulder. “You are evil.”

  “Maybe a little.” I kissed his ear. “But I’m yours.”

  “That’s all that matters.” He rolled off and pulled me onto his chest.

  “I should clean up.” I sighed with contentment.

  “Meh.” He wrapped his arms around my back and pressed me close.

  After a few moments where we both came down from the sex high, I asked, “So, what now?”

  “Ready for round two, eh?”

  I dug my nails into his side. “No, I mean with us. I assume Jina outed you.” I propped my chin on his chest. “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged beneath me. “Her exposé came out this morning. But it doesn’t matter. The more I think about it, the more I think it’s for the best.”

  “Really?” My eyebrows shot up.

  “Yeah. I think Scarlet Rocket was sort of a crutch, you know? My real name wasn’t out there, so if I failed, it wouldn’t hurt so bad.”

  “I know what you mean. Like if you let someone see t
he real you, they’d know you didn’t measure up.”

  He kissed my forehead. “Never think that about yourself.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Fake it till you make it.”

  “Is that what you did?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Then you made it, and I blew it.” I pressed my cheek to his chest.

  “I don’t think so. I can rebuild.”

  “Have you been to your blog since Jina’s story?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m ready. Linda’s been calling me all day.” A low hum came from the living room. “That’s probably her again.” He ran his hands up and down my back. “It can wait. Now that I have conned the love right out of you, I intend to keep you here and show you all of Rocket’s skills.”

  “Did you refer to your dick in third person?”

  “Maybe.” He settled into the bed. “Take a nap. Rocket’s going to show you the cosmos when you wake up.”

  I snickered. “Confident much?”

  “This nerd got skills.” He kissed my hair. “I spelled that with a ‘z’ in case you missed it in the pronunciation.”

  “Dork.” I yawned and fell asleep in the safety of his love.

  An incessant knocking woke me.

  Willis groaned. “What now?” He slid me off him and drew the sheet up around me. “I’ll be right back.” Snagging his pants off the floor, he pulled them on and walked into the living room. It was dark outside, and I had no idea what time it was.

  After a few more moments of knocking, I heard the door open.

  “Linda, what the hell?”

  “What the hell yourself!” The loud clack of heels on the hardwoods cut through the air.

  I rose and looked around for my clothes in vain. They were scattered through the living room. I opted for Willis’s closet and threw on one of his nerd t-shirts and a pair of his boxers.

  “—you have to make a statement. Say something.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean why?” Linda’s voice was excited and far less angry than I’d expected. “Because your book preorders are through the roof, your blog has blown up—I can’t even get on it, too much traffic—and I’ve had reporters calling me nonstop.”

  I walked into the living room as Willis sank onto his couch. He held his hand out for me, and I went to him.