Free Rough and Tumble by CRYSTAL GREEN

game, he gives ’em one.”
    â€œAnd how many of those games have you been here for?”
    He smiled. “A few. Had a great one a couple weeks ago.”
    Interesting. So that was how he’d afforded the good whisky he’d bought her?
    She got down to brass tacks. “Here’s the bottom line. Arden can come up with the money if you allow her some time. How long are you willing to give her?”
    It was a long shot. Arden was in no financial shape to be wasting ten thousand dollars. Sofia couldn’t contribute that much, either, and Arden had no family to depend on, so she was in a tight place. Molly’s extra money was going to her sister, and her assets weren’t liquid enough to help Arden out in this much of a pinch. Molly didn’t even have any parents to ask for help.
    â€œHow much time are we talking?” Cash had a hold of his lighter, and he was running his thumb down the casing. Down Bettie Page and her siren’s body.
    Molly could almost feel the caress, but she put all her energy into focusing. “A month. Does that sound reasonable?”
    He fixed that melty green gaze on her, and she almost slid down in her chair to the floor. Then he smiled.
    â€œIf I wanted the money,” he said, “I would’ve already negotiated that with your friend.”
    Oh, oh. And,
Oh my God, that was hot
.
    Focus, Molly.
    He continued. “Your buddy has the fever—visions of winning the pot on the table were dancing through her head, and she couldn’t stop herself from betting more than she could afford. I can read people, and I could tell she wasn’t good for the ten thou right off the bat.”
    â€œThen why did you continue playing with her?”
    Cash shrugged those wide shoulders. “I knew what I wanted, and I was gonna get it.”
    What he wanted.
Her
.
    Beneath her sundress, her nipples went hard, her skin moist.
    She had a choice here, and her body was begging for her to make the decision
it
wanted. But her brain was saying something else. So was her pride.
    â€œI’m not for sale,” she said between her teeth.
    He assessed her, his smile growing. Then he outright laughed. And when Kat arrived to set down a glass of whisky for him and a faux ginger ale for her, she gave Cash a hard glance before leaving them alone.
    Pushing back his long hair with one hand, he let out a sigh, putting down the lighter and picking up his drink. “All I want is a date tonight, darlin’. Didn’t your friend tell you that?”
    So Molly hadn’t been wrong?
    It took a moment to absorb everything. This was real. It wasn’t some cute little situation where he was going to go, “Just kidding!” and let Arden off the hook. None of them knew this man or how he’d react to being shafted for ten thousand dollars if Molly didn’t agree to his terms.
    â€œA date,” she finally said.
    â€œYeah, just a date.”
    As reassuring as that should’ve sounded, it wasn’t. “Do I have any input on this?”
    The smile he gave her said that she could name any terms she wanted but he’d get his way in the end. Well, they’d see about that. Molly hadn’t handled multimillion-dollar accounts because she was a brain-dead fool.
    She sat back in her chair, her fingertips touching her sweating soda glass. His gaze strayed there and, impulsively, she traced the moisture on the surface.
    His eyes clouded for a moment before he raised them to her again, hungrier than ever now.
    Her pulse picked up speed.
    It must’ve been obvious that he had a blushing effect on her because he laughed again. “You’re not a person to cross, are you?”
    â€œMy friends and I are very protective of each other.”
    â€œEspecially when it comes to going on a date with someone like me.”
    â€œI don’t generally associate with bikers, so you’ll have to excuse my wariness.”
    His smile tapered off.