I could feel her breasts pressing up against me as I entwined my tongue greedily with hers. It had been too long since I last kissed her like this and if she was going to play games of her own with me, then I wouldn’t hesitate to play some games of my own as well.
“People...are watching...” she panted in between our passionate kisses.
Her lips had turned a beautiful pink color by that time, and I enjoyed seeing the reddish pink color that had spread to her cheeks. I knew immediately that she was referring to the various bodyguards stationed in the room; however, I also knew that they knew better than to boldly watch me kiss my woman.
“Do you mind? I thought you would like something like this,” I replied teasingly before I captured her chin with between my fingers.
“Mhmm...” she moaned into our kiss when I kissed her again.
My tongue immediately entered her mouth. The way she moved her tongue against mine as her body slowly softened in my arms told me that I had managed to slip through her defenses. My hands itched to explore the curves of her body and fondle her breasts, but I knew that it wasn’t the right time and place. In the end, I was the one who broke off our kiss with a lot of regret on my mind.
Dahlia was panting hard by that time, and I ended up chuckling at her reaction. The moment my tongue slipped out of her mouth seemed to be the moment that she was reminded that she had a role that she had to play. Immediately, the dazed look of pleasure in her eyes melted away and in their place was a cold and hard stare. I had to admit that I liked that rebellious look in her eyes just as much as the look that she would show me when I pleasured her body.
“How much are you planning to lose today?” I asked.
“Is there an amount that my husband cannot cover?” she replied with a question of her own.
“Hmm...so you’re my wife now?” I couldn’t stop myself from teasing her.
“I guess having you as a husband is better than being broke?” she replied although she didn’t sound so sure.
“Are you planning to gamble my entire fortune away just like your father did with his?” I asked jokingly.
“I’m not that stupid. Please don’t compare me to my father. I also don’t think that it runs in the blood...you know...liking to gamble” she said quite defensively.
I didn’t think that it ran in the blood, and I definitely didn’t think that Dahlia resembled her father at all. Talking about that man made me recall how he had raised his hand against Dahlia and my mood immediately darkened. I could tell that it had happened before and probably countless times before. Regret crept into my mind, and I knew that it wasn’t just me regretting thinking of that man.
What would have happened had I not been there on that day?
What about all the times before that?
“Bradon?” Dahlia called my name and I quickly snapped out of my dark thoughts.
“Really? I’ll keep that in mind,” I replied from where our conversation left off.
“If you don’t want me to keep losing, why don’t you teach me a trick or two that I could use?” she suggested with a hint of begging.
“How about I just tell all the dealers to go easy on you instead?” I replied with an idea of my own.
“What fun would that be?” she replied while making a bored face.
“Shall we?” I asked invitingly as I playfully offered her my arm.
“Yes, we shall...” she replied before pressing her lips into a thin line.
I smiled at her when she held onto the crook of my arm with both hands as if she was trying to stop me from running away.
...
Sure enough, everyone at Anthony’s office wasn’t pleased that I was taking time off work. For those who did not know that I had taken Anthony’s place, they worried about his illness and sent too many presents and cards wishing for his speedy recovery. It would have shocked them to no end had they found out the truth that Anthony was indeed desperately in need of their prayers for his speedy recovery. I had received no news from the hospital regarding Anthony’s condition and that could be interpreted in two ways. I knew that I should rejoice a little in the fact that his condition had not worsened; however, the lack of news also meant that his condition had not improved.
Whether they liked it or not, I had decided to spend a few days taking Dahlia on her trips to the casino. Although I knew that our days together like these couldn’t last forever, I decided to indulge her and her selfish requests to see what she was going to do next.
When I told her that she had to take a break from her casino visits while conveniently leaving out the details that I had to return to my daily duties as Anthony at the company, she wasn’t at all pleased. However, instead of arguing, she was surprisingly understanding.
“I see. I guess you have a lot of work to do, and you can’t have me tagging along all the time. I understand. Good luck at work,” she said before smiling a little.
“Stay home and behave,” I instructed sternly.
“Yes, Sir!” she replied with a salute.
For some reason, I felt like she was more than ready to cause some trouble with that attitude that she had. Despite her promise to behave, it was frankly difficult for me to believe that Dahlia could stay home peacefully. I walked toward the car while thinking of just how many days or hours Dahlia could stay home peacefully before she demanded to go out again.
“Bradon! Wait!” she called after me.
By the time I turned around to face her, she was already standing right in front of me. In one smooth motion, Dahlia turned and stood up on her tiptoes and brought her face close to mine. The clicking sound of her phone taking a photo of us sounded like an old camera from back in the times.
--To be continued...