DragonGames by Jory Strong Page A

table.
    Tielo folded when the betting reached him.
His expression was carefully blank, a true poker face. Still, insidious heat
crept into her, building with the looks sent her way by the other men,
including the one Roque gave her as he pulled the great pile of chips toward
him after revealing he had a straight.
    “You inspire me to win, beautiful Lyra,” he
told her, gaining baleful glances from several men and another flash of
supposed fire with accompanying smoke from Jubal at her left.
    Their acting relaxed her, but not enough to
enter the next hand. She folded, offering Jubal a smile when it was his turn to
bet. He doubled the number of coins he’d picked up.
    The play moved to Odion, then Cael, then
Takeo. She considered their names, as well as those of the other dragons at the
table. Zephyr, Soren and Jubal. Roque, Hakon, and Tielo. Surely they weren’t
real?
    “So you’re all dragons,” she said, deciding
that getting to know them better, talking, might make it easier for her to
pretend the Pandas and Eagles and Buffalo stacked in front of her were just
chips. “Is your color significant?”
    “Only in that the combination of
silver-and-gold denotes superiority when it comes to males,” the dark-skinned
Takeo said, causing Pierce to snort.
    She shook her head, amused. “Let me guess,
under occupation, you all list treasure hunting .”
    They smiled and laughed. “Too true,” Zephyr
said. “And nothing is more treasured than a mate.”
    The play reached Soren after Tielo folded
for a second time and Zephyr increased the size of the bet.
    “My mate will lack for nothing,” Soren
said, staying in the game with a slide of coins.
    Cael, who sat directly across from him,
nodded in agreement. “And mine won’t work outside of the house.”
    Soren’s smile held a sharp edge. “I can see
how keeping you happy would be work enough. Though my mate, my wife, won’t need
to busy herself away from home either.”
    It was said with such seriousness that Lyra
didn’t think either man was simply role-playing. In fact, she got the distinct
impression they might actually consider this courtship conversation, and
believe staying at home to tend to their needs would appeal to her.
    “That attitude is a bit archaic in this day
and age,” she said, directing the comment with a glance to Soren at her right
and then Cael to her left.
    The latter shrugged. “I can afford to keep
a female in luxury.”
    “And all her attention on you,” Soren said.
“Where it belongs.”
    It was Odion who claimed the pot after
flop, turn card and river were on the table, forming the communal pool the
players used in place of, or in concert with, their two hole cards in order to
create the best five-card hand.
    The dealer button moved to the spot in
front of Soren, though it was Pierce who shuffled and dealt, sending her a
smile of encouragement when she looked at her hole cards and saw the ace of
hearts.
    Pretend they’re just gold-colored chips , she told herself, using the admonishment to draw enough strength
to separate ten Eagles from her stack and remain in the game.
    “Tell us about yourself,” Jubal said,
leaning toward her after also putting chips in. He was close enough that his
rich auburn hair brushed across her arm like fine silk. “What do you do for a
living?”
    “I teach.”
    “Children?” Roque asked, interest gleaming
in pirate-dark eyes. It was hard not to think about what Aislinn had said, to
believe these men, who could have their pick of women, were looking for that
special one.
    She fought the urge to check for Tielo’s
reaction. She couldn’t risk the distraction when she’d finally found the
courage to part with what amounted to a quarter of her yearly salary.
    “I teach third grade.”
    Jubal moved closer, the feel his body heat
causing her stomach to do a little flip. There was no denying she felt
attracted to him, but it was Tielo’s touch she craved.
    “So you love children,” Jubal