The Wager

Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the drinks. But when her best friend, Mark, suggests playing strip poker, Kasey is more than willing to go along. The sexy game causes long hidden desires to erupt to the surface, and a 'side wager' just might change both of their lives forever.

Excerpt:
I could blame the heat of the day, or the alcohol we were drinking, but I was definitely feeling pretty good about the hand of cards that I was holding. So when my best friend, Mark, gave me that wicked grin of his, I was able to ignore it. Mostly. Until he said, “What if we raise the stakes a little?”

Something about the way he said that made my body react in ways that were wholly inappropriate, considering how long that we'd been friends. Not to mention that he'd never looked at me as anything more than a buddy.

But I'd always looked at him. A lot more than I should.

Still, I was an old hand at hiding how I felt about him, though it was a little harder to do than normal, considering the absolute flood of wetness that was threatening to overwhelm my attempts to keep my thighs squeezed together without making the move so obvious that Mark would have to notice.

Or not. I sighed. “What did you have in mind?”

“Maybe switch to strip poker?”

I instantly imagined him naked, though I didn't actually know what he looked like in that case. I'd seen enough of his body at the beach to take an educated guess at what the rest of it looked like. And I had to bite my lip to keep from moaning. Forced myself to recover and make a lame attempt at a laugh. “Did you start drinking before you came by tonight?”

“You implying that I would have to be drunk to want to see you naked?”

“Don't you?”

Now he forced out a laugh. “That's a loaded question if I ever heard one.”

“You started it.”

“What's wrong? Afraid you going to lose? Or are you not drunk enough to risk seeing me naked?”

I shook my head. “Mark, what has gotten into you tonight?”

“I don't know. Maybe because it's hot as hell and I'm looking for any excuse to take off any of my clothes.”

I did have a very good hand at the moment. So what would be so wrong about playing this other game for a little bit? I was sure that he'd get uncomfortable and call it off as soon as he won more than one hand anyway. And maybe I'd get a chance to see a little more of him than I had before. It would make my fantasies so much hotter, when I touched myself to his image later. “Fine. You're on.”