Guys and Dolls
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men Evolution, the characters, Guys and Dolls or the song Luck Be a Lady.
Summary: She was the infamous Lady Luck of Iceman Drake's underground gambling circuit and she would soon be his. [AU]
A/N: This fic is named after and inspired by the musical Guys and Dolls. The chapters will be named after Frank Sinatra songs so the chapter titles don't belong to me. This will not exactly be linear either; I apologize for any confusion this might cause.
The room was dimly lit and stifling hot. Both the lack of air and light were supposed to give the illusion that the building wasn't occupied this late at night should a policeman drive by on his nightly rounds. Berzerk Ray Crisp had been kind enough to lend his store for the illegal floating casino and it would not do to be caught.
High roller Roberto da Costa scanned the room as he waited for all the bets to be placed at the craps table. He could see her making her way across the room, showering luck on all of the unfortunate souls around. She would massage their shoulders as they played cards, blow on their dice before they rolled or just stand by their sides as they picked horses for the next day's race.
She was Lady Luck.
She had a staggering reputation of ensuring a win to any man she so much as stood next to and he wanted her. She was beautiful with legs that went on for miles and she would make him a fortune...
Among other things.
He wasn't sure how exactly but he knew with a hundred percent certainty that she would be his.
Her silky voice, wishing some hapless loser luck, floated toward him and his eyes closed as her tone washed over him. She was enticing and all encompassing. She made him momentarily forget what he was supposed to be doing.
"What's gotten into you tonight, Da Costa?" Multiple Madrox sneered from across the table. "You're not turning yellow on us, are you?"
His eyes snapped open and he glared at the younger man. "Don't be stupid," he began, brushing off the insult with a careless wave of his hand. "There's not a one of you here who hasn't seen me roll with more money on the line."
One by one he watched as various gamblers around the table nodded and smirked in satisfaction. He was the last person that anyone should ever accuse of being yellow.
He took one last glance around the room, hoping to spot her before he rolled but she was nowhere to be found. Sighing, he shook the dice and prepared to throw but stopped short when he felt hands caress his shoulders.
"Need a bit of luck?"
The voice was low and right by his ear, so close he could feel her breath on his skin. He looked over his shoulder and found her there, seductive eyes on his hand still poised for the roll. Taking the hint he unfurled his fingers and she leaned forward, chest brushing his arm as she pursed her lips and blew on the dice.
The warm flow of air over his hand sent chills down his spine and the feel of her body against him made his groin tighten. She would be the death of him and he didn't even know her name.
Pulling himself together, he shook the dice once more and rolled.
Eleven.
He won. Not that there had ever been any doubt that he would with her by his side.
He turned back to her just in time to see her smile before she turned and prepared to continue her tour of the room. Panicked and desperate to keep her there with him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.
"I must offer my thanks and entreat you to stay," he began, watching her face closely for any sign as to what she was thinking.
She laughed and shook her head. "You've had your taste of luck for tonight. Why not let some other man have his turn?" Her voice was throaty and controlled but her eyes held a curious gleam.
She was no doubt wondering what his angle was.
"It's not nice to leave your escort to roam the room and blow on some other guy's dice," he whispered pulling her closer, his words were for her ears only.
"You forget yourself," she began teasingly, subtly trying to move away from him. "You are not my escort. I did not come here with you."
His hand tightened marginally on her arm, keeping her in place. "But you just might be leaving with me if you play your cards right."
A hearty laugh escaped her then and the sound attracted more than a few looks from the other men at the crap table. "I do not gamble, good sir. I am merely the good luck piece of the organizer."
His eyes narrowed at the mention of her belonging to the Iceman but he forced his grip on her to stay gentle and his tone to stay light. "But you'd make a fantastic gambler with luck such as yours." She skeptically raised an eyebrow and attempted to withdraw again. "You would not even care to take a chance on me?"
His punctuating pout made her giggle despite herself and he smiled at the sound.
She was so beautiful.
Drawing closer to him, she ran her free hand down his chest. "I would love to take a chance on you after hours. If you play your cards right, that is," she teased, smiling coquettishly and pushing away from him with a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
This time he allowed her to leave his embrace and continue her tour around the room.
He turned back to the table with a self-satisfied smirk but was met with knowing stares and shaking heads.
"What?" he wondered nonchalantly.
Cannonball Sam laughed. "You won't ever get anywhere with her," he began, carelessly throwing money down for the next roll. "Some of Drake's dames are easy but not that one. She's turned down every other guy in the room."
Roberto's eyes twinkled with mirth as he leaned across the table. "Ah but I'm not every other guy," he reminded, throwing his own money down.
Sam's air of merriment abruptly turned sour. "She's a tough doll, I'm telling you," he insisted, only to be interrupted by Madrox.
"Every broad Drake has brought in here has fallen to at least one of us," the younger man explained. "Hell, Berzerk and the Firecracker might even take the walk of death they're so serious, but Magma-"
"Magma?" Roberto cut-in curiously.
"Lady Luck. She's a dancehall girl down at Xavier's on weekends, goes by the stage name of Lady Magma," Sam elaborated, leaning forward to keep his words quiet. "No one knows her real name or anything about her. Not even the Iceman."
"Then how did he recruit her?"
"Jubes brought her in one day, they're roommates or something. Met down at the club."
Roberto rubbed his chin; this situation was getting interesting. This Magma, this Lady Luck was ever the enigma apparently and his want for her increased by the second. In a world where secrets were dangerous - a section of New York's nightlife that, if brought to the light of day could completely ruin a professional career such as his and so made lies and deceit dangerous to one's livelihood - he found himself drawn to this mystery of a woman who could completely bring his empire of independent wealth down around his knees should she get too close.
Getting close to her without revealing too much about himself would be tricky but it was a challenge he was prepared for. He had a feeling she would be well worth it.
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