Poker Face

Chapter Two

The River Bluff

The hotel was posh too.

Dante had only ever gambled at the place once or twice, but couldn't stay because he'd called a close loss. He whistled as she opened the door to her suite. "Nice."

"What?"

"Not bad for an orphan girl."

"Oh please, don't jab at my financial might. It means nothing unless we can get this figured out..." Patty sighed.

Dante put his leg up on the jacuzzi and kicked the mat off. "These come standard?"

"Pft."

"No, really, because I'm so soaking in this thing."

"You don't strike me as a hot tub kind of guy."

"You don't strike me as a posh kind of girl."

"That' the third time you've called me that in the past half hour!"

"Get used to it, Posh."

"I'm not a has-been Spice Girl! What are you doing?"

"I think better when I'm relaxed."

"Seriously?" Patty asked dubiously as Dante leaned his guitar case against the tub, hung his gun-heavy coat against it and started to strip. "Modesty, Dante!"

"If it bothers you so bad, then look the other way," he leered.

With a blush, Patty turned to her laptop on the desk and played it off like annoyance. It didn't bother her so bad, that was the problem. In all of her memories of the man, it had never occurred to her that he was actually very attractive. She'd seen him been impaled, shot, wipe out on a bike and even torn to pieces, and yet not a single scar crossed his perfect, pale skin. She couldn't make eye contact with those icy eyes, even though they scanned her reaction playfully, but with scrutiny.

"You a virgin?"

"DANTE!"

"What? I'm just asking!"

"It's none of your business!"

"Actually, it's relevant, so yes it is my business."

"How is that relevant?"

"Ever hear of virgin sacrifice?"

"Yeah, in horror movies."

Dante chuckled as he leaned back in the tub. "Regular thing in the Underworld. Especially when waking up bigger daddies, you know?"

"No I don't particularly know, that's why I hired you," Patty told him curtly.

"Don't be a bitch just because you're all grown now and you have the right," Dante laughed lowly. "I want to do an experiment. Get in the tub with me."

"EXCUSE ME?"

Dante glanced over to the mirror on the far wall. "How many mirrors are in here?"

"What the hell are you talking about? First, you ask inappropriate questions. Then you tease me, sexually harass me and now you want to know how many mirrors this place has. Are you out of your mind?"

"Just answer the question."

"I don't know, I didn't check."

"That's alright, I'm guessing the one in full view anyway. Get in."

"No!"

"Why not?"

Patty rolled the desk chair out and finally made eye contact. "BeCAUSE, Dante! Yes, I am a virgin! No, I don't think that's appropriate! So I'm not getting in a goddamned tub with you until I know exactly why!"

"Do I have to explain it?"

"Yes."

"Damn." Was he joking? He had to be joking. "If this has anything to do with sacrificing you as a virgin – and as Allan Lowell's descendant as well as the holder of the Tear, you would pack quite a wallop – the minute you get in here and risk losing said virginity, something is going to pop out of that mirror."

"Why the mirror?" Patty asked.

"Mirrors are reflections into worlds unseen," he replied cryptically. "Get in."

Patty was quiet for a moment. "This still makes no sense."

"I'm sure it'll piece itself together eventually," Dante said casually. Patty would swear he was just putting off that air to see her naked if things didn't usually piece itself together eventually with him. From what she remembered of him, he did have a sexual streak, though at ten she had thought it disgusting and perverted. Of course she did back then. She was ten.

And now that she was an adult, she was painfully aware that he hadn't changed at all. "I … I didn't bring a bathing suit," she said pathetically.

Dante threw back his head and laughed. "That would defeat the purpose, Posh!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Whatever you say, Posh. For the third time: get in."

Patty sat with her hands firmly in her lap for another moment before she rose. "No peeking."

Dante rolled his eyes with a small smile. "Fine. Suit yourself," he told her, moving to sit with his back to her. He leaned his head to the side when he thought she wasn't looking and received a finger in his cheek, shoving his face back.

"NO PEEKING."

"Alright, alright!"

"... now close your eyes."

"Oh come on, now you're being childish."

"I said close your eyes!"

Dante sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the water disturbance as she eased herself into the hot and bubbling water. He didn't need to see in order to feel her tensely sit across from him. "Come on, make it look good. C'mere."

"This is degrading."

"You like it and you know it."

He could feel her blush without even looking. She was sliding next to him and placing her hands on his chest. He felt a chill run through his body – Patty was most certainly a woman now, and he didn't need eyes to tell him that. Just the feel of her soft body against his was lighting a small fire inside of him, and entertaining the thought of taking dear Patty was amusing to him. But this was for show. This was to provoke a reaction. And he was rarely wrong.

Without thinking he ran his fingers along her side, feeling the curve of her body. He felt goosebumps sprout on her skin and a little moan escaped her when he reached her hips. Dante resisted the urge to tease and continued to explore her body with his eyes closed, memorizing every detail of her skin.

Dante sensed it.

He put his arms behind his head as she quivered into his chest, breathing into his neck nervously. She was just about to ask when he would be disproven when she felt his muscles tense. Dante had reached into his coat and now was pointing Ebony and Ivory over her shoulders in one fluid movement.

"Jig's up," he said with a smirk, licking his lips and opening his sharp eyes in anticipation.

A demon was leering over them, poised to attack.

Dante unloaded into the thing, provoking a startled yelp from Patty. She covered her ears from the deafening noise as bits of demon and blood showered her back. Dante moved like liquid steel, standing on the edge of the tub with his sword drawn, a vision of might. Every muscle on him was hard as iron, including the erection, hard with Patty's touch and battle lust.

The demon charged again and had his head severed in a single blow. Patty was slopped with more blood. It took her a full minute of silence before she was aware that Dante was talking to her.

"Patty, are you alright?" he asked, offering a hand to pull her out of the bloody water.

It was all she could do to sob into his chest, shaking and naked, terrified and relieved.

Dante had been right.