Cocktails

"Alright, let's take a break."

James excused himself and his wife and guided Jasper to the catering table. He reached into a tub of ice and pulled out another bottle of expensive champagne.

He looked back at his wife and smiled as he began to pour two small glasses. Of course his parents had their doubts. He had been married before, but for the wrong reasons.

His encounter with Jasmine had stirred up something inside him. She had been just as timid at the poker table that night, and he had initially thought it merely a ruse as her winnings began to build.

While he heard that Jasmine had gone to Jacqueline saying he had cheated, he had not. He told Jacqueline, that firey woman, as much.

True, he had in the past, but something about playing with a woman that could match him excited James. So he asked Jacqueline to persuade her to honor their bet. And it seemed she had decided he was right, after she calmed down, he assumed.

Getting her to marry him...he suddenly wanted nothing more. He had only seen her for a few hours (and she looked far more elegant today compared to the plain look she had then), but there was one thing that he wanted.

Her, by his side.

James walked back up to his bride and held out her drink. She actually looked happy to see it and slowly took it from him.

...God, she was beautiful. And her smile...how he loved the look of her looking happy and content, not the upset grimace she wore at that table. The next time she played cards...she would feel beautiful and liberated, not ****.

He watched her ruby lips as she took a drink, sighing contently. Her sexy eyes met his. She blinked, her long enticing lashes making his heart skip a beat.

For the first time in longer than he could remember, James blushed with a smile, caught staring at his own wife like she was a goddess descended from the heavens.

...And as heavenly as she looked in that dress, he was certainly looking forward to tenderly taking it off her...