1 State of Grace Read Online Free PDF Page B

that?”
    “Because I like you very much, Wolf Dasher, and I don’t want to see any ’arm come to you.”
    “And you’re afraid I’ll meet a bad end if we continue this any further?”
    “I know you will. Silverleaf will make sure of it.”
    Wolf searched the girl’s eyes to see if she was sincere. There was a worried look in them masked by the sexy, confident smile. He decided she was.
    “Hmm,” he said. “We’ll see about that.”
    He looked back over at the game table. The crowd had broken up, and Sir Leslie was waddling away, his head hung. Silverleaf had obviously beaten him.
    Wolf chewed his lip for a moment. He didn’t like Silverleaf. The elf was a cheater, and Wolf abhorred that. Moreover, he was doing it to punish his opponents. Wolf wanted to know more about that. What was the source of the ambassador’s anti-Urlish sentiment? Finally, Simone was afraid of her lover. Wolf had little patience for a man who didn’t know to treat a woman well, especially a beautiful one like Simone de Beausoir.
    His assignment was to observe Silverleaf and see what he could learn. So far, he’d ascertained that the Alfari ambassador was a jerk. It wasn’t exactly the kind of intelligence that would tell him anything about Sara’s death. He decided it was time to take the measure of Silverleaf in a new way. He stood up.
    “Thank you for your company,” he told Simone. “I enjoyed talking to you very much.”
    Then he walked straight towards Silverleaf’s table, setting his shoulders as he went.
    “What are you doing?” he heard Simone say behind him, but he ignored her.
    At the table, Silverleaf was counting his winnings, a classless thing to do. He was further rubbing in his victory. Wolf approached and threw a winning smile at the big elf.
    “Fancy a game, Ambassador?” Wolf said.
    Everyone in the club stopped talking. All eyes were on Wolf and the foreigner. Wolf smiled innocently.
    “I assume you know how to play, Mr. Dasher?”
    “I’ve played a few times,” Wolf answered.
    “Well, this is a high-stakes game,” Silverleaf said, his magnificent eyes boring into Wolf. “The buy-in is five thousand gold. Side bets for the players are a minimum of five hundred. The pot for my game with Sir Leslie ended up being sixteen thousand, four hundred, eighty-three. I’ve never seen you here before. You’ll forgive me if I inquire as to your collateral.”
    Wolf struggled to hold Silverleaf’s gaze. He was so frighteningly beautiful, it was hard to look at him and harder still to meet his eyes.
    In the club, everyone stared at them. Silverleaf had been rude. One did not ask a gentleman or lady if he or she had funds to cover a bet. Their word as a noble was sufficient security that debts would be paid, especially in a club like the Dubonney. What would Wolf do, they wondered. Would he back down? Would he insult Silverleaf? Would he challenge him to some sort of duel? Wolf knew instinctively no one had ever dared to stand up to the elf. They were all too afraid of him.
    “I’ll stake him,” a crusty voice called out. Wolf turned to find its source. The shabby noble he’d been talking to had pulled himself up into a proud, defiant stance. Wolf smiled.
    “Thank you, sir,” he said. “But that won’t be necessary. I have the funds.” He turned to the croupier . “I believe my family name should be more than enough insurance.”
    The croupier snapped his fingers, and a server in a red uniform designed to accentuate her cleavage, moved across the gaming room en route to the concierge desk. No one spoke. They all waited to find out what would happen next. Wolf supposed they hadn’t seen anything this exciting in a long time.
    “I wonder,” Silverleaf asked, “why you wish to play me.”
    “Well, I enjoy a little sport as much as the next man,” Wolf said.
    “Sport, eh?” Silverleaf said. He gave Wolf another disdainful look. “And what makes you think our game will be sporting, Mr. Dasher? You bet