title: The Gamble
author: Troyer, Cate
description: By now, Elise is used to being billionaire James Goran's poker prize.  She's been trained and collared and thoroughly used.  Now, James and Elise are off to another party, a charity poker tournament hosted by Goran's rival, Bettine de Ronneur.  Bettine has a private game in mind, and she wants James to put Elise up as collateral.  But James would never do that to Elise, or would he?
  EXCERPT:
  As the party started to wind down, several people were escorted into a back room, James and I among them.  I stood behind him, half-interested, as cards crossed the table, piles of chips growing and falling.  After a few hours, people started to leave and James began to stretch.  Morgan leaned back, her eyes on Bettine.
  “One final hand,” Bettine smiled.  “Just between us… And let’s make it interesting.  If you win, I’ll sign over that division of my company you’ve been dying for.”
  “And if you win,” James queried.  His body language seemed to indicate a lack of concern, but I saw the tell tale signs that he was wound tighter than a spring.
  “Your pet,” Bettine looked at me for the first time.  I could feel the cold shock in the pit of my belly.  “I want her for a week.”