Page 125 of Theirs to Ruin

“Deal the next card.”

Three hands later, I was left in my dress, minus the panties I had sneakily shed without exposing myself, and Kage’s bracelet.

When I won the next round, Ty removed his shirt, revealing his tattoos and scars. I saw Simone flinch. “Shit,” Ethan muttered. Mia brought her hand over her mouth as if to stifle a scream. The scars were a roadmap of pain and I struggled to keep my expression neutral, something I failed at when my gaze landed on one nasty patch of scars below his heart. Above it was a tattoo of a black swan

Memories of him calling me his “sweet swan” came rushing back.

I trembled, almost shattering.

While everything else about this situation made me want to bolt, the swan held me in place. There was a piece of me inked on him forever. Why? Why would he have dumped me then gotten a swan tattoo?

Why would he carry me on his skin day after day only to be so cruel to me?

I was vaguely aware that Dante had dealt another hand.

Slowly, I picked up my cards.

I’d agreed to strip poker hoping I’d somehow strip Ty bare. Somehow gain the knowledge I sought about why he hated me. Instead, he seemed to be shrouded in yet more layers, and I was almost fully exposed. Every fiber of my being that was reserved,self-conscious, and insecure yelled at me to withdraw, to fold and escape the scrutiny.

But I couldn’t let Ty win.

And I wasn’t talking about the game.

I had no choice but to continue.

Dante dealt the next four cards, which were decent for me.

But when he revealed the “river,” the final card, it only took one look at Ty’s face to know he’d beat me.

He revealed his hold cards, which gave him a flush, then leaned back and smirked at me.

I could take off my bracelet, but I wasn’t going to do that.

When I reached for my dress, Simone said, “Camille, you don’t have to do this.”

“She can think for herself, Simone,” Ty snapped.

“Simone’s right. You don’t have to do this,” Dante said, his voice a deep growl.

Yet when I looked at him, I didn’t see worry or pity. He just stared at me, his gaze steady, strong. Showing confidence.

Confidence in me. Just like Kage had shown his confidence in me the instant Ty had challenged me head-to-head.

They believed I could do this.

And that made all the difference.

I stood and shimmied my arms free from the straps of my dress then let the dress fall, baring my entire body.

I flushed hotly as the faces around me seemed to blur.

Kage’s voice broke the tension. “Fuck, Camille,” he whispered, raw admiration in his tone as his gaze openly traveled from the curve of my collarbone down to my toes.

My eyes then shifted to Dante. A shiver skated down my spine at how he stared into my eyes, his expression filled with appreciation, reverence, and a fierce kind of pride.

Finally, my eyes met Ty’s, and what I saw momentarily paralyzed me. He wasn’t the cocky, mocking Ty I had seen lately.His gaze drank me in, his expression raw, hungry.Tortured. Then, as quickly as I’d seen it, his expression went blank.

Suddenly, Ty lunged up from his seat and tossed me the jacket he’d discarded earlier. “Good game,” he murmured. Then he pivoted and strode out of the room.

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