Page 123 of Claiming Pretty

He winked at me, and for a moment, his face shifted—animated in a way that was eerily reminiscent of Ciaran.

My breath hitched as I shivered, memories of Scáth stalking me in the shadows flooding back. How many times had I assumed it was Ciaran chasing me, stalking me, fucking me… when it could have been Ty?

Ciaran noticed my reaction immediately. His eyes narrowed, and he turned on me, his voice low and dangerous. “What is he talking about?”

Ty leaned back, folding his arms across his chest.

“We don’t need you, Ci,” he said with quiet finality. “Ava and I can do this on our own.Ifshe chooses to go through with it.”

Ciaran’s voice cracked as he fell to his knees before me, clasping my hands in his like a prayer, his dark eyes brimming with an emotion I wasn’t sure I could bear to face.

“Please, Ava. Don’t do this. We’ll find another way. I can’t—” His voice broke, then steadied into something raw and desperate. “I can’t drug you like this. What if something goes wrong? What if something goes wrong and you’re just lying there un-fucking-conscious?”

My chest ached at the way his voice wavered, but I couldn’t afford to let my emotions show. Not now. I had to find a way to convince him to take a chance on this. On me.

He searched my face, looking for a crack, a glimmer of hesitation.

But I couldn’t give him that.

My expression remained calm, unreadable, even as my heart broke under the weight of what I was about to do.

“What if…” I said slowly, “what if I’m not actually drugged?”

Ciaran froze, his brow furrowing in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

I glanced at Ty, and understanding flickered in his eyes, a small shift that spoke volumes. His gaze softened, though his knuckles remained white where he gripped the edge of the table.

“She’s pretended before,” Ty said, his voice measured. “Played the part. And succeeded.”

Heat flushed through me as the memory surfaced—how I had faked being paralyzed to escape Ty. He’d touched me, licked me, brought me to orgasm, and I hadn’t made a sound, hadn’t moved an inch.

I’d fooled the man who lived to study my body. If I could fool him…

A flicker of resolve ignited in my chest. I could do it again. I had to.

Ciaran’s head snapped toward Ty, his eyes blazing with frustration and betrayal.

“Don’t fucking encourage her,” he snarled, venom lacing every word.

Ty’s expression hardened. “I’m not encouraging her. I’m being realistic. If she’s going to do this—and we both know she will—then she has to do it in a way that gives her some control.”

Ciaran barked out a humorless laugh, his voice rising. “She won’t be able to last two minutes without giving herself away.”

I took a deep breath, steadying myself, and looked directly at Ciaran. “I can do it.”

Ciaran shook his head, his voice laced with bitterness. “You think you can fool them? These people are predators, Ava. They’ll see through it. They’ll see throughyou.”

I straightened, meeting his fiery gaze with a calm I didn’t quite feel. “Then I’ll prove it. I’ll lie down right here, and you can do whatever you want to me. I won’t move a muscle.”

His eyes widened, shock breaking through the anger etched into his features.

“You’re serious?” he asked, his voice disbelieving.

My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my expression unreadable. “If I flinch, if I cry, if I so much as twitch, the plan is off. But if I pass your test, we go through with it.”

Ciaran hesitated, his jaw tight as he warred with himself. Finally, he crossed his arms over his chest, his voice cutting. “Fine. But when you fail, this plan dies here.”

Ty remained silent, his gaze flickering between us like he was caught in the crossfire.

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