Page 10 of Betting Her Curves

“More than a million, sir. One point two million, to be precise.”

Patrick takes his time counting the number of chips, and then pushes them forwards to join the mountainous pile in the middle. But he doesn’t stop there.

“In fact, I’ll raise Miss Finnegan another cool mill. What do you say, Ashley? Are you ready to continue this party?”

I pause, shocked.

“You know I can’t,” I sputter. “Everything I have is already in the circle. This is against the rules!”

Patrick shares a glance with the dealer before he shakes his head.

“No, it’s not against the rules,” he speaks in a silky tone. “Weren’t you listening at the beginning? This isn’t classic Texas Hold’em. This isDegasTexas Hold’em, where anything can happen.”

I stare at him.

“What? What does that even mean?”

The alpha male shrugs, that smirk tugging at the corner of his mobile mouth again.

“It means that anything can happen, like I just said. So what will you bet, Miss Finnegan? Do you own property perhaps? A home in Hawaii? A condo in Florida? Perhaps even a car, or some blue chips stocks?”

I stare at him in shock because I own nothing, and somehow, I think this man already knows it. I came to Vegas with little more than the clothes on my back, hoping to start a new life and maybe build my bank account in the process. How the hell did I get into this predicament?

I shoot my opponent a venomous glance. I swear, I could punch that handsome face right now, and then maybe tie his dick around a pole. Or fasten a brick to that monster cock and let it drag him down to the bottom of the ocean where he drowns and dies. Patrick O’Lachlan deserves it!

But the Irishman keeps smirking at me before tapping the face of his watch with an index finger.

“Tik tok, Miss Finnegan. Like you said earlier, the Degas enforces the rule of continuous play. Don’t make us wait.”

I sputter, incensed that my words have been turned against me. Then again, Patrick O’Lachlan is obviously intelligent, cunning, and devious. He’s on par with the devil himself because what the hell do I do now? How did this asshole corner me?

The dealer clears his throat, turning an expectant gaze to me.

“Miss Finnegan, if you will? Will you see Mr. O’Lachlan’s raise?”

My mind spins as I stare hatefully at the grinning Irishman. I swear, this man deserves to burn a fiery death in Hell because I don’t have anything worth close to a million dollars and he knows it. But then, inspiration strikes.

“You said I could bet anything of value, right?”

“Yes,” Patrick says in a soft tone, azure eyes gleaming. “Do you have access to sunken treasure perhaps? Gold coins found at the bottom of the Atlantic? Mark my words, but we won’t accept shitty heirlooms, Miss Finnegan. Sentimental value means nothing to me, and nothing to this casino either. So tell me, sweetheart: what do you have to offer?”

Red literally fills my vision as my fists clench at my sides. I could strangle this man. I’ll curve my bare hands around that bronzed neck and squeeze the life out of him with all my might as he chokes and gasps. It’ll be satisfying.

But then the voice in my head intervenes.

Stop, Ashley, it whispers.Don’t let this man get under your skin. Betraying emotion is the worst thing a poker player can do.

As a result, instead of committing homicide, I lift my chin and summon all of my dignity.

“I bet my curves,” I announce in a queenly voice, blue eyes bright. “I’m sure that’s worth a million right there.”

Patrick’s answering grin makes me shiver ... and with horror, I realize I’ve played right into the billionaire’s trap.

7

Patrick

The young blonde is sassy, I’ll give her that. I was expecting something magnificent from the curvy girl, and Ashley Finnegan more than delivered. I figured she’d try to fork over a stupid heirloom, arguing that an ivory comb from her great-great-grandmother is worth a million dollars because it was carved before elephant hunting became illegal in Tanzania. Or maybe she owns an antique accordion that she bought at a flea market, and will swear up and down that when appraised, that shit will be worth a million dollars. You get the picture. I was expecting crap, but the curvy girl delivered the best gift of all...

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