Page 44 of Unravelling The Beast

My gaze meets Arlo's, and his dark eyes shift between me and Cash as though he senses something is wrong. When they fix on mine, his perfect brows crease and his head tilts to the side ever so slightly as if to ask me what’s up, but I just straighten my shoulders and glance down at my cards.

His circle of friends is a strange and eerie bunch. The energy in this room has the potential to drain the life out of you and suck you into a black void from which you will never come back.

The more people talk to one another, the calmer I feel, unless it's the large glass of wine that I keep sipping and soon it's just me and Arlo playing.

I stare down at my cards, feeling pretty satisfied with what I have, before raising my head to look over at Arlo, smirking with my chin lifted and a twinkle of amusement in my eyes.

"What do you have?"

He reaches over and places his cards on the table before slouching back in his chair, and we all lean over to look.

Savannah exhales, followed by a pitched squeak that almost bleeds my ears.

"Wow, baby, there's no way she can beat that!"

I raise an eyebrow at her when she gives me a smug look and Arlo maintains his gaze on me, waiting for me to expose my cards, so I stand and gracefully reach over, setting them down on the table.

When everyone leans over to see, Charlie laughs while I take a seat.

"Holy shit, three kings?"

Savannah's gaze is drawn to mine with a glare in her eyes.

"What the fuck?"

While Arlo tries to rub a smirk off his lips with his thumb, Cash speaks.

"Another game?"

Arlo suddenly speaks firmly.

"No."

"Oh, come on, bro, the night is still young."

When Cash starts gathering the cards again, Arlo leans forward and slaps his big, tattooed hand on his to stop him.

"Get the fuck out!"

Cash pushes his chair back, plainly furious, and I observe as Savannah places her arm around Arlo's shoulders, whispering against his ear before placing a seductive, lingering kiss on his cheek.

A small spike of unwanted jealousy crawls its way up my throat, but I swallow it back down as he keeps his focus on me the entire time as if he is testing me.

When she pulls away from him, she glances at me and speaks sarcastically.

"Nice to meet you, nanny."

I give her a quick, phony smile, unable to be the bigger person, before rolling my eyes and looking away.

When I hear the front door close and they've all left, I lean forward and lift up my red wine glass to finish it.

"How the fuck did you do that?"

My focus shifts to him as he remains sitting opposite me, and I smirk against my glass, feeling a little drunk.

"Do what?"

As he responds, I finish the rest of the wine.

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