Page 17 of A Game of Scandal

“I meant, it’s the perfect excuse for you to stare at me,” Ash countered, matching my bet and throwing his cards down with a flourish. “Flush.”

“Two pair,” I said, laying my own hand down. “You win.”

“I usually do,” Ash said, scooping up the tokens and adding them to his pile.

“You’ve played a lot of draw poker?” I asked as he dealt the hands again.

“Picked it up in America – it was all the rage over there, but it’s getting more and more popular here these days. We have more people playing poker than Brag at the club now.”

“When were you in America?” I asked, envy creeping into my voice as I drew three cards.

“When I was in Her Majesty’s navy,” Ash said. “And you want to be careful of that.” Reaching over, he touched his finger gently to the corner of my mouth.

My mind emptied, as the world shrank down to the brush of his fingertip against my lips. My breath caught, our eyes met for a long beat.

“What?” I asked, my voice only slightly hoarse as he drew his hand back, a pink flush high on his cheeks.

“You smiled when you saw your cards. It’s called a tell. Now I know you have a good hand,” he said, and I thought he looked flustered. I was glad I wasn’t the only one affected by whatever sparked between us. The pull that I felt towards him was more than simply physical. I was enjoying him, enjoying his company, I realized.

“Or perhaps that’s what I wanted you to think,” I managed, gathering my wits. Still, I folded my hand and any uncertainty vanished from Ash’s face, replaced by the now-familiar smirk.

“Again,” I demanded, tapping the desk with my knuckles, and he complied, shuffling the cards once more. I tried not to think about how squirmingly enjoyable it was watching him, the cards flying from hand to hand with deft fingers.

“You were in the navy?” I asked.

“I was. For five years.”

“Five years?” I repeated, startled. “You must have only been a boy when you joined.”

“I was thirteen. So, yes, I was a boy. It was the best decision I ever made.”

He sounded sad.

“If you liked it so much, why did you leave?” I shoved my remaining paper tokens towards him.

He threw his own tokens in and sat back. “I didn’t have much of a choice at the time.” His mouth thinned, and I wondered how this fitted into what I knew about his secret life as the son of a gentleman. “But it worked out fine in the end. I met Joe and we opened the Penny together, and now here I am, a reputable businessman.”

“Reputable,” I scoffed. “Breaking into a young lady’s rooms in the dead of night to play her at cards.”

“To beat her at cards,” Ash said, laying down his hand. “Straight.”

“Not this time,” I crowed, delighted. “Four of a kind.”

“Huh.” Ash looked nonplussed as he rubbed a hand across his jaw. “You certainly didn’t give that away.”

“I know,” I said. “But the odds of you beating me with a straight flush were 72,192.33 to one so I was feeling reasonably confident about it.”

I looked up from where I was busy gathering up all the paper tokens to find him watching me with an inscrutable expression.

“Next time,” he said. “I won’t make it so easy.”

“Next time it won’t matter.” I sent him a slow, simmering smile, enjoying the way his cheeks took on that hint of pink again. However good he was, it seemed Ash had a tell of his own. “I’m a fast learner.”

“I’m starting to see that, princess.” He pushed away from the desk, but then leaned over so that his mouth hovered only a breath away from mine. “I know a gambler when I see one.”

“I’m not a gambler,” I said primly. “I’m a mathematician.”

He was still laughing as he climbed out of the window.