Paradise Lost (Private 9)

"We won!" Tiffany confirmed.

Suddenly all the girls were jumping up and down, hugging each other, hugging me. Even Paige threw her arms around me, so important was it to her that we beat the guys. I turned around and raked all my pretty chips across the table toward me.

"Don't look so sickly, Graham," I said with a smirk. "I'll give you a chance to win it all back later. I promise."

Graham blew out a sigh, watching as I took every last bit of his hard-won money. "I need a drink." He turned around and cut through the group of stunned boys, en route to the bar.

Upton started around the table, all smiles, keeping his eyes on me as he maneuvered by a waiter and sidestepped Kiran, who was on her way to get us more champagne. My heart pounded a bit harder under his gaze, and I felt my palms start to sweat. Playing a long, heated game of poker did nothing to my body temperature, but Upton was another story.

"Hey, Upton," Poppy said, sliding in front of him. She placed one hand on the leather edge of the table, blocking his progress.

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"Want to hit the blackjack table? We made such a good team in Monte Carlo. ..."

She reached up and ran her hand down his tie. I held my breath. But Upton never even glanced down at her. It was like she was nothing but vapor. His eyes never left mine.

"I think that particular streak of luck has run its course," he said, stepping around her. "But thanks for the offer."

Poppy's smile froze, and then turned into a grimace. Upton, meanwhile, walked right up to me and grabbed my hand.

"Come here," he said, whirling me around.

"Wait! Keep an eye on my chips!" I shouted back to Taylor.

"On it," she replied.

Upton positioned me in front of the roulette wheel, sat down on one of the chairs, and then pulled me into his lap. I laughed, taken off guard.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of white, one-hundred-dollar chips. "Testing a theory," he replied. He placed the entire stack on the eight and looped his arms around my waist. "Let it ride," he told the pit boss.

"One thousand dollars on eight!" the guy crowed.

"Upton! A thousand dollars is a lot of money," I said, my jaw dropping.

"Yes, but you're my good luck charm," Upton replied, kissing my lips.

Sawyer, the only other gambler at the table, silently placed chips

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on five different numbers. When he was done, the pit boss waved his hand over the game board.

"No more bets, please!"

Alump of dread formed in my chest as the pit boss spun the wheel. I glanced over at Sawyer, who shot me a hopeful look before focusing strictly on the bouncing white ball. Soon a few people had gathered around the table. Daniel, West, Paige, Noelle, Dash, and Amberly were watching now too. I looked around for Poppy and saw her downing champagne at the edge of the bar, glancing over every once in a while with venom in her eyes. Didn't Upton know I was no good luck charm? Hurricane Reed, remember?

The wheel started to slow. Upton held me a bit tighter. The ball bounced around, popped up once, and came to rest. . . right on the number eight.

"We have a winner!"

"I knew it!" Upton cried as everyone cheered. "This girl is lucky tonight!"

He nuzzled my neck as I grinned, and Noelle handed me a flute of champagne. The pit boss swiped all of Sawyer's chips off the table, and then shoved two tall stacks of white chips toward Upton. Suddenly

, Gage's fist was thrust in my face. He uncurled his fingers to reveal a pair of green dice. "Here. Blow on these."