Sloane’s POV

I played the wrong cards and lost the game on purpose.

That was the truth I kept locked in my head while the final card landed on the table and the quiet between us turned sharp and heavy. Rhys did not smile. He did not celebrate the win like it was something ordinary. He looked at me across the scattered cards and said the words that had been sitting at the edge of his lips since we started the game.

“You’ll be on my bed for three nights now that you’ve lost.”

I could have stood up. I could have laughed it off, told him to go to...