Cross My Tigress Face the Wrath (Stella)

The guys playing poker with Dan were looking greener than a plate of undercooked Brussels sprouts.

Oh God, who'd dare admit to this mess? Who could even explain what it felt like?

It was one of those situations where you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. There was just no way out.

To the rest of them, Dan looked like he'd just lost a bar fight with a freight train. With a heavy thud, Yvonne dumped Dan onto the floor without a hint of sympathy.

He was already banged up pretty bad, so after that, he was barely hanging onto consciousness.

Yvonne took a deep breath, cooled off a little, and shot a cold glare at Dan, who was sprawled out on the floor like a wet dog that just lost its bone.

"String me along, mess with my feelings, and then have the nerve to try and sleep with me?" she snapped. "Listen up, Dan. Every time I see you from now on, I'm gonna beat you again. Got it?"

The other three guys: "!!!"noveldrama

Again? Was she serious?

This was just cruel. Who could survive that?

Yvonne gave Dan one last disgusted look, like she'd just swallowed a bug, then turned to the security team and barked, "We're leaving."

She'd mostly calmed down by now. She wasn't actually going to kill him—letting him off easy would be too much of a gift.

But as she turned to go, Dan grabbed her ankle with surprising strength.

Yvonne sneered, "What now?"

Dan managed to croak, "I didn't sleep with you."

Yvonne: "..."

The three guys: "..."

The security team: "..."

The whole room went dead silent.

Then the tension exploded. Yvonne kicked Dan hard in the chest and the chaos

started all over again—this time, it was just her versus Dan.

The other three guys shrank back into the corner, still out of breath from earlier. There was no way they were jumping in, not even to plead for mercy. They didn't dare say a word-survival mode, all the way.

Twenty minutes later...

Yvonne finally seemed to have vented her anger. She strode out with her security team, leaving utter devastation behind.

The three poker buddies didn't move a muscle until they were sure she was gone.

Finally, Anders Lowry stepped forward and nudged Dan. "Dude, did you really sleep with Princess Yvonne?"

Jesus Christ. If he'd known what Dan had pulled with Yvonne the night before, he'd have never agreed to a simple Friday night poker game. Now look at them— all battered and bruised for nothing.

Collateral damage—just plain bad luck.

Dan, still a little dazed, finally realized why he'd been beaten half to death. But before he could say anything, Ivan clutched his stomach and groaned, "If you slept with her, just admit it, man. Denying it just pisses her off more."

No one even suspected Dan might be telling the truth-they all just assumed he

was too scared to fess up after getting pummeled by Yvonne.

Ivan's words made the other two guys look at Dan with a mix of pity and annoyance. Nobody said anything, but they were definitely judging him.

Dan bristled under their stares, grinding out, "I'm telling you, I didn't.” Damn it.

Lance White, who had zero fighting skills and took the brunt of the beating, was looking paler than a ghost. "Whether you did or didn't, that's between you and Princess

Yvonne. Right now, call an ambulance before I pass out."

He really was at his limit-he could barely breathe.

Seriously, of all the people to mess with, why'd Dan have to pick Princess Yvonne?

They'd all seen how she'd gone full Terminator looking for her sister a few years ago-anyone who even vaguely crossed her path got shut down hard.

Should've checked their horoscopes before leaving the house today...