Page 6 of Glorious Rivals

Savannah threw a towel over the rod.Hard.Rohan made use of it, toweling off, then wrapping it around his waist before stepping out from behind the curtain.“I do hope you put my room back as you found it after you failed to find that sword.”

Savannah’s gaze roved over his body—chest, abs, down to the place where the towel hugged his hips.“I hopeyouweren’t expecting what happened to mean anything,” she replied.

Ruthless.Rohan appreciated that in a woman—in anyone, really.“I expect you to hold up your end of the deal in this phase of the game, Savvy, and that is all.”

Per their agreed-upon terms, the two of them would continue playing the Grandest Game as a team until—andonlyuntil—the competition had been effectively dispatched.

“There’s no need for concern.”Savannah arched a pale brow at him.“When I promised to work alongside you andthendestroy you, I meant it.”She turned toward the mirror, examining her own reflection—an attempt, Rohan was certain, to keep from further examininghim.

He brought one hand to rest on the towel around his hips and smirked at her.

“Grayson is going to be a problem,” Savannah commented coolly.

All business.“How fortunate, then,” Rohan said, “that I excel at taking care of problems.”And how fortunate that the Hawthorne brother in question has developed a weakness.

Savannah raised her chin, her newly shorn hair making her pale eyes look that much larger, her cheekbones that much sharper.“What do you know about the girl?”she asked.

Lyra Kane.Savannah had zeroed in on Grayson’s weak point with admirable efficiency.

“What do you know,” Rohan countered, “about how Lyra Kane’s father’s name ended up plastered all over the burnt forest?”

“What are you suggesting?”Savannah could play the ice queen to perfection.

“You have a sponsor, love.”Rohan didn’t pull his punches.“You’revery likely not the only player with one, and I doubt any of them are above playing dirty.”He gave her a look.“Tell me I’m wrong.”

“If I wasted my time pointing out your every misapprehension, we’d barely have any left to strategize.”Savannah gave a deadly, elegant little shrug.“I will, however, point out thatyouare the one more positioned to know other players’ secrets—assuming, of course, that the Mercy is as powerful as you claim.”

An eighteen-year-old American girl couldn’t even begin to fathom the power, the wealth, the reach of the Devil’s Mercy, the organization that had raised Rohan, the organization that he was determined to rule.He’d been given a year to come up with the buy-in, a year to obtain ten million pounds and claim his rightful place as the next Proprietor.

Unless and until he did so, as far as the Mercy was concerned, Rohan wasnothing.

“You claim that you want to win more than I do.”Savannah shifted her gaze back to his.“You never told me why.”

“Imagine that,” Rohan replied.

Savannah narrowed her eyes at him.“You know why I’m here.”

Rohan stepped forward, his body brushing hers.“I’ll never pause again,” he quoted, “never stand still, till either death hath closed these eyes of mine or fortune given me measure of… revenge.”

Rohan gauged Savannah’s response to that final word in the slow rise and fall of her chest.

“Henry the Sixth, Part Three,” he clarified.

“I am well aware,” Savannah replied.She didn’t take the bait, didn’t say a word about her motivation for playing this game—or her plot for revenge.“Perhaps you should be going.”She picked up Rohan’s clothes and tossed them at him.“We have hours yet before phase two, and there’s no reason for you to spend them here.”

No reason.Is that right, love?“You mentioned strategy.”Rohan lowered his voice, a move aimed at forcing her to lean slightly toward him.“Here’s a tip, Savvy: divide and conquer.”Now it was Rohan’s turn to lean forward ever so slightly.“And here’s another one: The fewer players there are left in a game, the more important it becomes to control the board.”

“The board,” Savannah repeated, intensity in her tone.“The island.”

“The island.The house.The objects.”Rohan held Savannah’s gaze a moment longer, then brushed past her and stepped into the bedroom.“Think fast, love.”He tossed something back over his shoulder at her.

He heard her catch the glass dice—thewhitedice, hers, lifted from her pocket, along with his room key—as he’d passed.

“And that,” Rohan called back, as he sauntered out of Savannah’s room, “is why I’m the one in charge of securing our sword.”

Chapter 5

GIGI