The twist puts his face in the crook of my neck, his chest pressing into mine, and behind me Mason's thumb traces the inside of my wrist. Once. Slow. My pulse flickers.
"Okay," Knox says, pulling back just enough to assess the knot. "Arthur, duck under Beth's arm. Mason, rotate left. Beth, you step over— "
"If you say step over Mason's arm I will need you to understand that my center of gravity is currently located somewhere near my ankles."
"Step over Mason's arm," he still says.
I try. I really do. I get my right leg over, but the left catches on Mason's forearm and my balance goes sideways. I grab for Knox, who grabs for Arthur, who grabs for nothing because his hands are occupied, and all four of us crash to the floor in a graceless tangle of limbs.
Mason's back hits the rug. I land on top of him. Knox lands half on me, half on Arthur, and Arthur ends up pinned under Knox's leg with my elbow in his ribs.
Nobody moves.
My face is in Mason's neck. Knox is draped across my back, his weight warm and solid and everywhere. Arthur's hand is still gripping mine, trapped between my hip and Mason's side. I can feel heartbeats, and all of them are going too fast for a party game.
"I think," I say into Mason's collarbone, "that this game is rigged."
Arthur groans beneath the pile. "Is anyone going to acknowledge that I'm being crushed, or— "
"Shh," Knox says. He hasn't moved. His breath is warm against the back of my neck, his hips flush against mine.
"You're literally on top of me," Arthur says.
Mason's hand slides to the small of my back.
"Maybe someone should move then," I whisper as a low current goes through me.
Nobody does.
Instead, Knox's lips brush the nape of my neck, his mouth resting against the top knob of my spine. I instinctively press my lips to Mason's throat in response, and a low growl vibrates against my mouth.
Arthur's hand untangles from mine and slides to my hip, his thumb tracing the strip of bare skin where my shirt has ridden up.
"Beth, I think—" Knox's voice is quiet. "If you don't want this to become something, you need to say so now."
I turn my head. Knox is right there, his pupils blown wide.
I don't say anything and his mouth meets mine. Something in the room detonates.
His hand slides into my hair, tilting my head, his tongue stroking against mine with a focus that turns my knees to liquid. I make a sound against his lips and he swallows it, and I grip his shirt to stay tethered to the planet.
Mason's forehead drops against my shoulder. His lips press to the bare curve where my neck meets my collarbone, and the dual sensation shorts out something behind my eyes.
I break away from Knox, gasping. Then scramble backward off the pile.
"I'm sorry. I don't—that was—"
Mason sits up. Reaches for me. Pulls me into his lap with both hands on my waist, and I'm straddling him before my brain catches up. He cups my face, thumbs against my cheekbones,and looks at me with the quiet, burning focus of a man who's been holding his breath for months and just decided to stop.
His hand is on my jaw, the other at the small of my back pulling me flush, and I feel the hard planes of his chest, his erection...
"Don't even think about leaving me out of this." Arthur's voice. Nothing light in it.
He pulls me off Mason's lap and into his arms. His hand buries itself in my hair, tilting my head back, and he licks into my mouth with a groan I feel in my chest, my throat, lower. His other hand grips my waist.
I pull back from Arthur and sit there, breathing, looking at the three of them looking at me. Mason's jaw is tight. Knox's chest is heaving. Arthur's pupils are so blown his eyes look black.
Nobody speaks for a beat, then Mason scoops me up.
