Page 79 of Rising Heat

Across from me, Mack’s grip tightens briefly against the arm of the chair before he speaks.

“Wanting more doesn’t make you difficult,” he says, voice low and steady. “It makes you honest.”

I’ve seen him talk people through bad calls, breakups, family disasters, every kind of day a person hopes they never have. I still can’t remember the last time I heard him say something like that to any female.

Darcy swallows and looks at him for a second longer than she probably means to.

Then I nudge her elbow lightly.

“His loss.”

I watch as some of the tension leaves her shoulders. Enough that when she reaches for her bourbon again, she looks a little less like she’s waiting for someone to disagree with her.

I like that version of her.

I pick up the deck and hold it out.

“Your turn.”

She shuffles, pulls a card, and flips it without giving it too much thought. The grin that spreads across her face before she looks up already tells me this is going to be good.

“Never have I ever had a threesome.”

You can hear a pin drop.

I glance at Darcy, then toss a card into the middle of the table. Her bright eyes snap to mine, smile slightly faltering before she looks at Mack with the question written all over her face. He holds her gaze as he sets his card down.

Darcy goes completely still. I watch her chest expand and not come all the way back down while she tries to remain expressionless. I can practically see the moment it clicks into place. Her eyes drop to the cards, then lift back to us like she’s trying to figure out if she somehow misunderstood what just happened.

Watching her figure it out is doing more to me than I’d like to admit out loud. Lips parting, that flush spreading across her neck. I’m half hard watching this woman do the math.

“You don’t get to just do that and move on.”

Her eyes dart between us.

“Ask,” Mack says, leaning forward and planting his elbows on his knees.

Darcy shifts on the rug, tucking one leg underneath herself like she’s preparing for an interview.

“With…each other?”

“Yeah,” I say matter-of-factly.

“How do I know you’re serious?”

I laugh.

“You asked the question and we both put down a card.”

“You could be messing with me.”

“What more proof do you want?”

I watch her tongue trace the inside of her lip before looking to Mack for backup. She shakes her head trying to regain her composure, sending a few strands loose from her messy bun.

“Oh my God.”

“What?”