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The morning passes with more easy conversation that occasionally borders on flirtatious, but I’m careful not to take it too far. Griff and Olivia finish off the puzzle they’d started, and I read through some botany field manual I found on a shelf.

Sometime in the early afternoon, my stomach lets out a stupidly loud rumble.

“Okay, I need something to eat. Then let’s play some cards.”

“Sounds good,” Olivia says with a nod. “I’m hungry.”

“I’ll figure out food, while you and Griff decide what game we’re playing first.”

I move to the kitchen area to take stock of what we have left. It’s not much, certainly not enough for three adults, two of which are athletes. But we’ll make do.

I throw together some PB&J sandwiches and take them back to the couch. Griff has taken my spot at the end of the couch, with Olivia’s socked feet resting in his lap.

“Alright, I’ve got snacks. What are we playing?” I say brightly, setting the plate of sandwiches down before sinking to the wooden floor on the other side of the small table.

“Here, I’ll move. You can sit on the couch as well.” Olivia scrambles to try and move, but Griffin’s hand on her legs holds her in place.

“You need to keep your ankle elevated,” he says. “Foxxy’s fine where he is.”

She bites her lip again. And before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “If you keep biting that lip, Pixie, I’m gonna give you something else to put in your mouth.”

“Jesus,” Griff swears.

Okay, that was a bit much, even for me. I know I’m not always good at thinking before I speak. Thankfully, I don’t get slapped. By my best friend or by the woman I’m watching closely.

Nope, her hand is not lifting to slap me, nor does she look horrified by what I said. Instead, the dark pink that colours her cheeks, together with the sweet gasp she makes, has my dick hardening in my pants.

I let my gaze linger on hers for a moment. Then Trip’s wet nose nudges my hand and he flops down beside me, placing his head on my lap.

That makes me chuckle, breaking the tension.

“Do you know how to play poker?” I say, my voice sounding a lot calmer than I’m feeling. I pick up the cards and start to shuffle them.

“Depends. What are we playing for?” Olivia shoots back. When I glance up at her, I see the edges of her lips curving upward. “We don’t have any poker chips, and it’s too cold to play strip poker.”

“Nah, we’ve got body heat.” I wink back at her as she chokes on a laugh. Did she not expect me to call her bluff? Well, game on. “Let’s keep it simple for now. Since there’s nothing we’re willing to bet on”—I give her a meaningful look—“we’ll just play Hearts or Crazy Eights.”

“Hell no. You’re a fucking shark at Crazy Eights,” Griff grumbles from next to Olivia, the first thing he’s said in several minutes.

I shrug. “So? Afraid of a little competition?”

He scoffs, shaking his head at me. “Not at all. Just warning Liv.”

“I don’t need a warning, I can hold my own,” she replies pertly. Then, gesturing to me, she says, “Deal.”

We play several rounds of Crazy Eights, and to my surprise, Olivia wins almost as many times as I do. After the last one, Griff tosses his cards down and leans back. “I give up, you two are unbeatable.”

Olivia leans back as well, a soft smile cresting her face. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Griffin smiles back, a weird, besotted expression I’ve never seen before on his face.

A restlessness has been building inside of me for the last hour or so. A sense of impending action, a decision that needs to be made. To push things further, or not.

“Next game. Who’s up for something a little more adventurous?” I say, clapping my hands, then rubbing them together.

“That sounds ominous.” Olivia laughs nervously.

“Foxxy,” Griff rumbles warningly. But I ignore them both.