Ignite

Tara didn’t blink an eye when she said, “Texas Hold ’em.”

“Excuse me?” I said as my mouth dropped open . . . again. I wasn’t sure why I reacted that way. I knew it was a poker game, but in my mind all I heard Tara say was . . . I screw him until we both scream out each other’s names.

Shit. I need to snap out of this jealousy thing.

Tara’s eyes widened. “The card game! It’s just a card game. Oh, my . . . no it’s not what you’re thinking. Mr. Lewis has always been a gentleman. He likes to play poker when he’s nervous, that’s all.”

I waved my hand and played it off like I knew what she meant. “Oh, I knew that. I think I’m just unnerved right now.”

Giving me a sweat smile, Tara said, “Well, we took off and are flying. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes,” I said as I gave her a thumbs-up. “Doing great! No worries here. I am flying high.”

Tara narrowed her eyes at me and gave me a look of worry. Holding my hands up, I said, “No no no, that’s not what I meant. No drugs here. I am not flying high on drugs; I’m flying high in the air. On life. Happy as a clam. Doing wonderful.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “I also ramble on when I’m nervous.”

Tara placed her hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze as I opened my eyes. “You and Mr. Lewis should get together sometime. You’d hit it off.”

A bemused look moved across my face as I let out a chuckle. Tara made her way back toward the front of the plane as I pulled out my phone. Shaking my head, I let out a chuckle. If Tara only knew.

The private plane had Wi-Fi and I had already logged into it before we took off. I was hoping to catch up on Facebook when my heart dropped as I saw his name scroll across my screen.

Emmit.

I opened his text as a smile grew across my face.

Emmit: What are you doing this very minute?

I felt the heat move into my cheeks as I decided to play with Emmit.

With a giggle, I hit Send.

Me: You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. It’s something naughty.

Closing my eyes, I tried to keep my heart from racing. Up until this point, Emmit and I had been very cautious and slow. As much as we were both feeling the pull toward each other, we had stayed more in the friend-zone this week. I had just taken a giant leap right on out of that comfort zone, and I felt giddy as hell.

Emmit: I just choked on my water. Tell me.

Me: Tell you what?

Emmit: What are you doing that’s naughty, Addie!

Peeking up, I looked to see if Tara was on her way back out. Taking in a slow deep breath through my nose, I tried like hell to calm my beating heart. Three years it had been since I’d had these feelings. Only Emmit could pull them out of me. A huge part of me was excited to be feeling that pull in my lower stomach that I’d been longing for. I was tired of being careful. Tired of trying to do what I thought was the best thing for both Emmit and me. I knew what the best thing was.

Us.

Together.

Looking over my shoulder, I grinned when I saw the door to the private bedroom. Unbuckling, I walked toward where Tara was.

“Tara?”

Her head popped around the corner as she smiled and asked, “Is everything okay, you look flush again?”

“Um . . . would you mind if I went and took a short nap? My head is killing me.”

Tara’s eyes filled with worry. “Of course not. You go right on ahead. Mr. Elliot said he wanted you to be as comfortable as possible. Do you need some aspirin?”