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Tapping my chin with a finger, I looked at the three options and settled on the one I had the best chance of winning. When growing up playing games with Crew, you took any advantage you could get against the irritating pain in my ass. Neither of us was overly competitive in life, but when it came to games, that was a whole other story.

“Jenga is my vote,” I announced.

Apparently, there was no other vote needed as the guys instantly started setting up the two towers of blocks.

“Okay, we will have two people at each tower,” Yun directed. “The two not playing will be the referees until the first round is over. The winners from the first round will pair up at a tower then those who lost will be referees. Make sense?”

Everyone agreed, and I walked over to a set of blocks, curious to see who would challenge me. Ulysses was well aware of my evil streak when it came to games, so he chose to be a referee.

Warrick sauntered over, rubbing his hand together with a grin. “Just so we’re clear, I’m not gonna go easy on you because you’re adorable, Care Bear.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I assured him.

Ulysses walked over to us with a coin in his hand. “Heads or tails?”

“Tails,” Warrick blurted.

“Then I guess I’m heads.” I chuckled.

Lysse tossed the coin, caught it, and slapped it to the back of his hand. Warrick and I leaned in, eager to see the winner. A whoop of joy rang out from Warrick at the sight of the national flower, followed by a funny little jig.

“Tails never fails me,” Warrick offered as Lysse and I gave him confused looks. “Now which block am I going to pick first?”

It was becoming clear that Warrick might be as competitive as me. Watching as he circled the tower plotting his first move, I could tell he was also developing a strategy. Finally, he tested an outer block to see if it would slide out freely, and Warrick set it on top when it did.

“You’re turn, madam,” Warrick said, bowing with a flourish.

While the man had been figuring out his plan, I’d been doing the same so I was ready to make my choice. Confidently, I freed a block from the second to the bottom row and added it to the top. Warrick’s eyes narrowed as he studied me for a moment before making his move. Our game fell silent and more serious with each passing turn, each trying to figure out what the other was doing. Just as I eased a more precarious block from its spot, a loud crash and cheering from the other team nearly had me collapsing our whole tower. Thankfully, my hand held steady long enough to free the block. I let out the breath I was holding as I stacked the piece I’d freed.

Gareth was grinning from ear to ear as Vili clapped, not at all bothered that he’d just lost. When they set about rebuilding it for the next round, I absently circled our tower. I watched as Warrick tried to free a block that clearly held too much weight and grinned. Bending down had caused his T-shirt to slide up his back, revealing a smooth section of skin. The moment Ulysses took his eyes off our game to answer a question from Gareth, I brushed my finger lightly over the bare skin.

Warrick yelped as he flinched, then swore as the tower started to sway. “Shit, shit, shit,” he muttered.

“Sorry, man, but you’re gonna have to pull that block the rest of the way out,” Lysse warned.

Dramatically, Warrick covered his eyes before pulling the block free, sending the whole thing crashing down.

“Damn, I totally could have pulled that off if that damn bug hadn’t landed on me,” Warrick grumbled.

My brows shot up, surprised he didn’t call me out for the dirty trick. Warrick caught my eye and winked, letting me know he knew the truth but wouldn’t sell me out.

“I guess it’s my burden to bear being so attractive,” he teased. “Come on, Care Bear, help me set this up for the next round.”

Gareth proved to be a ruthless opponent, shamelessly using whatever tactic he could within the rules to make me mess up. I gave as good as I got, but I was no match to that man’s wicked mouth.

“Come on, baby girl, slide that block out nice and slow. Make sure you wrap those pretty fingers around it nice and tight. You wouldn’t want it to slip out now, would you?” Gareth taunted in a low, husky voice. “That’s it, just like that.”

My legs started to shake as I needed to stand on my tiptoes to reach the top of the tower. The second the block was out of my grasp, Gareth pressed himself to my back. His warm breath ruffled my hair which had it brushing along my neck, tickling me.

“That was good, baby girl, but let me show you a trick for getting something a little tight to loosen up for you,” he said, his voice low with a slight rumble to it that almost had my legs giving out. “Look, see this one right here? First, you have to give it a little nudge to see just how tight it is. Once you know what you’re getting into, then you have to coax it with gentle movements.”

Gareth shifted slightly so his lips now brushed the shell of my ear, and his free hand rested on my hip, giving it a slight squeeze. Before I could stop it, a moan slipped out, and I slapped a hand over my mouth to keep any more from slipping through.

Gareth chuckled and used two fingers to push the middle block out the other side. “See that, baby girl. Once you get them to relax and welcome you, they are much easier to slide into.”

My hands shook so badly, I knew there was no way I’d pull this off, but I was too stubborn to give in. I tapped a block to see if it would budge, and it shifted under the pressure.

“Don’t tell me that’s all you got, baby girl. Give it some real effort… thrust those fingers right in there,” he urged.