I swallowed hard. I scrunched my eyes closed and shook my head quickly. When I opened my eyes, my mind felt clear. The fog had lifted. I was relieved. Even though he was saying the exact words I wanted to hear, I wanted my mind to be clear to assess whether he meant them. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, something changed between us the first time we were with Storm. At least, I think it changed for you too, but I know it changed for me. I wasn’t expecting it. I was kind of nervous and freaked out about you being there. I was jealous. I thought it would be weird. It was at first, and then it wasn’t. It felt almost normal. Like, you’re always around, so why would it be weird for you to be around during sex, you know?”

I nodded.

“It was exciting. It felt kind of rebellious. I was having a good time. I was all about Storm, all my focus was on her and what she was doing, and then you made this sound. It was this low, animal sound. I felt it here.” He placed his palm flat on his sternum. “The next time you made it, I felt it here.” He pushed his hand down his belly all the way down to his dick.

I searched his face and his eyes. His jaw was set. Teeth clenched. There was a darkness in his eyes that wasn’t usually there. Outside of his heat, I’d never seen it. As I looked at him, I saw them grow darker. His heat was changing again. The calm was over. We looked at each other for several long seconds. I sized him up and he did the same. At last, he smiled, and the room buzzed with tension.

“Come get it,” he said, pushing his groin forward and shaking his hips.