Page 89 of Diamonds

I grin.“Go Fish?”

She sniffs.“No.Solitaire.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“Solitaire.The game for one.The name of the game itself comes from the French word for ‘alone.’”She grabs my arm, runs her hand up and down it sensually.“Mr.Hathaway, I would love to escort you to somewhere more private, somewhere we can explore each other in the ways of our primal ancestors.But I want it to be understood between us that when we are through, Solitaire will remain my game of choice.”

I blink.

It takes a second, but I figure out what she means.

This is a one-time thing.She’s not looking for a relationship.

Usually it’s the man making this speech to a starry-eyed girl.I’ve never been on the receiving end of it.Certainly not in such a poetic way.

It’s fine by me.

Because when she touched my arm, Mad Maddox perked his ears up, roused from his slumber.

And Mad Maddox doesn’t care what game we play, as long as he gets his chips down.

“I understand perfectly, Rouge.”

She smiles.“I’m glad that’s squared away.Just one more thing.”She reaches into her cleavage and produces a small crimson satin pouch.She opens it.“Look inside.”

Not a chore.Whatever gets my hard dick inside Rouge’s pussy fastest.

I take a peek.Inside are a half-dozen thin, dried-up mushrooms.

“You are familiar, Maddox, with psilocybin?”

I scratch the side of my head.“Of course.Magic mushrooms.”

“Magic indeed.”She runs her long fingernails along the side of the pouch.“As you know, Maddox, I enjoy dabbling in the sciences.Lately I’ve been fascinated by botany.Particularly how easily plants and fungi can be genetically mutated to produce differing effects.”

I rub at the back of my neck.“So… Have these shrooms been manipulated?”

“A gold star for you.”She pulls out a single mushroom.“I was able to isolate the part of the psilocybin that enhances feelings of pleasure, of purest ecstasy, and augment it.These mushrooms will make any sexual act feel a hundred times more pleasurable than you could ever dream.”

Holy shit.I get to fuck Rougeandit’s going to feel a hundred times better than normal?

But… It doesn’t feel right.

“Respectfully, I’d rather experience you naturally, Rouge.I don’t think I need any sort of mental alteration to enjoy an evening with you.”

She frowns, returning the mushroom back to the pouch.“That is my second condition if you wish to take me to bed, Mr.Hathaway.You asked me my price all those years ago.That is it.If it’s too much, you’re welcome to court one of the servers, or even my sister, if you desire her.”

Ihaveto take the mushroom?

“That’s seriously the only option?”

“I’ll take a dose as well.You won’t be flying solo.”

I mull it over.That sounds…fair?I guess?

This whole thing feels fishy.But Mad Maddox is roaring beneath my flesh.

He’s hungry.