Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“Don’t fucking…” I frowned. I would’ve opened my eyes if he weren’t in the process of rinsing off the shampoo.
“Yes. You’d gotten back together with Christine.”
I scowled and kicked him in the leg. “The fuck would you dream something so stupid?”
“Ouch. It was hardly on purpose, so there’s no need to get violent.”
“I beg to differ.” I could finally open my eyes, and I glared up at him.
“Stop it.” There was zero hostility in his tone. If anything, he was all warmth, and he bent down and covered my mouth with his. “It was a dumb dream.”
Very dumb.
He was lucky he was an intoxicating kisser, or I would’ve put up a bigger fight. Now he was stealing the last of my annoyance with a deep, hungry, seductive kiss. Motherfucker. I had no choice but to kiss him back.
“This extra event tonight,” he murmured in between kisses. “Will you bottom for anyone?”
What?
“No…?” I swept the tip of my tongue around his and cupped the back of his neck.
“Good.” He slowed down and rested his forehead to mine.
I swallowed dryly and searched his eyes. Did he have something to say? Because that sounded like the start of a renegotiation of boundaries.
“Talk to me,” I murmured.
He let out a breath and dropped his gaze to my lap. “Okay. I would prefer it if you didn’t bottom for anyone outside our relationship.”
“Done,” I said automatically. Because I wasn’t much of a bottom to begin with, so it’d never happened with a casual partner, only Lucian and Noa. “Anything else? Honestly. If it bothers you that Noa and I play with oth—”
“No.” He shook his head. “Not one bit. In fact, I’m looking forward to being a voyeur tonight—as long as you’re only a Top.”
“All right.” I swallowed, sensing that something was up, and I cupped his cheek and waited till he made eye contact again. But it wasn’t enough; I wanted to be at his level for this, so I asked him to help me up.
He complied wordlessly and pulled me to a stand, and I returned the showerhead to its mount and tugged him under the spray with me.
“What brought this on?” It was my turn to get my hands on him, so I reached for our body wash.
He scraped his teeth over his bottom lip, and his thinking wrinkle appeared along his forehead. “It’s possible I’ve started feeling more…possessive of you. Or less willing to share certain aspects.”
Don’t smile.
Oh, but I fucking wanted to.
“Is my ass one of those aspects?” I brought my hands to his chest and slowly rubbed in the body wash.
He sent me a little scowl. “Maybe.”
Okay, I smiled. I couldn’t help it. He was being so damn adorable—and it was fucking heartwarming to hear that his attachment to me continued to evolve, because clearly, so did mine. His almost dying on us had opened my eyes, and I was beginning to realize that something had to change.
“I think, uh…” I cleared my throat and lowered my gaze to his chest, where I could follow every movement of my hands. Over the hard planes of his chest, every muscle, every inch of flesh. “I think I’m done having our love story be some secondary character in our relationship. It deserves the same attention we’re giving our attachments to the boys.”
I saw the corners of his mouth twist upward a bit, and I met his gaze again.
“I was terrified I was gonna lose you this week,” I admitted. “It put things in perspective, I guess. How it’s mostly you and Cam or you and Noa, me and Noa, me and Cam… We sit on the sidelines for each other because we put them first—where I still want them, for the record. But I want us there too.”
He leaned in and rested our foreheads together again, and he grabbed the body wash. “I love it when you say the right things. It happens so rarely.”
I let out a laugh. Of course he had to get a dig in too. That was us. No matter how old we got, parts of us would always be fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…
We met in a kiss, and the air was suddenly easier to breathe, despite the heat and the humidity. It felt fucking good to have said what I’d said, and now I could put a finger on the changes we needed to make.
We needed time together, just the two of us.
Funnily enough, we’d had plenty of opportunities because Cam and Noa were still very protective of their own relationship. They went on dates and whatnot; they went clubbing with friends and had sleepovers with fellow brats and subs. And Lucian and I, we didn’t take a break from our responsibilities as their Owners. We could watch a movie together and keep our phones close in case the boys called. We were always on alert. And maybe it was time to multitask. When Cam and Noa went out, Lucian and I should tend to each other. Have dinner, fuck each other’s brains out, relax, perhaps do something, go out every now and then.