“I hate having rules about my life dictated to me. I want to be able to speak my mind without worrying about the consequences.
I want authority over my time and my choices. Always. ”
Dom considers me, golden eyed and dangerous. “And your body? Do you want full authority over that?”
My mouth goes dry, and it’s a struggle not to look away. “Not . . . always.”
His mouth curves up on one side, just a little, as I try not to fidget.
Beau rubs his chest, then glances at Dom. “We never wanted a full-time submissive. Not really. This arrangement was never meant to be all about kink. It was meant to be the start of something. A relationship.”
I purse my lips primly. “And do you always start your relationships by lying? Or were you being experimental?”
Dom snorts, and Beau laughs uncomfortably, then bites his lip. They’re still red from kissing me senseless. He edges in close to me and shoots me a sinful look under his lashes. “That was all Dom’s idea,” he confides. “I voted for honesty.”
“Seriously?” Dom mutters dryly. “Unbelievable.”
The heated way Beau’s looking at me makes me shiver. It takes me longer than I’m proud of for my brain to start functioning again, but I finally manage to work up a frown.
And I really hope it looks at least somewhat disapproving and not just desperately aroused.
“Don’t blame him—you should have been honest regardless. You’re responsible for your own decisions. You’re an independent adult.” My gaze slips down to his bare, deliciously firm chest. An X-rated, beautiful, well-developed, well-endowed . . . I catch his smirk and snap my eyes away, cheeks flushing. “You— You’re just as much at fault.”
Dom snickers, and I twist to give him a stern look. “And don’t you laugh, you lied to me too. All of you did. It’s incredibly patronizing.”
His smile fades. “I was trying to keep you safe.”
I stifle a sigh. “Yes, well, as darling and”—I wave an exasperated hand—“macho as the impulse is, I’m not some fragile ornament, or something for you to keep. I know you mean well, but the lying has to stop. You need to trust me to be sensible.”
My voice turns tart. “You do understand that I don’t actually enjoy putting myself in danger? Given all the information, I do usually choose to keep myself far away from it.”
Beau’s cheeks color, but Dom sighs. “We talked about this. Sometimes I—”
“Don’t have time to explain, yes, I heard. But you did then. You usually do. You chose not to.” I hold his gaze, even as his eyes narrow. “I’m not a soldier, Dom. You might need to try a different approach because I don’t enjoy being treated like one.”
There must be something wrong with me that his stern look kicks my heartrate up again.
“Cut me off again and we’ll make it another fifteen,” Dom replies, and my breath catches. I don’t think I can take another fifteen right now though. My butt is bruised as it is. Then he gives me a contemplative look. “I’ll try, Eden. You might need to remind me. My track record at working with civilians is . . . not the best.”
“I will,” I say sweetly, and Dom swats my hip.
“Good,” he replies.
My heart is racing.
It’s rather exciting, speaking your mind.
I laugh, feeling light. Surprisingly so, after the last few hours. “So that’s it then. The deal is over!”
At my laughter, Beau’s face kindles, and he gives me that slow, melting smile again. “I guess it is.” He runs a finger up my arm, then along my collarbone. “So how exactly am I going to win alone time with you now? You’re going to have all of us fighting for your attention.”
Despite my best intentions, my mind slips to the sparring session I happened to briefly glance at the other day. They were sweaty, and wrestling, and pressed up against one another . . .
“Hmm.” I pretend to consider that as his finger trails back down the curve of my breast. Breathlessly, I murmur, “I guess you’ll have to convince me that you’re worth my time.”
His pretty hazel eyes widen in surprise, and he shoots me a cheeky grin. “Now I wonder how I’ll do that.”
“You’re both getting ahead of yourselves,” Dom cuts in, and I look back at him. His eyes linger on Beau’s hand on my chest before they lift to meet mine. “The set days were in place to keep things fair. Even. It’s not easy to share, Eden.”
I purse my lips, studying him. “Yes,” I say slowly, “I understand that it’s easier for you all when I don’t get a say. But it’s not working for me.”
Dom rolls his eyes with a short, hard sigh. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?” I ask testily. I’m not about to let him ruin my glow, no matter how distracting he is, all damp and dark and gorgeous in the sunshine.
“I think he means, darlin’，” Beau says, “that Dom and I have tried it a few times. Negotiating jealousy, issues, keeping everything in balance . . . it was a lot with three people involved, on all sides. You’re talking about six.”
Beside me, Dom tenses.
“Five,” I correct quietly, wrapping an arm around myself as I think of the awful chess match.
Dom’s shoulders unbunch. “Yes, five.”
I look up at him, confused. “You know about Jasper?”
“Sorry, Eden, I forgot you and Jasper didn’t work out for a minute,” Beau says quickly, glancing between us and giving Dom a quelling look. “Five, then. Five people are a lot to keep happy.”
Dom mutters under his breath, and I sting over how easily Beau says it, like it was a thing of no consequence.
I suppose it isn’t, really. I suppose Jasper and I were never really a possibility.
Seeming to sense my mood shift, Dom looks at me. I feel him regard me for a long moment, and I avoid his gaze like it’s my last mission on earth.
I clear my throat. “I know it won’t be easy, okay? But we’re all adults. If we have any problems, we’ll just have to talk it through. And I will do my best to keep it fair.”
“Just like that, huh?” Dom says.
I lift my chin and look at him through my glasses. “Yes. Just like that.”
His eyes take on a secret shine, and Beau nods. “She’s right. We need to try this the right way. The hard way.”
Beau’s words make me bright, like fairy lights are being strung up between my ribs, and I lean up to kiss him again. “Thank you.”
The forests in his eyes dance, alive with possibility. Beau cups my jaw and pulls me in for a low, thorough kiss. “I hope you know you’re mine now, darlin’。 Be prepared for everything that comes along with that.”
His. Theirs. And I also get to be mine now, too.
Beau presses another light kiss to my lips. “Eden, I don’t always say the right thing. But I promise I’ll work on it. I think you’re fierce, and intelligent, and resourceful as anything—I was yours the minute you told us to run and save ourselves.” He rests his forehead against mine. “Take good care of me, sweetheart.”