"Ayla, are you asking me to have sex with you?"
"Not now!" I hissed. "Rymar, we're guarding!"
"Okay, okay." But he was grinning. "And yeah, that's pretty much how you ask. Or you can just seduce your man. Start kissing him, slide your hands over him, and tug him to a bed, or the ground, or a somewhat private place? I promise the three of us won't say no. Not unless there's a good reason."
But I caught that little word. "You too?"
"Me too," he agreed. "You can also say what you want. Like if you just want a man to go down on you? That's what we call oral sex, going down. Or if you just want a quick fuck - which is regular sex without all the warmup. Or maybe you want all of it."
"I just say I want something?"
"Oh, you can do it seductively," he said, leaning in to kiss the side of my neck. "Ayla, I want to take you back to our tent, take off all your clothes, and kiss every inch of your skin before sliding inside your body. I want you to make me feel so good." Then he leaned back and lifted a brow.
I had to clench my legs together to keep my pulse from sinking too low. "We're on guard duty!" I reminded him.
"Which isn't a no," he pointed out. "So try saying no?"
"Not right now," I decided. "I'd say later, but then everyone's in the tent."
"You know, it's okay to do that when everyone's there, right?"
And I turned all the way around to gape at him. "What?"
"Well, your partners," he clarified. "But, if you wanted me, Zasen, and Kanik? We'd be okay with that."
"To just watch me?"
"No," he said around a laugh. "To all touch you. Kanik could kiss you, and Zasen could fuck you, and I could do the mouth thing, all at the same time."
"Oh."
The man winked at me, then leaned back against the tree. "You can also pick one person, or two. We won't be upset at all. There's nothing wrong with it, and that's part of what a partnership is. It's how good families work, Ayla."
"I'd feel guilty," I admitted. "If I tried to pick two and leave someone out?"
"Start with two," he assured me. "I mean, you've got one man down. Two is the next step. Three when you're comfortable with that. Oh, and sometimes, you might want a certain thing, and three men is too much. Or maybe you just want a certain feel, and one of us feels like the right choice for that. It's all okay, and you're allowed that."
"What about you?" I asked. "Men are supposed to like the act, but if I'm the one who gets everything..."
"It's a little more complicated than that," he explained. "See, you can ask. We can say no. We can ask and you say no. That's the whole consent thing we talked about a while back."
"Oh."
"Like, I could ask if you'd be willing to let me and Kanik have sex with you because I've always wanted to try that with him. Maybe it's not the right time, or maybe you're not into it. I still made it clear what I wanted, and you explained your feelings. In the end, it all works out." Then he hummed, thinking. "It's also possible you don't want to have sex that much. Or maybe never again. We'll accept that too. See, we like you, Ayla. The rest is just extra, no different than you getting a second dog. One was good. Two is even better."
"I sometimes feel awkward," I admitted. "I mean, I don't know what to do!"
"You will," he said. "I promise we're not judging your performance or anything. It's more that we want to be withyou, as much as you want to let us. We want to share with you. Secrets, touches, conversations, and our bodies."
"I like that," I decided. "And yes, I think I'd like - "
Both of my dogs jumped up, staring out into the woods. I tensed, and Rymar was immediately scrambling to his feet, but before I could even reach for my bow, Pepper took off, barking her head off. Holly was right on her heels.
"Moles!" Rymar bellowed, diving for his own weapons.
And the first man screamed. I wasn't sure which of my dogs had bit someone, but one of them had. When two more dogs streaked past me, I knew Lansin was coming, and he'd bring the rest. Hopefully, he'd sent his third dog to alert the next camp over.
And then they were on us. Shadows rolled through the forest, all heading the same way - at us. I shot, picking my targets haphazardly, but wanting to take down as many as I could. Beside me, Rymar was doing the same, but his arrows were flying wildly.
