The singing had gotten really close… like on my porch.
I cracked the door open as quietly as I could and peeked through the crack.
Everest was singing and playing guitar. He wasn’t joking about being good with his hands.
Beside him, Phoenix glanced over his shoulder nervously.
Chapter Eight
Phoenix
“Negotiations are vital in establishing agreement and respect,” Samuel Denten, one of the counselors, explained while we waited outside near the bonfire location.
“Isn’t that just basically being a decent human being?”
“In some ways, yes, but in kink, we do it explicitly. We’re careful not to make assumptions. Because one person’s hard limit may not even be on someone else’s radar, we establish limits up front. That’s what allows people to express themselves freely.”
Pet play, Littles, power dynamics… I could see what he was saying. “Thanks for?—”
The strumming of a guitar drew our attention behind me.
Everest. For fucks sake. He was heading toward Penny’s cabin. The three of us brothers had gotten up early and completed all of our work assignments so we could be free during the bonfire.
Atlas had to handle one last-minute thing and his simple request was that we didn’t engage Penny until he’d finished and got cleaned up—and he wasn’t done yet.
The impressive side of this was that I had to give Everest credit. He always found a way to slide in without being awkward. He’s personable like that—aka, the opposite of me.
Excusing myself from the conversation with Samuel, I caught up with my brother, the minstrel. And damn him, he was playing,She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful. “Presumptuous, isn’t it?”
He kept strumming the melody. “Presumptuous?”
“She don’t know she’s beautiful… maybe she does?”
“She doesn’t.” He broke back into song.
I caught sight of Atlas heading toward us, fists clenched. He was too far away for me to verbally defend myself, so I made a show of stepping away from Everest and holding my hands up in front of my chest. A creak from Penny’s cabin caused me to whip my head around. She’d opened the door the tiniest crack, just enough for me to see her peeking out at Everest and me. Or maybe just Everest, since I wasn’t doing anything other than standing around frustrated that I paled in comparison to my two brothers.
She opened the door wider, the sweetest smile on her face, almost enough to make me feel guilty for all of the devilish things I wanted to do to her. But she wouldn’t be at a kink ranch if she wasn’t game for something outside the norm.
Outside the norm…
Exactly what did I think I had to offer in that respect? I was just a normal guy who’d fallen head over heels for her the second she walked into the room clutching her book. I’d known instantly that my life goal was to take care of her. But how was that going to work out in the long run?
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
The music stopped, and I turned in time to see Everest hold up a finger, as if telling her to wait, then he resumed the music.
Atlas was close enough, so I seized my chance. “Hi, Penny. Just checking in to see if you’re going to the bonfire?”
Everest faked a cough.
“I am.” Her eyes shifted beside me as Atlas approached. She waved sheepishly.
Exactly at the same time he stepped between Everest and me, Everest stopped the song, and moved straight from lyrics to conversation. “Atlas said we couldn’t talk to you till we were all three here. So now that the old man arrived, we have his permission to talk to you.”
“Why…” Penny giggled and scrunched her nose. “Is Atlas your Daddy?” She giggled again then quickly added, “I’m not judging. I just want to be clear since there are things here that I’m not used to. Are you and Phoenix Littles?”
The tidal wave of anger that overtook me was almost unstoppable. If I’d been in any other situation, I would have punched Atlas. Not that he’d done anything wrong. I just couldn’t stand the thought of him having any control over me.
