“She had three others she favored,” he adds. “Men I knew well enough to trust.”
Ashton’s brows lift. “And that went well?”
“For the most part,” Sylvian says. “It required coordination. Patience. A certain level of awareness.”
“I’ve been there. It’s a lot of effort to make sure swords don’t cross. Your hand is on the actual ass of the woman. That nothing… splatters,” Ashton mutters.
“It requires restraint to have to share a woman,” Cassius corrects.
Oberon’s mouth curves faintly. “And to keep your eyes open at all times.”
Sylvian shrugs slightly. “It sounds like all of us have managed similar situations just fine.”
“That’s a very diplomatic way of putting it,” Ashton says, grinning.
“It’s an accurate one.”
The conversation moves on, light teasing threading through it, but my mind doesn’t quite follow. Three others. One woman. Working together. And all of them have had experiences like that?
Heat creeps up my neck as my pulse begins to race. I take a sip from my cup, hoping it steadies me. It doesn’t. Because now I can’t stop thinking about it. About what that would even feel like. About the way they move, the way they look at me, the way their voices shift when they’re close.
My fingers tighten slightly around the cup. This is ridiculous.I’ve never even… and yet?The thought lingers anyway.Would it really be so impossible?
Heat unfurls through me, warm and dangerous, and I shift slightly in my seat, trying to ground myself before I completely lose control of where my thoughts are going. Gods. I shouldn’t be thinking about this. But I am. And the more I try to push them away, the more they refuse to leave.
“Hey,” I say, surprising myself.
Damn it.
They all look at me. Too quickly. Too intently.
I swallow, suddenly very aware of what I’m about to ask. “How would it… work?” I manage. “If we were all… together?”
The words hang in the air, and the mood shifts instantly. The guys go completely still, their gazes flicking toward me, something thoughtful in their eyes. I force myself to keep my head up, meeting their stares, but the weight of the moment is almost overwhelming.
Cassius is the first to break the silence. “You’re a virgin, correct?” he asks, his tone gentle but direct.
“Yes,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper.
Cassius nods slowly, his expression thoughtful, clearly already thinking ahead, already trying to map something out.
They all give me a look, but it’s Sylvian who steps forward.Of course he is.
His voice is calm when he speaks. “We’ll start slowly.”
My breath hitches unexpectedly.
“With romance,” he continues, his gaze holding mine. “The way it should be.”
The pressure inside me lightens, if only a little.
Cassius steps closer and sits down beside me, his hand coming to rest lightly against my knee, his touch warm. “We’renot interested in overwhelming you,” he says quietly. “This isn’t something to rush.”
Oberon crouches slightly in front of me, bringing himself level with my gaze, his expression serious but not hard. “You set the pace,” he says. “If you want to stop, we stop. No questions asked.”
My throat tightens.
Ashton shifts in beside me, close enough that I can feel the heat of him, his usual grin softened into something quieter. “We’re not going anywhere,” he adds. “So there’s no reason to skip ahead.”
