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“I came looking for her,” Kenan nods towards me. “Training for tonight. She was supposed to come there earlier.”
I’d completely forgotten. “Right. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” Kenan says, “but we should get started.”
“Go,” Tobias says before his eyes flick to Kenan. “I’ll see you both later.”
Kenan’s expression softens, “Count on it, baby.”
* * *
“Warm up first,” he instructs, his tone shifting, “I’d prefer you not die tonight.”
I begin stretching, working methodically through my shoulders, back, and legs. Kenan watches me with critical eyes.
“You know, something about you has both me and Tobias wrapped around you like one of these silks you are going to practice on.”
“Is that a good thing?”
Kenan’s laugh is short and sharp, “Honestly? I have no fucking idea.” His fingers touch my cheek softly. “Come on, let’s get started.”
* * *
We work for nearly an hour, my muscles straining by the time he calls for a break. I drop from the silks to the mat below, breathing hard. He hands me a water bottle and I sit down to take a drink.
Kenan sits beside me on the mat, his own water bottle dangling from his fingers. Up close, I can see the fine lines around his eyes, the small scars on the back of his hands, probably from learning the knives, or perhaps from fights. Who honestly knows with him, but one thing I do know is he’s absolutely beautiful.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” he says simply, as if it’s the easiest answer in the world.
“How did Tobias end up here? I’ve heard your story ...” I bite the inside of my cheek, wondering if he’ll even be willing to speak about Tobias's past.
“Sorry, baby girl … that is his story to tell, not mine.” He takes another drink.
Well, there went that idea.
“What about what happened between you two?” I turn to look at him now, watching the emotions that filter through his gaze.
“I didn’t want to do what we have to do anymore ... and well, Tobias is Tobias.” He shrugs, “He is a rule follower through and through. I didn’t like it. We fought ... that’s it.”
“Until me.”
“Until you,” he says, his face inches away from mine. His dark eyes lock on mine, and for a moment I can’t breathe. The same spark that calls me to Tobias calls me to him. He takes a deep breath, “When I watched you between us ... and with him just now ...”
His words drift away.
“Does it bother you? If I can’t choose?”
His laugh is soft, his free hand comes up to brush a strand of hair from my face, “No, Kitten ... having the two people I care about together with me ...” His tongue darts out licking his bottom lip, “That’s a fucking dream.”
I press my lips to his. Where Tobias is like smoke and ice, Kenan is earth and heat. His kiss is like his personality, direct, intense, and all-consuming. His arms wrap around me, pushing me back onto the mat. His body looms over me, his eyebrow piercing catching the light.
I wind my fingers into his dark hair, pulling him closer. He makes a sound low in his throat when my teeth graze his bottom lip. He kisses me hard, his fingers skimming up my sides.
He leans up, resting on his forearms. “Tell me, Kitten. When it comes to whatever this is between the three of us ... what do you want? Truly? Is it just one of us and the other for fun, or is it all for fun?”
“I want …” My words stop, because what do I want? I know the answer almost like how I knew I could draw from the crowd. It’s instinct … or perhaps fate. But the answer is there regardless. “Everything … with both of you.”
