“For sure, but, um…why the switch in your kink? When did you decide that forced servitude was more your bag than consensual non-con?”
“I never said non-con was my bag. You just assumed it that morning on your condo balcony when you told me about her reactions to the exhibits at the art gallery. I admit I’ve done my fair share of non-con…but straight up? My twisted soul gets off way more on forced servitude. Hell, I used to play it twenty-four seven. Except back then, it wasn’t a game.”
“You lived it?” Beck sat up, looking both shocked and intrigued.
Fuck. He’d said too much.
“For a while,” Seth replied dismissively, then yawned into his empty mug. “Man, I either need to go to bed or get more caffeine.”
“I’ll go grab the pot. I could use more, too. I stayed up too late last night, hoping you’d come home so I could rip you a new asshole.”
“Good luck with that,” Seth tossed back.
Beck laughed. “Yeah, you’re a badass. I got it. Besides, I finally fell asleep.”
Seth grinned as the surgeon sauntered into the house, then returned with the hot carafe and refilled their empty mugs. “So, she charmed us both into sharing our kinks under the guise of being sure she was capable of giving us what we want and need.”
“I think she’s really trying to get a glimpse of what the future with us might look like. Think giving her a taste of our kinks ultimately helped or hurt our cause?”
Seth had his suspicions but… “We need to sit her down and ask. I mean, I always go on gut instinct, and I have no doubt she was all in with me on Sunday night.”
“Same here. She was crying, begging, dripping, and soaring. My dick was ready to burst out of my jeans before I finally fucked her.”
“Goddamn, we’re idiots.”
Beck raised a dark brow. “Come again?”
“We are. When we decided to hide our inner beasts from Heavenly, all we managed to do was be dishonest, have this unnecessary fight, and deny her the chance to experience more of life with us.”
Beck tossed his head back and groaned. “You’re right; we are idiots. Instead of giving her a chance to prove she’s capable of handling our dark sides, we sub-blocked her.”
Seth nodded and sent the man a crooked grin. “How long have we been in the lifestyle?”
“Too long to be this stupid,” Beck scoffed. “We should both know that neither of us is irresponsible and that we’d never take her too far, especially without her consent.”
“Yeah.” Seth couldn’t disagree. “Believing that would have been easier if we’d known each other longer.”
“And been more familiar with each other’s style of play.”
“That, too.” He winced. “We’re going to have to learn to be as honest and trusting of each other as we want her to be with us.”
“You’re right. No wonder Hammer and Liam fucked this up so bad after Juliet. But we worked our shit out. Look at us go.”
“Amen.” Seth held up his palm and waited until the surgeon high-fived him. “But we still have a problem.”
“Just one?” Beck chuckled.
“Well, it’s the biggest one. Heavenly still hasn’t told us she loves us.” Seth had seen it on her face every time she looked at them, spoke to them, made love to them… But she hadn’t said the words out loud.
“Think she’s reluctant to tell us because it makes the commitment more real for her?”
“That’s my guess.”
“I’m not giving up.” Beck crossed his arms over his chest, clearly getting stubborn.
“Fuck no.”
“So…we’ll have to dig deep, find patience. But I know in my heart she’ll say the words one day, and all this shit we’ve been wading through will have been worth it.”