his broad shoulders and the sheen of dust on his white breeches. He’d just arrived from London and probably made the multi-day journey astride a horse to get here quicker.
A bath was exactly what he needed.
“You can hear.” Priest appeared before me, crouching at eye level, his hand soft against my cheek. “Every word?”
“My hearing’s returned to normal.” My brows furrowed, my thoughts elsewhere.
“Talk to me.” Elbows braced on the arms of my chair, he let his hands dangle on my lap, trickling light caresses against my thighs. “Tell me every thought in that beautiful head.”
“All right.” I cleared the scratch in my voice. “I want to understand. I’m trying. But I feel like I don’t know either of you. I’m in love with two men who are living this whole other life.”
“That’s not—”
“Be quiet and let me speak.” I breathed in slowly and released my lungs. “For two years, I believed the author of that letter was a gorgeous, intriguing noblewoman, who was torn between her duty and her heart.”
“You weren’t entirely wrong. The noblewoman just happens to be a nobleman.”
“The same nobleman I fell in love with.” What were the odds?
The sound of water pumping from cisterns drifted from the bathing chamber.
I dragged my fingers over my hair, unable to find my bearings in this new reality. “I have so many questions.”
“Ask them.” His hand found mine.
I met his adoring eyes and steeled my spine. “Have you been with other men?”
“No. Neither has Ashley. The physical aspect of our relationship didn’t surface until he joined the Royal Navy. As we grew older, time and distance separated us, and within that loneliness, our longing evolved into something more primal.” His dark eyebrows crept together. “Perhaps lust is a symptom of the trust we built together as boys. But it’s never been a driving force between us. Nor have we ever sought sexual relations with other men.”
I nodded. Then shook my head. “I don’t know how I fit into that.”
“Well, Ashley and I prefer the softer, lovelier, fiercer sex… As it happens, we prefer one woman in particular, who is eager to do more with her life than breed heirs and attend society dinners.” He smiled softly. “You’re the glue, Bennett. The reason we’re here. Think about it. Ashley and I fell in love with the same woman. Was that coincidence? Or something more profound? You know what I think?” He traced his thumb along my bottom lip. “You’re the overruling destiny that he and I have been traveling toward our whole lives. Our paths forked, veered, crossed, and forked again a dozen times. And here we are, right where we started. With you.”
I loved the sound of that. So much. My hand went to my mouth as a hot rush of tears swelled.
“Damn you.” I slapped at the trickle of moisture that leaked from my eyes. “I don’t want to cry anymore.”
“They’re bold tears. Dauntless. God knows you’ve earned them.” He slipped the backs of his fingers along my cheek. “So resilient and tough, yet at the same time, beautifully delicate.”
“I’m none of those things, Priest. I’m scared. I remember the devastation on your face in Nassau when Ashley left you. Losing him ruined you so completely you drowned yourself in drink. I knew then that I couldn’t compete with your lover. And I know it now, seeing the way you look at each other. I’m so afraid of being shut out.”
“The night I stole your compass, we were in your private cabin, and you asked me why I was there. Do you remember what I said?”
“Why are you here?”
“You know why.”
“You want to fuck me.”
“That’s a given, but not nearly the heart of it.”
“What, pray tell, could be the heart of your intentions, if not to wet your cock?”
“It’s really quite simple. I want to take care of you.”
I leaned into the hand he held on my cheek. “You want to take care of me.”
“More than anything. I want to spend the rest of my life protecting and worshiping you.” His fingers shifted to my hair and clenched with shocking assertiveness. “I want to make love to my wife. It’s been two years, Bennett.”
A flame of desire, that which lay dormant for so long, stirred between my legs.
I glanced toward the bathing chamber, searching for Ashley, and there he was. Leaning near the doorway, wearing only his breeches, he watched us with a dark, heated look that spiked the temperature of my blood to dizzying heights.