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He scoffed. ‘So? We’re dead. We can make up our own rules. If you want him… well, I guess I’ll just have to deal with it, because he seems pretty keen to share.’

‘Share.’ I said the word slowly, sceptically. I let it sit on my tongue, tasting it. Considering it.

He nodded confidently, like it was already decided. ‘Yup. Share.’

I studied him for a while, curious about what was going on in his head. His expression was open and inviting, and there didn’t seem to be any hint that he was freaking out. Just me, then. I decided to take it one step further and test the boundaries of whatever this was he was asking me to do. What Morty apparently expected me to do.

‘And what if I wanted more men in this growing harem of mine?’ I asked, tipping my lips up into a cheeky smirk.

His head tilted to the side as he considered me, then comprehension dawned in his eyes. ‘Rhodes.’

Fuck. He knew me too well. There was nothing I could hide from him, because he could see right through me.

I decided to play it cool. If he was being honest about… whatever this weird arrangement was turning out to be with him and Morty, then maybe he could accept Rhodes as well, if the bubbly man was interested, of course. It could all be nothing more than talk, and besides, I didn’t even know what would happen to him once he passed. His body was already giving out, and he didn’t have much time left, but his death would be different from mine and Chances. From what I assumed wasMorty’s, too. All the ghosts I had ever met – albeit I had only met the ones Blake had killed before Morty came along – had been murdered. For all I knew, Rhodes could pass on to a different realm, and this conversation would be null and void.

I didn’t want to think about that, though. Selfishly, I wanted Rhodes to stick around. I wanted him to want me back. And, since we were being honest, I wanted him to be a part of whatever this was. I couldn’t lie that I was intrigued. I had read books about polyamorous relationships, but I never thought it could be possible in reality. That kind of stuff just didn’t work out. Too much jealousy, or one person spreading themselves too thin while trying to appease multiple lovers. I couldn’t see how this could work without anyone getting hurt in the process.

‘I suppose I should have seen that one coming,’ he teased, though it was more thoughtful, the joke turned inward towards himself.

‘How so?’ I asked, unsure why he would think a romantic escalation to my new friendship with Rhodes would be an obvious conclusion.

He smirked like he knew a secret I wasn’t privy to, and he was about to blow my mind. ‘He got this dreamy look in his eyes whenever he thought about you. And he’s an attractive man. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that you would be interested in him, too.’

I gave him a sheepish look, unsure how to respond. This entire conversation was so far out of my comfort zone, and my attempt to test the waters had not only been enlightening in the most unusual of ways, but it had totally backfired on me. I had tried to put Chance in the spotlight, but he’d dodged it artfully by shining it on me instead.

His smile softened from teasing to understanding`, and finally, there was nothing but love and acceptance once again. ‘Rhodes is a good guy. I think I’ve only known him as long asyou, though I did spend a bit more time with him given the circumstances. But my point is, I would consider him a friend. I would be honoured to share you with him.’

I giggled nervously and fidgeted awkwardly, feeling weird in my own skin. The absurdity of this entire conversation was making me uncomfortable in more ways than one. Notably, with the ache between my legs every time he mentioned sharing. My mind kept conjuring up different positions I could find myself in between two of the men, or even three of the men apparently vying for a place in my heart. I couldn’t speak for Rhodes, but Chance was a shoo-in, and Morty… I wasn’t sure he was going to give me a choice in the matter.

‘I don’t know what to say,’ I admitted shyly.

‘You don’t have to say anything right now, goddess. I am here to worship you like you deserve for the rest of our lives. Or… well, I guess notlives, but you get the point. Anyway, my point is, we have a long time to figure things out. You don’t have to come to any decisions today, or even tomorrow, for that matter, but I’m in this a hundred per cent no matter what you decide.

‘I fuckinglove you,goddess. I have spent the past seven years wandering aimlessly, without any real direction, because you weren’t there. Now I have you back, and more than that, Ihaveyou, and there isn’t a single force in this world or the next that could tear me away from you. You are my purpose, goddess.Without you, I cease to exist.’

I had no words. My heart was more full than it had ever been. We may have been dead, but that only made this all the more powerful. Chance was, unbelievably, mine. I was his. There was no path forward where that changed, and I couldn’t be more thankful for him than in this moment. He was every dream I’d ever had come true, and I couldn’t believe how lucky I was.

But I didn’t know how to get those feelings from my heart to my mouth in words, so I chose a different method instead andkissed him. Hard. Passionately. I pushed all of my love for him into that one kiss and prayed like hell that he understood.

Fortunately, he was a smart man and caught on quickly. He plastered the front of his naked body against mine, fusing us in an embrace born from more than just passion. It was years of longing, or yearning for what we thought was out of our reach. It was countless nights lying in bed, fantasising about a moment just like this. It was a union that went beyond vows and ceremonies and legal documents declaring us a unit.

His cock was hard again, and I felt its heavy weight pressing against my stomach, but he ignored it. This wasn’t about that. We could fuck and make love and whatever else we could call it any other time. This was about answering the call we were too scared to acknowledge when we first had the opportunity.

This was us accepting our second chance.

No more taking him for granted. No more ignoring my feelings, or his. No more pretending to be anything other than what we were always meant to be.

A family.

And if we wanted to extend that family, then what was the harm? We were the core: steady, sturdy, and unbreakable. No matter what happened from here on out, it was us against the world.

Chapter 15

Rhodes

The sound of glass being placed on a wooden surface near my head roused me from sleep, though not all the way. I ended up in some strange limbo haze where my brain was inching itself back towards consciousness while my body remained unmoving, out of my reach. I thought I managed to twitch a finger, but I could have been wrong.

My ears, however, were working well enough that I could pick out the voices and the vague sense of words that gradually came into focus. The voices I deduced belonged to Mikey and Dakota, but it took a moment for me to understand what they were saying. A few words trickled through the hazy fog. Words likepolice,Chance,missing, andBlake. It wasn’t difficult to figure out the topic that had worked them into a tizzy. Well, Mikey, at least, sounded calm, like he was trying to soothe Dakota while she spiralled into a panic. Her voice was high-pitched and harried, anxiety choking off most of her words.