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Every relationship I had with them was different from the next, but they all were just as important to me, and I loved them all the same.

They all owned a piece of my heart, and no piece was bigger than the next.

“Do you know what a commitment ceremony is?” he asked me.

Jesus, he really was serious about this.

“So I don’t actually have to get legally married to someone? We’d have a commitment ceremony for all of us?”

That didn’t sound like a bad thing at all.

It’d be harder for them to escape me then. They’d all take that as a lifetime commitment, and they’d take it as seriously as it was, even without the legal paperwork.

“No, not exactly.”

There Quinton went, popping my happy little bubble.

I pulled my hands from his and shoved them under my thighs as I sat back, shifting slightly away from him. “What do you mean, not exactly?”

He had the good graces to look sheepish.

“I want you to actually, legally, bind yourself to one of us. That will hold more sway with the Council.”

Yeah, I didn’t think so. Now he was just pissing me off with every word out of his mouth. It just got worse and worse.

“And which one of you do you think I should legally tie myself to in holy matrimony?” I asked carefully as I held myself very still. I was afraid to so much as twitch, because I was pretty sure if I did, I would continue moving in order to lunge forward so I could punch him in the eye. Maybe even both eyes.

“It’ll be your choice.”

“Finally,” I said sarcastically as I stood up and picked my book up off the table. “Something about this you’re giving me a choice in.”

Quinton stood up with me, and he held his hands up as if to ward me off like he thought there was a chance I might snap and attack him.

Anything was possible at this point.

He knew me well enough to be on guard. It proved he wasn’t as stupid as he’d just sounded all of two minutes ago.

“You just need some time to think about it,” he told me. “I’m not trying to be unreasonable here. I’m not trying to piss you off, I swear, Ariel. All I can think about is what’s the best way to keep us all safe. I think this will go a long way toward that.”

I didn’t want safety. I wanted some goddamn romance. Was that asking for too much?

These fucking men could all be stupid at times, it wasn’t just Quinton, and it wasn’t even only the people I was in a relationship with. Both Rain and Marcus proved they were dumb when it came to me all the time.

But I’d be damned if Quinton Alexander didn’t take the freaking cake.

I moved to walk around him without a word, and he grabbed hold of my elbow in an attempt to stop me.

Big mistake.

Big, big fucking mistake.

I whirled around and swung my book at his head.

“Fuck!” he hissed as he released my elbow and stumbled backwards.

Too late.

I nailed him in the side of his head, just above his ear, and seethed, “You son of a bitch. What the fuck is the matter with you? That’s the absoluteworstfucking proposal you could haveeverpossibly made. Itsucked.”