Page 123 of Almost Ravaged

Swallowing past the trepidation that has me in a chokehold, I offer up a proposition I never imagined uttering to Noah.

“There’s another option you haven’t considered.”

His icy blue eyes flare with interest, but the look is quickly replaced with skepticism.

“There’s a chance.” My voice cracks on the last syllable. I’m so fucking out of my depth. There’s no way he’ll go for this.

I clear my throat and start again.

“There’s a chance she’d be okay being with both of us.”

He scowls, the look part confusion, part distaste. Like he just bit into what he thought was a piece of candy, only to discover it’s a cough drop.

Noah isn’t completely closed-minded, but he’s traditional. He and Meg got married right after college. They’d been together for nearly twenty years when she passed.

Yet now that the idea’s out there, I can’t help but try to make my case.

“Think about it,” I urge him. “We could all be… together. I’m not suggesting a competition, because we both know you’d fucking win.”

That earns a slight tilt of his lips. Though he catches himself quickly and schools his expression once more.

“She could be ours. We could share her, if she’s willing.”

I stalk closer, assessing his stick-straight posture and the way he tracks my movements.

Boldly, I position myself mere inches in front of him. “Imagine making her shake and moan between us. Imagine knowing that her needs are being met—physically, obviously, but emotionally as well, and it wouldn’t all be on you.”

I pause, let the idea sink in.

“You could have her, Noah. You could let yourself have this.”

His scowl deepens, and my heart sinks.

But then his eyes meet mine, and in those blue-gray irises I’m so familiar with, there’s the tiniest spark.

Of interest maybe. Or curiosity.

I hold my breath as I wait for him to respond. To give me some sort of hint that I’m not totally off base with this suggestion.

His voice is quiet, hesitant when he finally speaks. “Have you… have you done that before?”

Anticipation and eagerness flood my veins, and my heart takes off. The buzzing in my brain feels an awful lot like hope. But I don’t want to come on too strong, so I school my expression before answering.

“I’ve had three-ways, yes.” I work to be factual, to remain calm. “But it was only ever about sex. I haven’t been in a relationship with multiple people where feelings were involved.”

His focus drills into me as I stand before him and put it all out there.

“To clarify, just sex isn’t an option for me. I’m tethered to her in a way I haven’t experienced since—” I stop myself from going down that path. “I care for her. Deeply. I won’t pretend otherwise. And based on what I’ve seen, I think you care for her, too. I’ve never done something like this before, but if you want to try, I would do it with you.”

Before Noah can even open his mouth, the sound of a throat clearing snags my attention.

When his eyes dart over my shoulder and widen in panic, I follow his line of sight and slowly turn.

Jesus H.

I was so wrapped up in the moment I didn’t even think about her coming back to join us.

Yet here she is, with her hands on her hips and one brow cocked.