Page 86 of Burden of Proof

“That’s impressive.” I thought about being with anyone that long, let alone two anyones. “And…fuck…is it rude to ask about…”

I let my words hang there, gesturing toward his collar.

Micah smiled and pressed his fingers against the leather. “Not rude, no. Justin has always been my Dom, and Keith is…he’s a bit of a switch.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how does that work?”

I was definitely thinking about me and Hunter when I asked the question, my brain racked with the circular nature of our own power exchange relationship.

“It works well.” His mouth quirked into a smile. “Especially when Keith and I both do what we’re told.”

“Keith is dominant with you?”

“When Justin allows him to be.” Micah tilted his head to the side, studying me carefully. “Why do you ask?”

Embarrassment flooded my cheeks, and I looked up, cheeks puffing out on a very melodramatic exhale. “I just…”

What was the point in lying about it?

“I thought I was a dominant, but I’ve recently learned that maybe I’m not.”

“It’s okay to be both,” he said, nodding. “Keith is at home either way.”

“Sounds like I should have gone with him to get drinks instead of you.”

Micah huffed out an amused laugh, and the bartender, whom I assumed to be Callum, set all five of our drinks on the bar. Micah thanked him, and I thanked him, and then I grabbed Silas’s drink and my water, and we headed back out to the patio.

Justin, Keith, and Silas were engaged in some kind of interesting conversation that came with some very dramatic hand gestures, and Silas had his phone in his hand, laughing. When we made it back to them, Silas took the vodka from my hand, leaning in and resting his head against my shoulder.

“I let Marshall know I’d met his friends. They’re done with dinner if you wanted to go chase down Hunter.”

I very much wanted to go chase down Hunter, but I’d missed my best friend, and I was not interested in cutting my night short.

“In a bit,” I told him, and Silas exhaled happily, settling in against my side. I slid my arm around his waist to hold him up and knew by the weight of his body against mine that in a bit would definitely be sooner rather than later.

“Micah was telling me you’ve been together for five years?” I said, directing the question at Keith.

He was just as attractive as Micah, maybe more. Tall and slender with dark curly hair that was close-cropped against hishead and eyes dark as the sky above us. He wore no collar, just a ring on his left ring finger that matched the bands belonging to Justin and Micah.

“Feels like months,” Keith said at the same time Micah said, “Feels like forever.”

Justin chuckled, gazing fondly at both of his men. I admired his casual dominance, the way protecting and owning both of his partners seemingly came so easy to him. There was no posturing or pretending about who he was or who they were, and I wanted that. Swallowing a mouthful of cold water, I tried to think about all the times Hunter and I had been together. None of it felt like pretending.

When he was on his knees, it was right, and when I was on mine, it was right. And maybe I’d never entertained the idea of being a switch before, but seeing how easy it should be was enough incentive to try. Even though Hunter and I had been flipping and changing, the back of my mind had always felt like it would have to settle on one or the other. Keith was a reminder that wasn’t the case.

“How did…God, never mind.” I scrubbed a hand down my face, and Silas linked his arm around my waist.

“None of that,” Justin chided. It was playful, but sure.

“It was presumptuous.”

Keith chuckled and pushed out his lower lip. “There’s no such thing.”

“How did you realize you were a switch?” I blurted.

Silas’s fingers dug into my waist, and he breathed in sharply against my ear.

Keith tucked his chin against his chest, and at the same time, Justin tilted his up. It was the most subtle shift in power I’d ever seen, poignant enough to suck the breath right out of my lungs.