Page 98 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. Although I’m not sure if it’s because of the orgasms or the pain meds.”

“I don’t care what the reason is, as long as you’re in less pain.” Sitting up, he pulls me with him. “Go pee. I’m going to get you some water.”

In the bathroom, I glimpse myself in the mirror. After going about my business, I do my best to fix my messed-up hair and wipe the wild-eyed look off my face.

By the time I get back to the bedroom, I’ve caught my breath. Elliot is on the bed, still shirtless, propped up against the headboard.

“Come here,” he says, patting the mattress beside him.

I do, slipping under the covers with him.

“Drink.”

With a grateful smile, I take the mug from his hands and gulp down the water. Then he sets it on the nightstand and pulls me close.

I relax into him. How did I stumble across three men who make me feel so goddamned cared for? It feels too good to be true.

“Tell me about the three of you,” I say quietly, running my fingers up and down his bare torso.

“What do you want to know?”

“Oliver told me a little about your relationship. You met in high school? Did you all fall for each other quickly?”

He laughs, a deep and soothing sound. “No. We were close since freshman year, though. I was the only one who knew my sexuality at that point. Rhett was vaguely aware that he wasn’t just attracted to women, and Oliver… He fell first. And stayed in denial for the longest.”

“Denial?”

“Mmhmm. Dated girl after girl for most of high school. But we all knew how he really felt. Even if he was trying to hide it from himself, too.”

“Did you and Rhett get together first? Without Oliver?”

Elliot shakes his head. “No. Junior year, I finally admitted my feelings to them. Rhett and I talked about dating, but we both agreed to wait for Oliver. It just didn’t feel right without him. He came around early senior year. After Sammy was killed, we all needed each other too much, and Oliver couldn’t keep up the lie when we were all in so much pain.”

Sammy.That must be Rhett’s little sister.

“Was it hard? Seeing him in denial?”

For a moment, Elliot’s silent. Then he sighs. “It was heartbreaking. He’s always struggled with being confident in who he is, even though he’s… god, Wren. He’s fucking amazing. You don’t even know the half of it.

“Ithink he was scared to mess things up since we were so close. But when he finally admitted he was as in love with us as we were with him, it was like this huge weight came off his shoulders. We were all still mourning Sammy, but at least he didn’t have that holding him down too, you know?”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “I never would’ve realized. Oliver acts so confident. And carefree.”

“He’s done a lot of work to accept himself.” Elliot squeezes my arm. “And he’s always been the fun one, so I guess you could call him carefree.”

“I think you’re all fun.” With a smile, I look up at him. His expression is pensive, like he’s lost in memories and only half here.

Then his gaze meets mine. “I bet you do,” he murmurs before leaning down to kiss me.

There are still things I want to know about them, and Elliot seems happy to answer my questions, so I ask another one. “Oliver told me you’ve all been with other people. While you were with each other?”

He nods. “We used to have an open relationship. It was important to us, I think. We’ve always been committed to each other, but we all value our independence. We don’t own each other. So seeing other people just… felt natural, I guess. Of course, we had boundaries. And we always made sure to prioritize each other, too.”

“But you’re not in an open relationship anymore?”

Elliot shakes his head. “What we do takes a lot of time and energy. And it’s not always safe. Dating other people was fun, but we never found someone we were sure we could trust with every part of our lives. And it got to the point where we needed to focus on the three of us.