Page 56 of Taste of Thorns

“I’m sleeping with three different men, Beaufort. I think we can all agree I’m a slut.”

“Three?” he says. And I curse myself. I walked straight into that one.

“Yes.”

“Tudor?”

I pick up my book and toss it in his direction. He ducks and it sails over his shoulder. “Yes, and before you tell me you told me to stay away from–”

“Briony, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“He’s my mate. You had no right.”

“I agree and I am truly sorry. I just want to keep you safe and I don’t know who we can trust right now.”

“We can trust Fox,” I tell him. He nods but I can tell he’s still not one hundred percent convinced. I sigh. “So you admit to once again being an asshole?”

“I do.”

“Beaufort, I wish you would stop it.”

“I’m trying,” he says. “For you, I’m trying.”

“Try harder.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Also, who else apart from Fox would I be sleeping with?”

“I don’t know,” he says with one of his arrogant smirks. “You are pretty slutty.”

“Asshole,” I tell him, throwing my pillow his way this time.

“Probably a slutty asshole,” he teases, catching the pillow one-handed and slinging it back towards my bed. He strides over to me and I roll up to sit, peering up at him. His muscular form seems even more gigantic from this angle, towering above me like the broadest of trees. He reaches down and slides his hand into my hair, cupping the back of my head. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

“Also, you are not a slut and you shouldn’t care what people say or think.”

“I know that. But sometimes it’s easier said than done, especially when they’re all talking about me. It gets inside my head.”

“I understand.” Which is … an interesting response from Beaufort. He’s not dismissing my words as usual or arguing with me. Maybe he really is trying to be a better person. “But, sweetheart, all that matters is if we’re happy with the arrangement. And we are.”

“Are you, though? Truly?”

“Tudor cares about you. I think he’d do anything to keep you safe. Therefore, I can’t be anything but in favor of it.”

I smile at him. “I think you may be lying to me, Beaufort Lincoln.”

“I’ll get used to the situation,” he says a little more begrudgingly.

Then he leans down and kisses my mouth. It’s a long, slow kiss that tells me just how much he’s missed me and honestly I can’t remember why I’ve been staying away. Except that he irritates the hell out of me sometimes with his arrogance.

He crouches down in front of me, and he’s so tall our eyes are level.

“And now I have something to say that you really aren’t going to like,” he tells me.

“Urgh. What is it?”

“Me and Dray went to talk to the Hardies.”

“Talk?” I say, raising an eyebrow.