50. Greedy

Chapter 50

Greedy

now

It's our last night at the cabin. Levi needs to be home by this weekend, so tomorrow morning, we're heading back to South Chapel.

All of us. Together.

Last night, we discussed our trip back, agreeing that it's best if we stick together and stay at the house. For logistics, more than anything. If Kabir left the group and found his own accommodations, it would mean Tem having to go back and forth. It'll be so much easier if we're all together, full stop.

Before bed, Hunter pulled me aside to ask if I was really planning to stay.

The sheen of tears she blinked away as she searched my eyes and the way she gnawed on her bottom lip? Fuck. I couldn't reassure her fast enough that I wasn't leaving. I never wanted to leave, even the day I told her I would. If I had my way, we'd never be apart again.

That's a big part of why I'm about to bring up the wild suggestion I've been toying with all afternoon .

We're all together. It's now or never.

Hunter is stretched out on the couch reading while Kabir sits at one end with her feet in his lap. Levi's spread out on the floor stretching, watching Hunter like she hung the moon and all the stars.

I feel the same way.

Entering the space, I clear my throat.

"Teach me."

Three sets of eyes land on me: Sea-glass green, familiar and calm, from Hunter. Dark denim blue, questioning and curious, from Levi. Then a piercing, icy gray that commands respect and honor.

I swallow past the hesitation I've grappled with all evening, lock eyes with Kabir, and repeat: "Teach me. I want to learn what she likes. About her limits. I don't know anything about… degradation… but I can learn. I will learn," I correct, my focus shifting to Hunter.

More than anything, I want to be everything she needs. I just hope like hell she sees the earnestness in my request.

Rising to her feet, Hunter worries her bottom lip. As she approaches, she ducks her head and gives it a shake.

My cheeks heat and my stomach sinks as I steel myself for her dismissal.

Dammit .

"Greedy…" She pushes up on tiptoes and loops her arms around my neck. "I don't want you to degrade me."

Stiffening, I balk. "But you said you like it."

With a glance over her shoulder, she exhales, then fixes her attention on me, her expression thoughtful. "I like when Spence degrades me. In the bedroom only. Within the boundaries of our dynamic."

Right. Their dynamic. I avert my gaze, rejection stinging behind my eyes.

"Hey." She catches my face in her hands, guiding me back to look her in the eye. "You own so many of my firsts. I like"—she clears her throat then, pressing her lips together as she considers me—"no, I love what you and I share in the bedroom. How you worship me. I love when you encourage me and the way we connect on such a deep level during sex. "

My shame is quickly washed away, replaced with pride. We do have a sizzling, all-consuming connection.

"I don't want you to treat me the way he does. Or talk the way he does." She loops her arms around my neck again and pulls me down until her lips are at my ear. "I love who you are and what we have when we're together. You're enough, Greedy. You're more than enough."

I ease back a fraction, meeting her gaze, then lick my lips hesitantly and kiss her. It's a soft kiss, full of tenderness and sorrow, forgiveness and the promise of all that's still to come.

A throat clears across the room before we get too carried away.

"Perhaps there's a middle ground," Spence suggests, first regarding Hunter, then turning to Levi, and finally me. "A way for us to explore certain proclivities within the confines of the bedroom. Together. As a group."

I hold my breath, waiting for Levi or Hunter to speak up first.

But when I glance around, hopeful for an assist, I realize once again that all three sets of eyes are focused on me.

After what feels like a lifetime, Levi finally pipes up.

"I'm in. I want to try…" He trails off, looking earnest as fuck. "I'll try anything. Everything. I want to try it all." His tone has gone gravelly, his cheeks pink. "And I'd really like to be with… all of you."

"Tem?" I ask.

Hunter's gnawing on her bottom lip. I lift one hand and trace the raw skin she's abusing with her teeth.

She sighs, then gives me a sheepish smile. Leaning in close so her words are just for me, she asks, "Are you okay with this? Truly?"

"I want you any way I can have you, baby," I whisper back, nodding. "And I'm open to… more."

"It's settled, then," Kabir announces, rising to his feet and offering a hand to Levi. "Shall we take this to the bedroom?"

As he pulls Levi up from the floor, I drape an arm around Hunter's back, hanging on as we make our way to the stairs.

"Let's go figure out exactly how Garrett Reed personally defines the word more ."