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Zayden exhales deeply. “Let’s talk about it after dinner. I’ve been running it over in my head since I left, and I need a fucking break. Food almost ready?” Yale nods. “Good. Before we eat, I think we all need to talk.”

Xavier finally moves from between my legs but makes a point of pinching my cheek before he does. I slap his hand away, and he grins, winking at me.

And fuck it, I blush.

Zayden stands behind me. “It’s pretty obvious that what we talked about before I left is going to happen.” My skin tingles, and I avoid everyone’s eye. “So I think we need to lay out some ground rules. Are we all prepared for this talk? If not, we can table it.”

We all nod, and Zayden wraps an arm around my chest, holding me to him.

“It’s a given that whatever Silence says goes. She’s the center of all this, so she decides what happens. If at any point any of us feel uncomfortable, we stop.”

I knew that already, but there’s something comforting about hearing it out loud. Tilting my head back, I give him a quick smile.

“Do you have a safe word, Q?” Xavier asks, picking up a slice of pepper from the chopping board and putting it in his mouth. “Because if we’re fucking, you’re gonna need one.”

Yale rolls his eyes. “And it starts.”

“What?” Xavier says, chewing. “I’m not gonna go easy on her. She can take it. Can’t you?”

Zayden leans close to my ear. “You sure you wanna do this? They’re probably gonna argue mid-fuck, too.”

I laugh. “Pause is my safe word.”

“You don’t wanna try the traffic-light system?” Xavier suggests. “Red means stop. Yellow means pull back. Green means keep going. And then there’s the fourth color if you’re feeling it.”

“What fourth color?”

“Blue, for example,” he says, eyes locked on mine. “That could mean push harder.”

Excitement simmers in my chest—that and the urge to find out what he could do to me that would I’d want so much more of.

I look up at Zayden. “I like that idea. Do you?”

“It’s whatever you want, baby.”

All eyes are on me, and I bite my lip, flooded with images of me screaming the word blue.

“Condoms?” Yale says, smirking knowingly at me.

“I’m on birth control.”

Zayden says, “And we’re all checked regularly for insurance.”

I bark out a laugh. “Assassins have insurance?”

Yale starts spooning out food. “Yep. It’s a lucrative business, too.” I bet. “Anything else we need to cover?”

“I think we should set a timer for ten minutes,” Zayden adds, turning the stool so I’m facing him. “No matter what we’re doing, we stop, and I check in with you.”

I like that idea. A moment of quiet could help me digest everything and see if I want to continue. “Is that everything?” I ask.

Zayden brushes my hair back, his thumb running along my jaw. “No matter what happens, nothing changes. We’re still a family, even if we do this once and never again.” I smile, closing my eyes briefly as he kisses me. “And the first time, I’m only watching.”

I open my eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. If that changes, I’ll be the first to speak up.” He grins. “But I know how much you want this, and I don’t want to miss a single second of you enjoying yourself.”

Xavier picks up two plates and heads toward the kitchen table. “Good. More for me. Did you pick it up?”