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Xavier opens an eye to look over at me. “I don’t think we could get a sex swing delivered out here.”

“Not about that, about …” Fuck. How do I even word it? “What if while we’re here, we continue.”

Yale sits up. “What do you mean?”

“We all do exactly what we just did when we want to. We can feel free to be open with each other.”

It makes even more sense when I say it out loud. This could be our safe space. If we do end up walking away from this, then we leave it within these four walls. It might help with the decision, too.

“And when we go home?” Yale asks.

I shrug. “We take it one step at a time, but for now, I’m okay with this. With us all … being with Silence.”

My brothers exchange looks, and a silent conversation seems to unfold between all of us. An understanding.

“Are we only with her when it’s the four of us?” Xavier asks. “’Cos I have a feeling Yale couldn’t keep up.”

Yale throws a pillow at our brother. “Fuck you, man.”

“I trust you both to be with her alone. I know she does, too.” I look between them. “If Silence is on board with that, are you?”

“Fuck yes,” Xavier says, and Yale nods, smiling.

If Silence agrees, we’re about to step into an entirely new kind of relationship. Even if it is temporary, it could open so many doors when we return home.

Xavier sits up. “I gotta ask, though. Are you sure you’re okay with this? Isn’t this moving too quickly?”

With a stranger, yeah, it’d feel too fast. I’d be pumping the breaks and needing a minute to breathe, but this is different.

“We’ve all been pretty much living together since Silence and I got married,” I say, looking between them. “It doesn’t feel too fast. It feels like we’ve been preparing for this even before we knew we were. The most important things in the world to me are her happiness and yours. I don’t feel the need to hold her to me because I know you’ll take care of her the same way I do.” That’s something I can rely on, and the reason this makes sense to me. “But let me talk to the one in charge first.”

Xavier chuckles. “Glad you finally admitted that.”

I pull on my sweats and give him the finger before going to the en suite and opening the door. The room is filled with steam, and Silence has her back to me as she stands under the shower spray, head back.

“Hello, husband.”

I tut. “Now you’re just showing off. Do I open a door in a specific way?”

She grins at me over her shoulder. “That was just a lucky guess.”

I close the door and lean against the sink, watching her foam herself up. She flashes me a wry smile as she cleans between her legs, fingers sliding through the bubbles.

“How do you feel?” I ask.

“I’ll be sore in the morning,” she says, then showers off the suds. “But I’m guessing that isn’t what you mean.” She turns the water off, and I take a towel off the shelf and open it. She steps into my arms, and I wrap it around her. Her cheeks are flushed, shoulders relaxed, eyes clear. She looks so serene. Like she’s been wound so tight for so long, and we’ve finally found what uncoils her. “I feel so good, Zayden.”

Relief floods me. “Good. Fuck, I’m so glad. You don’t regret it?”

“Not even a little. Do you?”

“No. No, I really don’t. Do you want it again?”

She nods, eyes shining. “Is that wrong? I feel like I’m telling you that you’re not enough.”

“No, that’s not how I feel at all.” I cup her face. “This is something we both want. Maybe we both even need it. It’s uncharted territory, and it’s a little scary, but … I’m so glad we did it with people we love.”

She wraps her arms around me and presses her cheek to my chest. “Me too. I felt so safe.”