Misconstrued, p.25
Misconstrued, page 25
That made me blink. “What?”
“You don’t have to. So, why?”
I looked up into worried eyes. “I don’t know how to answer that,” I admitted. “You’re kind to me. You listen. Even when you get frustrated with me, you never stop being patient. I like that.”
His face did something I didn’t understand, and he raised his chin, easily looking over my head, to stare at the boring wall of the shower.
“You don’t have to either,” I pointed out. “But I'm wet and I’m getting cold.”
He still didn’t look at me, but he did wrap me in a towel. He hugged me to his chest and pressed his cheek to the top of my head. “I want you. But ...”
He just stopped.
O ... kay. He was just way too uptight, and I felt like I needed to do something about that. So I made a joke. Not my best joke. “Well, I can tell you want me,” I teased, grinding against him a little. “That doesn’t mean you get to use my butt. Not on the first date.”
He just looked confused. Then, slowly, understanding dawned and he blushed. I grinned and blushed too. Then I winked. “Come on. We can go sit on the bed and talk about this some more. Or we can get dressed and pretend this hasn’t happened. It’s up to you.”
He tilted my chin up and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him. When I stopped, he took my hand and led me back to the bed. He sat and guided me so that I was standing between his legs. “Don’t do this because you feel sad for me.”
I blinked at that, then frowned. “You’re an idiot sometimes.”
He shook his head. “Not this time. I don’t look like—”
“Stop,” I interrupted. “I don’t look like an orc. You don’t look like a human. If you aren’t bothered by my shape, why do you think I would be bothered by yours?”
We just frowned at each other for long enough that I was about to give up on him and go get dressed. That’s when he finally answered.
“Tybalt is pretty. You didn’t claim him.”
“Tybalt is doing better, but he needs to grow up,” I countered. “He isn’t here. You are. You don’t have to be. I’m not stupid, just because your dick is pointing at me doesn’t mean you want this. So just say that. Don’t try to make this about me, I won’t get mad if you want to leave.”
“I don’t want to leave,” he whispered. His hands were shaking. “I can’t believe you want me to be here. This must be either a joke or a trap.”
I sat on his knee and put my head against his chest. “Do you think I would do that?”
“No?”
“That isn’t a confident answer,” I pointed out.
He gave a half grunt, half laugh. “I’m not a confident orc.”
“Yeah, well, that’s fair, but you’ve met Erika. I’m not a confident human, either.”
He shook his head. “You are wonderful. Better than Erika.”
I smiled a bit wryly. If I was Erika, I would have kicked his feet out from under him and been knocking boots months ago. “We really are both idiots, aren’t we?”
I didn’t even realize I was stroking his chest until he caught my hand and brought it to his lips. I wasn’t expecting him to suck my fingers, but it sent chills down my spine when he did.
“I don’t know how,” he admitted softly.
I didn’t laugh. It reminded me of Romeo, just happy to go along with what I needed but not sure what I was doing. About how he wanted to see. I wouldn’t have guessed that.
“What would you like, Iago?”
He looked at my window that faced the street without curtains. “I would like you in my room. I want to touch you.”
I nodded. He cuddled me to his chest and stood up with me still in his arms. He crossed the hall and set me on his bed before unwrapping the towel. I cleared my throat to make him stop.
“Can you close the door first?” I asked. He was surprised, but he did.
When he sat on the bed, he made sure he had eye contact when he asked, “Can I just touch you?”
“Yes. Can I touch you?”
He looked worried when he answered. “Not yet?”
“Alright.”
Iago was careful, but he was methodical as he ran his fingers over me. I hadn’t realized how much I had needed his touch until he started, then I never wanted him to stop.
“You are perfect,” he murmured.
I scoffed and was about to deny it when his fingers brushed against my side in a way that made me moan.
“You are,” he insisted as his fingers found the inside of my thighs.
“That’s nice,” I whispered.
“More?”
“Yeah.” I had barely gasped the word before he was running his fingers between my folds.
He looked into my eyes and watched my face, so I got to see his expression as he licked his fingers. I think the last time I had that response to a flavour, chocolate was involved. His eyes rolled up and closed.
“You like that?” I whimpered, hoping that he was enjoying this as much as I was.
His eyes opened and his pupils were wider than they had been. “Will you let me taste?”
“I want to touch you too, you know,” I teased, stroking the back of his head.
“Do you?” he sounded surprised enough that I chuckled a little.
“Yeah, I do,” I assured him.
He looked at me, his eyes searching my face, then quickly ducked his head and stole a lick between my legs before he nodded. I tried to push him onto his back, but he resisted. I was surprised before I realized that despite the door being closed, he was still shielding me from the doorway with his back. Another piece of the Iago puzzle slotted into place: Don’t pay attention to his foot and just accept that he was always going to be in a protective position. I traced his collarbones and ran my hands down his chest. He whimpered a little when my fingers brushed his cock, then he carefully caught my wrist.
“Stop?” I asked.
He looked conflicted, then embarrassed.
“What?” I asked, really not wanting to stop.
“I know what I taste like. You taste better,” he mumbled. He must have seen my confusion because he sighed and added, “If you keep doing that, you will taste like me.”
I gasped, then covered my face with my hands to hide the blush as I giggled nervously.
“Stop?” he echoed.
I didn’t uncover my face, but I shook my head no. A moment later, I was shifted to the edge of the bed and my knees were hooked over his shoulders. He held eye contact from the moment that I looked at him, watching me intently as he ate me out.
I let my head fall back as my eyes drifted closed. I got lost in the sensations and my breath started coming in little gasps. “How are you all so good at that?”
He chuckled softly. “We all want to please you.”
That got me to pull away and prop myself up on my elbows. “Does that mean you’ve been talking about me?”
“Of course,” Iago seemed surprised that I was asking. “So we can get better.” Any reply I may have made was driven from my head as he went back to licking and eased a thick finger into me. It was nice, if a bit haphazard. Until he turned his wrist and curled his finger. It was like a fire was building under my skin as he worked. Iago was a man of focus who never failed to surprise me. I just held on, running my hands over his closely shorn head; his hair felt like velvet against my palms.
When I came, I clenched hard and arched off the bed as it felt like every nerve in my body flashed white hot at once. My heart was thundering in my ears and Iago hadn’t stopped. I hadn’t even relaxed from the first one when a second wave crashed over me, ripping the air from my lungs and making me scramble away from him as Iago showed no signs of slowing.
That made him stop. He looked worried and shocked. “That was wrong?”
I flopped on my back and covered my face again as I laughed. “No. Not wrong. Too much.”
“Oh.”
I sat up a bit to look at him. He looked disappointed. “Oh?” I echoed in disbelief.
“I didn’t want—um—I didn’t know you would be done that fast.”
I flopped back and laughed until tears ran down my cheeks and ended up making my ears soggy. As I sat up, he was looking embarrassed and staring at the floor. I stopped laughing and turned his head to look at me.
“Iago,” I explained gently, “it’s funny because women—human women—say that about human men when the men finish too soon and the women don’t get to, um, enjoy themselves.”
That got me a skeptical frown.
“You still get a turn,” I assured him. “I just needed a moment.”
“Later?” he asked hopefully.
“Or now,” I offered.
His eyes searched my face again. “So soon?”
I snorted and coughed a little, but managed not to laugh. “Women are different from men.”
He growled and nodded before crawling up my body, caging me in with his arms and legs. Then rubbed his face against me. It was like being stropped by a cat. “Slow and careful,” he rumbled.
I reached between us and caught his cock, gently pumping it as I tried to wiggle into position. He gasped out a little whine that made me smile.
“Very slowly,” I agreed, as I eased him past my folds.
He nodded, and squeezed his eyes tight shut. He was panting slightly through his nose as he inched his way into me. After a moment, he stopped and just trembled.
“Slowly,” he growled again.
“Maybe not this slowly,” I suggested.
He shook his head no. I searched his face. His whole body was tense, his eyes were squeezed shut. And I had just made a joke about men cumming too fast. Oh. Oops. Okay, I needed to relax and give him a moment. I took a breath and tried to stop squirming.
I ran my hand over his back, making his hips buck. He whimpered a little. “It’s okay,” I assured him.
He opened his eyes and leaned down to lick my lips as he carefully pushed the rest of the way in. I groaned and tilted my hips to rub my clit against him. He reached down and put one huge hand on my hips to hold me in place as he sat up a little.
“I don’t want to be too fast,” he whispered.
“You won’t be,” I assured him.
He flashed me a skeptical look before he started to rock, and his eyes fluttered closed. He kept an even pace, which was surprising given how every muscle I touched was straining to hold back. I squirmed enough to wrap my legs around his ass and try to encourage him to speed up a little, which he did once my hips bucked. The new angle was perfect, with him in exactly the right spot. As I was writhing beneath him, he was growling a steady stream of orcish in my ear.
I clenched and grunted as I came, and that was what he had been waiting for. Suddenly, he was moving fast and deeper and pushing me into the mattress with every thrust. He came with a snarl, both hands holding me tight to him, as his hips bucked erratically.
His eyes opened and he watched me as he panted. I smiled as he hugged me tightly to his chest, then rubbed my back until I drifted off.
- - - -
I woke up in the big spoon position, with Iago between me and the door. I smiled at that; Iago thinking too hard was always something I could count on. I groaned softly as I realized that this probably meant days of overthinking this on his part. And mine, to be fair.
“Are you hurt?”
I snorted a little and opened my eyes to see him cranking his head around to try to see me without rolling over or jostling me. I gave him what must have been a fairly sardonic smile. “I’m fine. I was just thinking that we’re both at risk of freaking out right now.”
Iago stiffened. “You are upset?”
“Please be teasing me now!”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but cracked a tiny smile.
I laughed and hit him with my pillow, then laughed again at the shocked look on his face. That was when I got to see that Iago must have been really good at his job. I was disarmed of my pillow and had both wrists pulled over my head and pinned in one of his hands in an instant. Then he went absolutely still, his face mere inches from mine, and he sniffed me.
“You smell good.”
“I suspect a female orc wouldn’t let you get away with this,” I mused.
He grinned and let go of my hands. “No. She would scream and have me killed.”
“So, why try it with me?” I asked as I sat up and rubbed my wrists.
Shrugging, Iago explained, “Because I would try with a friend.”
“Really? And what would a friend do?”
He grinned harder and moved away from me before he answered, “Headbutt me and smash my nose.”
“Oh, really?” I crawled toward him and cupped his face in my hands. He was very still, but looked a little worried. He was completely shocked when I placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose before leaning away. “No breaking each other's bones in this family, okay?”
“Yes, Mina,” he rumbled. It made me shiver. He just kept watching me. “Not hurt, right?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him.
“Good.”
“Mina?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
I was a bit taken aback by that and wasn’t sure what to say. I got all weird and formal and said, “You're welcome?” which earned me a happy orc sound at least. There was something that had been in the back of my mind for a while.
“Iago?”
“Yes?”
“You guys talk about having sex with me?”
His face was calm and serene, but he stopped breathing for a moment. “We talk about how to make you happy,” he hazarded. “You do not like being seen or interrupted. That is important. You were very upset when Erika saw you and Romeo.”
“Well, that is true,” I conceded.
“After that, you did not choose him again. Mac was not interrupted, and you still favour him.”
“Wait, no! That’s not how that worked!”
He nodded and fell silent, apparently waiting for me to explain.
“Wouldn’t it bother you if someone was watching?” I asked before I remembered. “Did you watch me and Romeo the first time?”
His face fell. “I didn’t know it would upset you. You came to our room instead of taking him to yours.” His voice was flat and calm. He was just explaining, not accusing.
“Yeah, I did,” I agreed. He relaxed a little. “I wasn’t expecting to have sex with him when I went in there.” Iago looked uncertain at that.
“You didn’t want that?”
“Well, there’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one. Yes, I wanted that,” I assured him before I admitted, “I just didn’t plan it.”
Iago gave a contemplative hum. “It would not bother me if they watched. They could stop me if I was … incorrect.”
I snorted and pulled the pillow over my face. He gently lifted a corner and peeked at me. “The absolute last thing I want is the peanut gallery commenting on the performance,” I snapped.
“I don’t understand.”
“No cheering section giving you directions. If I don’t like something, I’ll tell you to stop, understand?”
He still looked confused, but nodded his agreement anyway.
I groaned and covered my face with the pillow again. “I wasn’t planning on being grumpy,” I mumbled into the pillow. “I wanted to ask you how you thought this would work.”
He took the pillow off my face and dropped it on the floor. “What would work?”
“All of us sleeping together. Or not sleeping together. It’s going to feel weird sneaking around and more weird taking you away from the others for a quickie. Or not-so-quickie or whatever.”
He was still watching my face, waiting for me to start making sense.
“It will not bother us, and after a while it will not bother you either. Erika is fine. You will be fine. This is normal for us.” He thought for a moment. “We will make sure Tybalt is polite to you. He is feeling left out, but we aren’t children where everyone gets a treat.”
“Tybalt is feeling left out,” I echoed.
Iago nodded.
“Are you?”
He looked helpless for a moment. “You talk to me. You, um, touch me. That is more than I hoped. It is less than he expected.” I got a calculating look, followed by a question I wasn’t prepared for. “Are you doing this because you think you have to?”
“You don’t have to. So, why?”
I looked up into worried eyes. “I don’t know how to answer that,” I admitted. “You’re kind to me. You listen. Even when you get frustrated with me, you never stop being patient. I like that.”
His face did something I didn’t understand, and he raised his chin, easily looking over my head, to stare at the boring wall of the shower.
“You don’t have to either,” I pointed out. “But I'm wet and I’m getting cold.”
He still didn’t look at me, but he did wrap me in a towel. He hugged me to his chest and pressed his cheek to the top of my head. “I want you. But ...”
He just stopped.
O ... kay. He was just way too uptight, and I felt like I needed to do something about that. So I made a joke. Not my best joke. “Well, I can tell you want me,” I teased, grinding against him a little. “That doesn’t mean you get to use my butt. Not on the first date.”
He just looked confused. Then, slowly, understanding dawned and he blushed. I grinned and blushed too. Then I winked. “Come on. We can go sit on the bed and talk about this some more. Or we can get dressed and pretend this hasn’t happened. It’s up to you.”
He tilted my chin up and pressed his lips to mine. I kissed him. When I stopped, he took my hand and led me back to the bed. He sat and guided me so that I was standing between his legs. “Don’t do this because you feel sad for me.”
I blinked at that, then frowned. “You’re an idiot sometimes.”
He shook his head. “Not this time. I don’t look like—”
“Stop,” I interrupted. “I don’t look like an orc. You don’t look like a human. If you aren’t bothered by my shape, why do you think I would be bothered by yours?”
We just frowned at each other for long enough that I was about to give up on him and go get dressed. That’s when he finally answered.
“Tybalt is pretty. You didn’t claim him.”
“Tybalt is doing better, but he needs to grow up,” I countered. “He isn’t here. You are. You don’t have to be. I’m not stupid, just because your dick is pointing at me doesn’t mean you want this. So just say that. Don’t try to make this about me, I won’t get mad if you want to leave.”
“I don’t want to leave,” he whispered. His hands were shaking. “I can’t believe you want me to be here. This must be either a joke or a trap.”
I sat on his knee and put my head against his chest. “Do you think I would do that?”
“No?”
“That isn’t a confident answer,” I pointed out.
He gave a half grunt, half laugh. “I’m not a confident orc.”
“Yeah, well, that’s fair, but you’ve met Erika. I’m not a confident human, either.”
He shook his head. “You are wonderful. Better than Erika.”
I smiled a bit wryly. If I was Erika, I would have kicked his feet out from under him and been knocking boots months ago. “We really are both idiots, aren’t we?”
I didn’t even realize I was stroking his chest until he caught my hand and brought it to his lips. I wasn’t expecting him to suck my fingers, but it sent chills down my spine when he did.
“I don’t know how,” he admitted softly.
I didn’t laugh. It reminded me of Romeo, just happy to go along with what I needed but not sure what I was doing. About how he wanted to see. I wouldn’t have guessed that.
“What would you like, Iago?”
He looked at my window that faced the street without curtains. “I would like you in my room. I want to touch you.”
I nodded. He cuddled me to his chest and stood up with me still in his arms. He crossed the hall and set me on his bed before unwrapping the towel. I cleared my throat to make him stop.
“Can you close the door first?” I asked. He was surprised, but he did.
When he sat on the bed, he made sure he had eye contact when he asked, “Can I just touch you?”
“Yes. Can I touch you?”
He looked worried when he answered. “Not yet?”
“Alright.”
Iago was careful, but he was methodical as he ran his fingers over me. I hadn’t realized how much I had needed his touch until he started, then I never wanted him to stop.
“You are perfect,” he murmured.
I scoffed and was about to deny it when his fingers brushed against my side in a way that made me moan.
“You are,” he insisted as his fingers found the inside of my thighs.
“That’s nice,” I whispered.
“More?”
“Yeah.” I had barely gasped the word before he was running his fingers between my folds.
He looked into my eyes and watched my face, so I got to see his expression as he licked his fingers. I think the last time I had that response to a flavour, chocolate was involved. His eyes rolled up and closed.
“You like that?” I whimpered, hoping that he was enjoying this as much as I was.
His eyes opened and his pupils were wider than they had been. “Will you let me taste?”
“I want to touch you too, you know,” I teased, stroking the back of his head.
“Do you?” he sounded surprised enough that I chuckled a little.
“Yeah, I do,” I assured him.
He looked at me, his eyes searching my face, then quickly ducked his head and stole a lick between my legs before he nodded. I tried to push him onto his back, but he resisted. I was surprised before I realized that despite the door being closed, he was still shielding me from the doorway with his back. Another piece of the Iago puzzle slotted into place: Don’t pay attention to his foot and just accept that he was always going to be in a protective position. I traced his collarbones and ran my hands down his chest. He whimpered a little when my fingers brushed his cock, then he carefully caught my wrist.
“Stop?” I asked.
He looked conflicted, then embarrassed.
“What?” I asked, really not wanting to stop.
“I know what I taste like. You taste better,” he mumbled. He must have seen my confusion because he sighed and added, “If you keep doing that, you will taste like me.”
I gasped, then covered my face with my hands to hide the blush as I giggled nervously.
“Stop?” he echoed.
I didn’t uncover my face, but I shook my head no. A moment later, I was shifted to the edge of the bed and my knees were hooked over his shoulders. He held eye contact from the moment that I looked at him, watching me intently as he ate me out.
I let my head fall back as my eyes drifted closed. I got lost in the sensations and my breath started coming in little gasps. “How are you all so good at that?”
He chuckled softly. “We all want to please you.”
That got me to pull away and prop myself up on my elbows. “Does that mean you’ve been talking about me?”
“Of course,” Iago seemed surprised that I was asking. “So we can get better.” Any reply I may have made was driven from my head as he went back to licking and eased a thick finger into me. It was nice, if a bit haphazard. Until he turned his wrist and curled his finger. It was like a fire was building under my skin as he worked. Iago was a man of focus who never failed to surprise me. I just held on, running my hands over his closely shorn head; his hair felt like velvet against my palms.
When I came, I clenched hard and arched off the bed as it felt like every nerve in my body flashed white hot at once. My heart was thundering in my ears and Iago hadn’t stopped. I hadn’t even relaxed from the first one when a second wave crashed over me, ripping the air from my lungs and making me scramble away from him as Iago showed no signs of slowing.
That made him stop. He looked worried and shocked. “That was wrong?”
I flopped on my back and covered my face again as I laughed. “No. Not wrong. Too much.”
“Oh.”
I sat up a bit to look at him. He looked disappointed. “Oh?” I echoed in disbelief.
“I didn’t want—um—I didn’t know you would be done that fast.”
I flopped back and laughed until tears ran down my cheeks and ended up making my ears soggy. As I sat up, he was looking embarrassed and staring at the floor. I stopped laughing and turned his head to look at me.
“Iago,” I explained gently, “it’s funny because women—human women—say that about human men when the men finish too soon and the women don’t get to, um, enjoy themselves.”
That got me a skeptical frown.
“You still get a turn,” I assured him. “I just needed a moment.”
“Later?” he asked hopefully.
“Or now,” I offered.
His eyes searched my face again. “So soon?”
I snorted and coughed a little, but managed not to laugh. “Women are different from men.”
He growled and nodded before crawling up my body, caging me in with his arms and legs. Then rubbed his face against me. It was like being stropped by a cat. “Slow and careful,” he rumbled.
I reached between us and caught his cock, gently pumping it as I tried to wiggle into position. He gasped out a little whine that made me smile.
“Very slowly,” I agreed, as I eased him past my folds.
He nodded, and squeezed his eyes tight shut. He was panting slightly through his nose as he inched his way into me. After a moment, he stopped and just trembled.
“Slowly,” he growled again.
“Maybe not this slowly,” I suggested.
He shook his head no. I searched his face. His whole body was tense, his eyes were squeezed shut. And I had just made a joke about men cumming too fast. Oh. Oops. Okay, I needed to relax and give him a moment. I took a breath and tried to stop squirming.
I ran my hand over his back, making his hips buck. He whimpered a little. “It’s okay,” I assured him.
He opened his eyes and leaned down to lick my lips as he carefully pushed the rest of the way in. I groaned and tilted my hips to rub my clit against him. He reached down and put one huge hand on my hips to hold me in place as he sat up a little.
“I don’t want to be too fast,” he whispered.
“You won’t be,” I assured him.
He flashed me a skeptical look before he started to rock, and his eyes fluttered closed. He kept an even pace, which was surprising given how every muscle I touched was straining to hold back. I squirmed enough to wrap my legs around his ass and try to encourage him to speed up a little, which he did once my hips bucked. The new angle was perfect, with him in exactly the right spot. As I was writhing beneath him, he was growling a steady stream of orcish in my ear.
I clenched and grunted as I came, and that was what he had been waiting for. Suddenly, he was moving fast and deeper and pushing me into the mattress with every thrust. He came with a snarl, both hands holding me tight to him, as his hips bucked erratically.
His eyes opened and he watched me as he panted. I smiled as he hugged me tightly to his chest, then rubbed my back until I drifted off.
- - - -
I woke up in the big spoon position, with Iago between me and the door. I smiled at that; Iago thinking too hard was always something I could count on. I groaned softly as I realized that this probably meant days of overthinking this on his part. And mine, to be fair.
“Are you hurt?”
I snorted a little and opened my eyes to see him cranking his head around to try to see me without rolling over or jostling me. I gave him what must have been a fairly sardonic smile. “I’m fine. I was just thinking that we’re both at risk of freaking out right now.”
Iago stiffened. “You are upset?”
“Please be teasing me now!”
He narrowed his eyes at me, but cracked a tiny smile.
I laughed and hit him with my pillow, then laughed again at the shocked look on his face. That was when I got to see that Iago must have been really good at his job. I was disarmed of my pillow and had both wrists pulled over my head and pinned in one of his hands in an instant. Then he went absolutely still, his face mere inches from mine, and he sniffed me.
“You smell good.”
“I suspect a female orc wouldn’t let you get away with this,” I mused.
He grinned and let go of my hands. “No. She would scream and have me killed.”
“So, why try it with me?” I asked as I sat up and rubbed my wrists.
Shrugging, Iago explained, “Because I would try with a friend.”
“Really? And what would a friend do?”
He grinned harder and moved away from me before he answered, “Headbutt me and smash my nose.”
“Oh, really?” I crawled toward him and cupped his face in my hands. He was very still, but looked a little worried. He was completely shocked when I placed a quick kiss on the tip of his nose before leaning away. “No breaking each other's bones in this family, okay?”
“Yes, Mina,” he rumbled. It made me shiver. He just kept watching me. “Not hurt, right?”
“I’m fine,” I assured him.
“Good.”
“Mina?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
I was a bit taken aback by that and wasn’t sure what to say. I got all weird and formal and said, “You're welcome?” which earned me a happy orc sound at least. There was something that had been in the back of my mind for a while.
“Iago?”
“Yes?”
“You guys talk about having sex with me?”
His face was calm and serene, but he stopped breathing for a moment. “We talk about how to make you happy,” he hazarded. “You do not like being seen or interrupted. That is important. You were very upset when Erika saw you and Romeo.”
“Well, that is true,” I conceded.
“After that, you did not choose him again. Mac was not interrupted, and you still favour him.”
“Wait, no! That’s not how that worked!”
He nodded and fell silent, apparently waiting for me to explain.
“Wouldn’t it bother you if someone was watching?” I asked before I remembered. “Did you watch me and Romeo the first time?”
His face fell. “I didn’t know it would upset you. You came to our room instead of taking him to yours.” His voice was flat and calm. He was just explaining, not accusing.
“Yeah, I did,” I agreed. He relaxed a little. “I wasn’t expecting to have sex with him when I went in there.” Iago looked uncertain at that.
“You didn’t want that?”
“Well, there’s a loaded question if I’ve ever heard one. Yes, I wanted that,” I assured him before I admitted, “I just didn’t plan it.”
Iago gave a contemplative hum. “It would not bother me if they watched. They could stop me if I was … incorrect.”
I snorted and pulled the pillow over my face. He gently lifted a corner and peeked at me. “The absolute last thing I want is the peanut gallery commenting on the performance,” I snapped.
“I don’t understand.”
“No cheering section giving you directions. If I don’t like something, I’ll tell you to stop, understand?”
He still looked confused, but nodded his agreement anyway.
I groaned and covered my face with the pillow again. “I wasn’t planning on being grumpy,” I mumbled into the pillow. “I wanted to ask you how you thought this would work.”
He took the pillow off my face and dropped it on the floor. “What would work?”
“All of us sleeping together. Or not sleeping together. It’s going to feel weird sneaking around and more weird taking you away from the others for a quickie. Or not-so-quickie or whatever.”
He was still watching my face, waiting for me to start making sense.
“It will not bother us, and after a while it will not bother you either. Erika is fine. You will be fine. This is normal for us.” He thought for a moment. “We will make sure Tybalt is polite to you. He is feeling left out, but we aren’t children where everyone gets a treat.”
“Tybalt is feeling left out,” I echoed.
Iago nodded.
“Are you?”
He looked helpless for a moment. “You talk to me. You, um, touch me. That is more than I hoped. It is less than he expected.” I got a calculating look, followed by a question I wasn’t prepared for. “Are you doing this because you think you have to?”
