Page 7 of For the Night

“Consider it done,” Tate replied. “For the record, that scented candle has a calming effect.”

“So do horse tranquilizers. You got any’a those?” Ash retorted.

Tate smiled sympathetically. “I’ll see what I can find.”

I tugged on Ash’s hand, then sat down on the lounger again, and Tate soon returned to Kingsley’s embrace.

Ash moved one of the umbrellas over to us while I flipped open the pizza box and grabbed a cold beer for him. More ice for my glass too.

“You’re an angel,” he said.

“So are you. A shameless one.” I felt the need to add the last part as he stripped down to boxer briefs.

I was so used to it. The men out here couldn’t spell modesty.

“To Sinead O’Connor,” I said, holding up my glass of iced tea. A drop of condensation fell on my thigh.

He chuckled tiredly and clinked his bottle with my glass.

I didn’t push him immediately, wanting him to get a breather and at least have a slice. But I was ready for answers. He’d left our community so suddenly after he and Nathan had broken up, and even though he’d stayed in touch with some of us, he’d made it clear that certain topics were off-limits.

The few times I’d met up with Ash the last year, he’d been a sneak. AKA, his kids had been nearby.

His chest and right arm were graced with countless dedications to his family. To Nathan too. The date they’d met, the day they’d gotten married, all four kids’ birthdays, their favorite toys—particularly LEGO for Mikey, who was obsessed. Four baby bottles, lyrics, road trip destinations from their summer vacations… Only a few subtle hints that were kink-related. A bundle of rope because Nathan was a rigger. A collection of knives. The silhouette of a forest in the background, whispering of Ash’s love for primal takedowns.

“Lucian told me you moved,” I mentioned, taking a bite of my pizza slice.

He nodded once and chewed. “Yeah, I was a dumbass. I pretty much bought Nate’s dream house, hoping it would remind him of our old hopes to get outta the city and have a big backyard.”

I lifted my brows.

He shook his head to himself. “He told me to go fuck myself.”

That…didn’t sound like Nathan. “In those words?”

Ash shrugged. “He got all mad—like he couldn’t form any words, and he shook his head at me and said he couldn’t believe I’d done that.”

That sounded like Nathan.

“It’s his way of telling me to go fuck myself,” he finished.

I wasn’t so sure, though I didn’t know Nathan that well. The bondage community was its own tight-knit group, always had been, so we’d been closer with Ash. But even so…

“You know him best,” I made sure to say first. “But from an outside perspective? I think he could be hurt. Maybe he just saw you moving forward with plans that used to belong to you as a couple.”

“Except, I told him I wanted him to consider givin’ us a try again,” he said.

Oh.

“When was this?” I wondered.

“Before the holidays. That’s when I moved in.”

Got it.

So a sensitive time of year…with a family split in two after they’d celebrated so many Christmases together…

Come to think about it, it might’ve been their second holiday apart. I wasn’t sure—but I had a more pressing question.

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