Page 126 of Twisted Legacy

“Of course he does. We’ve already talked about it.”

“He’s backing down?”

“No. We’re sharing her.”

“You’re what?”

He gives me a look that says I’m crazy. It feels crazy to be having this conversation with the most level-headed person in our group.

“You heard me. We both want her. So we’re sharing her. Thea can’t come between us, because we’re not forcing her to choose one of us over the other.”

I try to wrap my head around what he’s saying. No woman in the history of The League of the Daggered Ravens has ever been okay with that type of setup. They always prefer one league member, one Trium member, over the other. Even when my friends and I share women, they have a preference and it’s not usually Holden with his degradation kink.

“Is Finn still over there?”

“I haven’t seen Finn. I'm guessing he’s in his room.”

“I just came from Finn’s room. He wasn’t in there, which is why I came over here, thinking he was with you. So, he wasn’t with you?”

Holden looks confused when he asks, “Why would he be?”

“To um, moderate?”

Now the look he’s giving me says I’m an idiot. “Thea doesn’t need to be coerced into letting me touch her.”

“Not yet, but we’ve seen how they react once you—”

“Thea knows what she’s getting into. She’s had adequate time to tell me to stop. She hasn’t yet.”

“She will, when things get too intense.”

“Ifshe does, then our playtime is over.”

“Did you at least get an NDA? You didn’t, did you? Fuck, Holden. At least take care of that before you decide to trust her.”

“You’re right. I have the paperwork printed, and I meant to talk to her about it last night, but she wasn’t in the right headspace.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, she’s taking sleeping pills, probably more than the recommended dose, because she doesn’t want to deal with her life or her dreams.”

“That’s not true. She wasn’t medicated the night she almost cut Finn.”

“If you remember, we were all at a party and she was drinking. She’s smart enough not to mix the two.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “At any rate, that’s the reason I was over there last night. I went to check on her and I fell asleep.”

“You fell asleep?”

“Mmm.” He moves to the coffee maker.

I don’t know how to process that statement. It’s small, but it’s huge. Holden doesn’t sleep and refuses to take sleeping aids because of how they make him feel, which explains why he’s invested in Thea’s use. “Did you take a pill too?”

“No. I just laid down on the bed and dozed off after we got in the tub.”

“The tub?”

He throws up his hands. “Geez Pax. What are you struggling with here?”

“Everything! How are you so calm right now, talking about this? You bathed together? You slept in her bed? Those things require touching…”

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