Page 195 of Gathered Sparkle

I swat at his head, half laughing. “Oh,shut up.”

His laughter vibrates through me when I shift slightly to look at him, but then his tone drops into something more serious. “But my guy, Ric, here…” He glances at Ace. “He doesn’t want to be touched by anyone but her. Is that going to fly?”

“We know that.” Koen leans back in his chair. “And it’s no problem. We’ll be mindful.”

Sylus’s gaze shifts to Nicholas, eyes narrowing with that teasing intensity only he can pull off. “I was more worried about thenew guy.”

Nicholas snorts. “No offense, Alaric, but I wasn’t planning on touching you anyway.”

“Same here.” A smile tugs at Ace’s lips. “Thanks, man.”

“Good.” Sylus nods, his energy tempered with a rare seriousness. “Koen, what about you?”

“As long as you guys keep your hands on her, I’m good.”

“Fair,” Sylus hums, clearly approving. Then his gaze flicks to Nicholas, studying the hesitation in his expression. “Short King?” Nicholas’s eyes shift between Koen and me, apparently searching for guidance. “Huh…” Sylus drawls, his brow lifting as if he’s just put something together. “Now that’s interesting.”

“We could use Koen’s stoplight system,” I offer quickly to ensure Nicholas doesn’t get too uncomfortable under Sylus’s scrutiny.

“What’s that?” Ace asks.

“We’ll check in with her and each other,” Koen explains. “When I ask for your color, you say green if you’re enjoying things, yellow if you’re getting unsure, and red if you want to stop immediately. And, of course, you can call out your color even if no one asks.”

Sylus nods. “I like that.”

Koen’s gaze flicks to Nicholas. “Consent isn’t fixed. If you find a new boundary, you can always pull back.”

“Yeah.” Nicholas exhales slowly, his shoulders relaxing. “I’m good with that.”

Sylus kisses the top of my head. “All right, sounds like a plan.”

“What about you?” Koen asks Sylus. “What are your boundaries?”

“He doesn’t have boundaries.” I laugh, rolling my eyes. “He has kinks.”

Koen raises an eyebrow, intrigue curling through his expression. “Kinks?” He eyes Sylus. “What kind of kinks?”

“You little minx,” Sylus growls out playfully, his teeth sinking lightly into the side of my throat, making me pull up my shoulder in defense.

“What?” I smirk, my voice dripping with innocence. “If you’re going to air my dirty laundry, I’m airing yours.”

“Okay, now I’m curious too.” Ace leans in. “What kind of kink?”

“Somnophilia.” Sylus shrugs.

“Somno-what?” Ace frowns.

Koen’s brows knit together, suspicion flashing in his eyes. “You’redruggingher?”

“No!” I snort, shaking my head. “He just… plays with me while I’m asleep.Consensually.”

“And you don’t notice?” Koen furrows his brows.

“I wake upeventually.” I shrug, but the heat rises to my cheeks. “Although, that’s part of the fun. At least for me.”

“So you’re into fucking her when she’s unconscious?” Koen asks, but there is no judgment in his tone, only curiosity.

“It’s not about her being unconscious.” I shoot him a look. “I mean,yes, but…” Sylus pauses, pushing my hair from my shoulder. “It’s about trust. The stillness. Knowing she’ll feel everything in the morning.” He nuzzles my neck before he shrugs again. “It’s hard to explain.”

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