Page 179 of Valkyrie Unknown

We rearranged ourselves, so we could lay on the couch instead. Being next to Zeke now, bare skin on bare skin… This was a moment I’d remember for a long time.

He kissed lightly along my shoulder, his hand draped over my stomach.

“How was Davyn?” His tone was playful.

I should be bothered that Zeke wanted to have this conversation instead of cuddling.

It was one of the things I liked about what I had with him, though. We could talk, we could be open, and there was no judgement.

What was he expecting as an answer, though? “It wasn’t really Davyn.”

“No, it was Davyn from your dreams.”

It wasn’t. The big picture had been right with Davyn in the illusion, but the details were all wrong. “No, it was Davyn from my worst fears.”

Zeke pressed closer. “So he was horrible in bed.”

“I don’t fear bad sex.” Gods knew I’d experienced enough of it in real life to realize it was something that happened.

“Then he was incredible?” Zeke asked.

Sex with pretend Davyn had been amazing. Enough that remembering it after what I’d just done with Zeke almost felt wrong. Heat spread over my cheeks. “Why?”

“Did you know when you blush, it covers your whole body?” Zeke kissed the back of my neck. “If you’re not going to fuck him, I will.”

The words hit hard. Like I’d been doused in a hot bath full of ice cubes. I both wanted to see the men together, and hated the thought. Especially since Davyn and I agreed we wouldn’t do that.

Especially since Davyn believed Zeke and I were only temporary.

The only answer I could summon was a hard laugh.

“What?” Zeke prodded.

“You hate each other.”

“There are things we strongly dislike about each other.”

I couldn’t reconcile the idea. Zeke was teasing me, but the possibility felt real—him and Davyn together—and I both liked and loathed the idea. “Then it’s not even hate fucking, it’s strong-dislike fucking. That’s not a thing.”

“I’m just saying…” Zeke trailed off.

“Saying what?”

“If you don’t grab him, you’re going to have to watch him with someone else.”

Someone else, rather thanwatch him with me.I hated that idea completely, but it wasn’t my choice. After the conversation I’d had with Davyn, both of us agreeing we were better off not getting physical, seeing him with other people was going to happen.

It felt odd to have Zeke pushing this, though. “What about you and me?”

“What about us?” He sounded curious rather than cold.

“I know we haven’t promised each other forever, but there’s something here.” This was a conversation we needed to have anyway, but it terrified me and I couldn’t put thewhyinto words. “I don’t get this close to people.”But I can’t breathe when you’re not around. “Are we exclusive?”No.

That was selfish of me.

“Not exclusivity,” Zeke said. “Just honesty. If we really have eternity ahead of us, we’re going to want to live and explore, rather than committing to forever before we’re thirty.”

A huff escaped my chest. Nothing about this conversation felt normal, but his words felt right. Was that fucked up?

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