Page 27 of Love You Like That (Excess All Areas 4)

God, why did they always look at each other as if they were burning for each other from the inside out? One evening on the tour bus, she was going to ask Alex, get him to explain the whole deal. She knew the basics. Chaya had been abducted by a neighbour as a child, and Ben had found her in a warehouse. But she wondered what was holding them back from getting together.

“It’s shitty…how careless people are around deafness,” Alex said.

Zoe shrugged. “It is what it is. Like, Ben, he just didn’t think through what his joke meant.”

“Yeah, but Rich was just a dick, too. Talking with his back to you on purpose. Muttering things he knew you couldn’t hear.”

“Now I feel even worse,” Ben said. “Sorry for piling on.”

“It’s fine.”

Alex placed his hand on her arm, his palm warm to her skin. Concern filled his eyes. “Stop saying shit is fine when it’s not fine.”

“I can’t get angry every time someone gets mad because I don’t know they’re speaking to me, or they say something insensitive, or they exclude me from a conversation, Alex.” Lord knew, at first, she had. Railing against what was happening to her, every slight became exacerbated. “It happens too often, and I’d be nothing but angry. And where does that get me? Nowhere. I’ve learned to roll with it. Stay calm. Keep my own company. It’s healthier.”

“That’s a positive attitude, but I wish the world was less ableist.” Alex squeezed her arm and let go.

Zoe thought back to her conversation with Rich. “Why do you have a marimba on the album, anyway? It seems really unusual.”

“Because Alex likes his instruments like his lovers. Varied and extensive,” Ben said, and Alex raised his middle finger at his older brother.

Yet another reason she should stop this fascination with him. While she wanted to break her dry spell, she also wondered what it would feel like to meet a person who wanted to build something with her. A relationship. A life. Everything in Alex’s life was temporary.

“Harsh, but fair,” Alex said with a laugh. “I just went a bit wild layering sound on the last album.”

“What about you?” Chaya asked. “Are you on book two yet?”

“I am,” she said, enthusiastically, before taking a large gulp of the cool, white wine.

Chaya grinned. “Is it still set at the BDSM sex club?”

“You’re reading books set in a sex club?” Ben asked. “Sounds hot.”

“It totally is. This one is the scarred barman who wasn’t able to save his wife from a fire, and a new trainee in the club.”

“You can train for BDSM?” Ben asked.

Zoe shrugged. “I’m not an expert on how sex clubs work in general, but in this series, the Doms and Dommes will help train you, and the club introduces you to people who match your needs and preferences. So, masochists with sadists. Subs with doms.”

“I just finished the first book,” Chaya said. “It was incredible. The garden chase scene where he kept catching her and pinning her down was so hot.”

Ben looked at Chaya. “You like that kind of thing? A guy chasing you after everything you went through?”

“I’ve played it safe for a long time. And what happened to me has already taken enough away from me. But, I guess, in reading these books, I can see how, with the right man, things I’ve lived in fear of, might not be quite so fearful.”

“Babe,” Ben said, as he gently pulled Chaya to him and kissed the top of her head. He muttered something else. Words she couldn’t lipread.

Chaya shrugged, easing herself away from Ben. “Anyway. I don’t know. But I guess what I like about the books is consent is key. There’s an upfront discussion of preferences and needs. Oh, and the women always orgasm, which is so not real life.”

Alex huffed. “That’s just fucking lazy.”

Zoe glared at him. “The woman is lazy for not coming?”

“Steady, Rocky. No. The person the woman is with is lazy for not working a bit harder to make sure she got off. Everyone deserves orgasms.”

“This is so not what I thought we’d be discussing over dinner.” Zoe stabbed a piece of chicken, even as heat and arousal flooded her body.

Alex leaned close to her hearing aid. “Would you rather discuss the imaginary sex lives of imaginary characters, or should we talk about yours?”

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