Damnation, I wasn’t on board with this. My body was already trembling, shaking the hell out of my clammy hands.

Ashley held on, his fingers repeatedly clenching and loosening around mine, telling me he was at my side. I didn’t know if his proximity would help or hinder my ability to perform. Guilt was already pressing in.

Priest knelt between my legs and gripped the backs of my thighs. My breath hitched.

Leaning around me, he glanced at my bound hands. Ashley didn’t release my fingers. Priest showed no reaction to it.

“Ready?” Madwulf balanced the hourglass on his thigh.

“Give me a second.” Priest scowled at him. “And stop talking, arsehole.”

Sounds of snickering wafted through the cottage.

I hated this. Hated every second that coiled my insides tighter and harder. I couldn’t breathe.

Priest sat back on his heels, hooked my legs around his waist, and lifted my thighs so that they rested atop his. Discreetly straightening the hem of my shirt, he kept me covered as he inched closer on his knees.

The position raised me higher up his muscled thighs until I straddled his lap. He kept an eye on my hands behind me, ensuring the rope didn’t tighten and dig into my wrists.

I was entirely at his mercy, with my legs spread around him and my arms bound. A month ago, I would’ve resented him for this. A month ago, he was the one in restraints. So much had changed since I’d last seen him, but the one true constant was and always would be his obsession with keeping me safe.

He softly glided his hands up my thighs, causing my breaths to quicken. Ashley squeezed my fingers and made a deep threatening noise in his throat. A sound meant for Priest’s ears only.

I couldn’t look at Ashley, couldn’t think about him if I wanted this to work. He would die if Priest failed. I didn’t know what the plan was, but it obviously required Priest to fuck me first.

The shaking in my limbs worsened. I bit down on the gag and met his eyes, pleading, soundlessly screaming. For what I didn’t know.

Enforced contact with his masculine heat and chiseled physique softened me a little. But what if I couldn’t do this? What if he couldn’t make me come?

He leaned in between Ashley and me and put his mouth at my ear. “Relax.” A guttural whisper. “We’ve done this hundreds of times.”

Not with an audience. And certainly not with a protective lover trussed up beside me.

Hundreds of times. Confound it, Ashley had heard that. He didn’t react, didn’t move a muscle, but his ear was right next to mine. He now knew that Priest and I had shared much more than one night together.