“Well, Ashley and I prefer the softer, lovelier, fiercer sex… As it happens, we prefer one woman in particular, who is eager to do more with her life than breed heirs and attend society dinners.” He smiled softly. “You’re the glue, Bennett. The reason we’re here. Think about it. Ashley and I fell in love with the same woman. Was that coincidence? Or something more profound? You know what I think?” He traced his thumb along my bottom lip. “You’re the overruling destiny that he and I have been traveling toward our whole lives. Our paths forked, veered, crossed, and forked again a dozen times. And here we are, right where we started. With you.”

I loved the sound of that. So much. My hand went to my mouth as a hot rush of tears swelled.

“Damn you.” I slapped at the trickle of moisture that leaked from my eyes. “I don’t want to cry anymore.”

“They’re bold tears. Dauntless. God knows you’ve earned them.” He slipped the backs of his fingers along my cheek. “So resilient and tough, yet at the same time, beautifully delicate.”

“I’m none of those things, Priest. I’m scared. I remember the devastation on your face in Nassau when Ashley left you. Losing him ruined you so completely you drowned yourself in drink. I knew then that I couldn’t compete with your lover. And I know it now, seeing the way you look at each other. I’m so afraid of being shut out.”

“The night I stole your compass, we were in your private cabin, and you asked me why I was there. Do you remember what I said?”

“Why are you here?”

“You know why.”

“You want to fuck me.”

“That’s a given, but not nearly the heart of it.”

“What, pray tell, could be the heart of your intentions, if not to wet your cock?”

“It’s really quite simple. I want to take care of you.”

I leaned into the hand he held on my cheek. “You want to take care of me.”

“More than anything. I want to spend the rest of my life protecting and worshiping you.” His fingers shifted to my hair and clenched with shocking assertiveness. “I want to make love to my wife. It’s been two years, Bennett.”

A flame of desire, that which lay dormant for so long, stirred between my legs.

I glanced toward the bathing chamber, searching for Ashley, and there he was. Leaning near the doorway, wearing only his breeches, he watched us with a dark, heated look that spiked the temperature of my blood to dizzying heights.

“The bath is ready.” He pushed away from the wall and vanished inside the chamber.

Priest slid his arms beneath me and drew me to his chest as he stood.