My blond hair hung in wild, heavy coils to my waist. When it was wet, it was even longer. And shiny. Healthy.

I was healthy.

“Your skin is like alabaster.” Ashley’s eyes fevered as he blatantly stared at my naked flesh, which hadn’t seen sunlight in two months. “You’re a raving beauty clad in any garment. But one glimpse of you without clothes is enough to send a lethal jolt along a hungry man’s cock.”

I sighed, biting back a smile.

“I love her mouth.” Priest clasped my hand and led me to the bath. “It’s not like that of a sweet girl in her first bloom. Bennett’s mouth is impish, seductive, and full of teeth, made for biting, licking, and sucking all rationale from a man’s head.” He gave my bare backside a hard slap, making me yelp. “In the bath, madam.”

I lifted my legs over the edge and into the warm water, craning my neck to look at him.

He untied the flap on his breeches and pushed the material to the marble floor, exposing his relaxed cock, the full length of his musculature, and the scars that had burned most of his left leg.

His eyes caught mine, warning me not to ask about the injury.

I shifted and met Ashley’s gaze. No surprise or horror there. He already knew about them.

“Did he tell you how he got them?” I asked Ashley.

He nodded.

“This is exactly what I was talking about.” A stab of pain hit my stomach, like a tiny knife sinking its way in. “You share things between you. Secrets, friendship, childhood, trust… Since I’m not part of that fraternity—”

“It happened in Nassau.” The water splashed beside me as Priest slid into the bath.

His arm hooked around my back, taking me with him. The steps were designed for sitting, and after a few adjustments, he had us positioned on one with me on his lap. I leaned back against his chest, letting the surface of the water rise to my nipples, lapping at the sensitive tips.

He held me close, his mouth beside my ear, and told me the story.

“You saw what I looked like when Ashley left me. But you didn’t witness my self-destruction when I realized I’d lost you, too.” He found my hand beneath the water and moved it to the bubbled flesh on his thigh. “I rowed a jolly boat out to sea and set it afire.”

“What?” My pulse exploded as I tried to push up. “While you were in it?”

He trapped me against his chest, the bar of his arm like iron across my midsection. “I wanted to die. Positively the least manly thing I’ve attempted in my life. The fire only consumed one leg before the boat overset and doused me in the sea. I was content to drown there, but a fisherman pulled me out.”