A quiet moment passed between them before Ashley continued. “My sister was in her twenties and still unwed. She refused every offer, waiting for Priest. By this time, Priest and I were sixteen and eighteen, respectively. We were young, restless, and strung tight with sexual energy, of which we put to use on the local girls.”

“But we spent most of our time alone in this manor, especially during the winter months,” Priest said. “Curiosity and tedium brought forth…experimentation.”

“You touched each other.” I smiled softly, captivated by this side of them.

“Aye.” Priest nuzzled my neck. “Hands reaching into trousers. A few strokes here and there. It felt good. Never awkward. We both preferred females, but more than that, we preferred each other’s company. When those interactions led to opening our breeches and spending our seed together, it didn’t bother us.”

“Did Arabella know?” I asked.

“No.” Ashley moved his hand to my face, clearing away a few wispy curls. “I overheard her talking to her lady’s maid, plotting how she was going to sneak into Priest’s room that night and seduce him. I knew my sister. She would’ve succeeded.”

“So little faith in me,” Priest drawled.

“She was wearing you down. You said so yourself.” With a straight face, Ashley said, “I ate an orange, swished the juice through my teeth, and smeared it on my lips.”

“Oh no.” I gasped. “You didn’t.”

“He did.” Priest chuckled. “The arsehole sneaked into my bed and put his mouth on me. Sucked my cock right down his throat. No one had ever done that before, and I only lasted—”

“Less than a minute. I daresay he embarrassed himself.” Ashley smiled a rare smile, holding my gaze. “My tenacious sister crept into his room an hour later to find her dear Priest nursing a vile rash on his groin. Needless to say, she believed he had syphilis and thereby swore him off once and for all.”

Just like our ruse with Arabella.

“You’re an evil genius, Ashley Cutler.” I leaned forward and kissed his sculpted lips.

“The evil part is right.” Priest gave a halfhearted grunt. “I still don’t trust his mouth near my cock.”

I recalled what I knew about Ashley’s carnal nature, his unseemly manners. The first time he was intimate with me, he brutally took me in my backside. Before that had been a string of merciless spankings.

“Do you spank Priest?” I fought a smile.

Priest tensed behind me. “I’d like to see him try.”

All right. That answered that.

“What happened with Arabella?” I asked.

“She found another fellow to besiege. A fisherman. Of course, my parents did not approve.” Ashley looked at me with his heart in his eyes. “He didn’t show her the same respect Priest had. She got pregnant, banished from society, and you know the rest.”

She’d died in childbirth.