Page 74 of Powerless
"Get out of here. I already saw you."
"No one told you I get extra benefits with the medic?" Reaper smirked, stalking toward me. "What did you think? Good turnout?"
"Yeah, really good. Amazing, even." I ran my hands through my hair and blew out a breath. "Now I'm dying to wind down with a drink and foot rub."
"I was hoping you'd say that." His arm hooked around my waist, drawing me against him for a deep kiss. "Let's go home, sugar."
Twenty-Seven
MARIPOSA
"What's this?" I gasped in shock. "You're bringing me a drink?"
"Don't get too excited," Reaper smiled in spite of his grumbling. "We're still in the honeymoon phase."
He handed me a glass of wine, then moved my legs so I could extend them across his lap.
"Then I'll enjoy it while it lasts," I sighed in utter bliss, swirling the wine while his thumbs pressed into the arch of my foot.
"I'll make sure you do." His voice rumbled like a purr as his hands worked magic into my sore feet. "Did Shadow apologize to you?"
"No, not yet." I smacked my lips lightly with a sip of wine.
Reaper grunted out a sound of displeasure while gently squeezing around my ankle. "He needs to get on that shit."
"He's uncomfortable around crowds, right? All the people in my office must have made him nervous." I took another delicate sip. "Getting an apology is not even a big deal to me. As long as it doesn't happen again and it trulywasa misunderstanding—“
"It's a big deal to me," Reaper snarled. "The apology itself and the principal of the matter. He cannot set the precedent of treating club women like whores, nor can he disobey a direct order from me. If he doesn't come to you tomorrow, I'll have to expand on his punishment for disobedience." His gaze softened as it traveled up the length of my legs. "You don't seem too upset by what he did anymore."
"I think talking to you right after, and having some time after the initial shock wore off," I swallowed another sip of wine, "I realized there was nothing really traumatic or awful about it. He didn't hurt me or coerce me, really. I didn't ruin things with you. It's in the past now and I'm at peace with it."
"So youdidenjoy it then," he teased. "Shadow got a nice, fat cock for ya?"
"Might I remind you that my feet areveryclose to your balls, Rory."
"And they'll be curling in ecstasy before you're done with that wine, sugar lips." His fingers trailed up my calves with a devilish grin.
"Something I wanted to ask you," I gave my liquid courage another swirl, "what rule did I break? You mentioned it in the bath that night."
Reaper's hands rested on my shins as his head leaned back on the couch with a soft sigh.
"Sharing partners is taken very seriously in the culture I grew up in," he explained. "It's almost on par with moving in together, or even engagement in broader society. Outsiders thought we were total hedonists, addicted to sex and fucking anyone we looked at. But that couldn't be further from the truth."
"It was a relationship," I said. "A serious one, just with more than two people."
"Exactly," he nodded. "Our tradition was that the man would suggest another person to bring into the love life and eventually, bedroom. Usually it was someone the couple already knew and trusted."
"A mutual friend," I realized.
"Yes. Doing this was a sign that he trusted and loved his woman so much, he felt she deserved the love of another person in addition to his. Another partner to support her emotionally when the first man had other obligations. Someone to please her sexually in ways the first could not, or just to double her pleasure in general." He smiled broadly at that.
"That is fascinating," I breathed. "Didn't the men get jealous?"
"Sure, at times. But here's where the rules come in." He lifted a finger to count off. "Each person in the primary couple had the right to veto other partners. So if a woman wasn't into her man's suggestions, she could reject them. Likewise if she started to like someone her man didn't approve of, he could forbid that person from entering the relationship."
"I see." My brain soaked up this information like a sponge. I had no idea societies like this even existed. "So because you didn't approve of Shadow..."
Reaper shrugged, placing his hands back on my legs. "I never considered him for you, honestly. If he made you happy, I don't think I'd mind. That doesn't seem to be the case, though." He turned his head to the side, looking at me with sexy, hooded eyes. "That's all this is really about. Showing that I trust you and I want you to be happy."
