“It’s something we can talk about,” Zaid says, chuckling. He kisses my temple. “I don’t think any of us would be opposed either.”
“Have any of you…shared a girl before?” I ask, unsure if I actually want the answer to that question. “Besides yesterday, I mean.”
“You already know I didn’t,” Zaid says, his hand smoothing up and down my arm. “And as for the others? I’m not sure, but I honestly don’t think so. Actually, I’m ninety-nine percent positive they’ve never even considered it.”
A thrill shoots through me.
Is it wrong that I feel pride at being the first one they would be willing to share? That I want to find all their past lovers, give them the middle finger, and scream, “Suck it,” at the top of my lungs?
Zaid continues to hold me as I process that revelation.
“So…” Zaid begins.
“So?” I tilt my head to stare up at him.
“What are your thoughts on what Hades said? About you being the final member of our team?”
I anxiously lick my lips. “I…I don’t know how I feel about it, to be honest. None of us have any memories of all this time we apparently had together. How can I miss what I don’tremember? But at the same time, it pisses me the fuck off. Whoever is behind this hurt not only me, but also you guys. We could’ve had a life together, and it was just…stolen.”
I take a deep breath, struggling to speak. “Then I wonder if this is all secretly a blessing in disguise. What if we hated each other before I went missing? What if we were only friends, or you guys had girlfriends, or I had a boyfriend, or?—”
Zaid cuts off my ramblings with a heated, passionate kiss I feel all the way in the marrow of my bones, imprinted on my very soul.
“None of us have memories of that time,” he begins, his voice raspy. “But I can promise you that all of us were in love with you. I know it, they know it, and I think you know it too. I refuse to believe there was ever a timeline we weren’t all ardently devoted to you. We loved you then, we love you now, and we’ll love you in the next life. Don’t you feel it? We’re…connected. Our souls are tethered together. It’s why you were drawn to us in the first place—and I don’t think it was to reap my soul. You’re ours, Thea, and we’re yours. Always.”
The vehemence of his statement brings an unexpected lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. It’s impossible to disagree with him when he’s staring at me like that—like I own him, heart, body, and soul.
“Always,” I agree, snuggling against him.
It’s the only thing I can think to say.
Always.
Always.
Always.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
KRYSTIAN
Something is different when I wake up the next morning.
I…remember.
I remember everything that happened the night before, when I was Krys.
Holy fuck.
That has never happened to me before.
I remember discussing the plan for today with Everett and Rafe, before all of us went silent, transfixed by the cries and moans drifting through the door. I remember stalking forward, placing my hand on the knob, and preparing to barge inside. But…something stopped me.
Zaid’s whispered confession about this being his first time.
I remember the shame that filled me when I thought about my own sordid past and the flings with girls I used and discarded. Then, I remember thinking—why not let Zaid have his moment?
It took considerable self-restraint, but I returned to the queen-sized bed and sat down stiffly, my cock feeling like granite in my pants.
