So Rare (Boys of South Chapel #3)

32. Hunter

Chapter 32

Hunter

NOW

Introductions were as awkward as expected.

Greedy is tellingly cool and almost too calm. Levi is clearly frustrated but trying to keep his shit together. Spence apologized over and over again, but after the dozenth time, I pulled him aside and asked him to please stop.

Sione’s here. He traveled all the way from Italy to be with me. There’s no sense in making anyone feel shitty about the situation we’ve found ourselves in. Particularly because I’m the root cause of all the drama.

We fumbled through dinner, then Greedy and Spence helped Gerald get settled in one of the guest rooms on the second floor.

Si’s luggage is conspicuously still taking up space in the middle of the living room. As if no one has decided—or accepted, perhaps?—that he’s also here to stay.

Levi’s washing dishes. He insisted he doesn’t want or need help, so I left him to it. Better to work out his frustration on a crusty baking dish now than to detonate when we all sit down to sort things out.

Once Gerald is settled and the dishes are done, the five of us agreed to gather around the bonfire pit down near the shore.

Sione and I ventured down here first. He built and started the fire quickly. Now, we’re settled back in two of the chairs, watching the flames dance as we wait for the others.

“You’re too far, Mahina,” he teases, reaching out and coaxing me to join him. “I come all this way to see you, and you think I’m going to waste a single second not holding you?”

Fucking swoon.

I’m in so much trouble.

Just like I was in Italy, I’m drawn to Sione like a moth to the flame. Rising to my feet, I cross the few steps between us, then allow him to guide me onto his lap.

“Lay back. Let me feel you.”

There’s nothing overtly sexual about his request. Rather, he wants to relax and hold me. Yet warmth spikes low in my belly all the same. He’s always had this effect on me. The ability to soothe my sharp edges. An innate knowledge of what I need, whether it be time, space, comfort, or assurance.

“When will the darkness come?” Si tenderly ghosts his fingertips over the left side of my rib cage where my one and only tattoo resides. I haven’t thought about the ink under my skin for months. But as soon as Sione touches it, awareness and connection surge to the forefront of my mind.

“My period started a few days ago.”

“You’re still so tense,” he remarks. He grips my shoulders and kneads into my muscles. “The Brit told me about your mum. About how she took you. And here I always thought your father was the shitty parent.”

It’s a fair assumption. My dad is the reason I left Italy—and by extension, Sione. When my father called last summer and gave me a “use it or lose it” ultimatum regarding my college fund, I made a choice that rocked both our worlds.

“She’s definitely worse now than she used to be.” I groan when Si hits a particularly tight spot between my neck and my shoulder blade. “That feels incredible,” I tell him, leaning forward to grant him more access. He works me over for a few minutes, his touch growing more sensual and reverent with every pass.

It’s the reminder I need, the nudge to address what he deserves to know.

“Before the others join us,” I start.

Sione stills, my low back putty in his very capable hands.

“I need you to know that I’m with them. All of them,” I clarify.

He hums in understanding, then resumes his ministrations. After a long, silent moment, he clears his throat. “I assumed as much. But what about us, Mahina? Does your soul still match with mine?”

Fucking swoon. Again. The heat in my belly warms further.

With a deep inhale, I allow myself several heartbeats to truly consider his question.

Greedy was my first love. Spence my partner, Dom, and lover. Levi is my boyfriend. Sione has always been and will always be my soul match.

“Nothing could unbraid my soul from yours,” I promise, grasping one of his hands. I guide it across the front of my body, then place it over my heart. It’s the truth. Like a phoenix reborn from the ashes, I came back to life during my year and a half in Italy with Sione. The fabric of who I am—the strongest, bravest, most lively parts of this version of Hunter—was cultivated with him by my side.

North Carolina broke me.

London irrevocably changed me.

It was Lake Como, Italy, under the light of the moon, with this sensual, spiritual man by my side, that truly brought me back to life.

“Is there room for me here as well?” Sione’s fingertips dance over the fabric of my T-shirt, right over the spot where my heart beats in my chest.

“There is,” I hedge. “As long as you’re okay with not being the only one for me.”

Sione glides his hand up and weaves his fingers in my hair, tilting my head back until he’s staring directly into my eyes. “I guess they don’t know about my nickname.”

I snort. “No. Although I’m pretty sure you’re the one who put yourself in my phone as The One and Only when we met.”

Sione’s laughter pierces the otherwise silent night, delighting my soul and bringing about a lightness I’ve so desperately craved.

“It was to remind you how to pronounce my name, Mahina. It’s not my fault that Sione rhymes with The One and Only.”

A light on the back deck flickers, tempering our laughter. Then Greedy, Levi, and Spence file out through the sliding door and start their descent to the beach.

I sit up straight. Sione makes no move to keep me in place.

“You two look cozy,” Spence remarks, approaching the fire pit and selecting a seat opposite us.

I rise up to greet him, but he raises both hands dismissively. “By all means. Don’t get up on my account.”

Spence typically means what he says and says what he means. He’s the least of my concerns right now, though.

Greedy shuffles past me next, grasping and squeezing one hand as he passes me, heading for the chair on Spence’s left side.

Levi moves to follow, his attention never flitting to me.

“Hey.” I step in front of him, attempting to cut him off at the pass. “Sit with me?” I ask, nodding to the two available seats to Spence’s right.

He veers right, brushing past me without actually making contact. “It looked like you already had a seat, Hunter.”

Flovely.

As he settles beside Greedy, I close my eyes and take a steady breath.

Rather than rejoin Sione or claim a chair of my own, I stay on my feet.

Tension crackles between the five of us, punctuated by the audible snaps and pops from the roaring fire.

“I know Sione’s arrival is unexpected,” I start, looking from Spence to Greedy to Levi. “But I’d like to deal with this head-on. It’s been a really intense few weeks, and it felt like we were finally making progress.” I seek Levi’s gaze, but his eyes are set on the fire.

If he won’t look at me… if he’s not even willing to try…

This can’t be happening.

No. determination rushes through me, fortifying me. It can’t happen. I won’t allow it. Not now, when we’ve fought so hard and come so damn far.

“Duke.”

His head snaps up at the callout, flames dancing in his dark blue eyes.

“You’re my wild card. The one I’m worried about the most.” I shoot Greedy an apologetic glance, then turn to Spence and offer him the same look.

Neither one of them reacts. They know what’s at stake just as well as I do.

“I’m not giving up on us.” I zero in on Levi again. “If you want out, you have to look me in the eye and say it. Otherwise, we’re going to work through this and figure it out together.”

Levi plants his feet wide, resting his elbows on his thighs with his head hung between his legs. He cracks the knuckles on both hands, although a few fingers on his right don’t make a sound.

I hold my breath, waiting and willing him to speak. To say anything at all.

“What, exactly, are you asking of me?”

A modicum of relief works its way through me, making it easier to breathe. Skirting around the fire, I step up in front of him. When he doesn’t immediately look up, I sink to my knees and force his gaze to meet mine.

Ignoring the jagged edges of beach rocks pressing into my skin, I take Levi’s hands and make my case. “I’m asking you to give this, to give us, a chance. To be flexible as we figure out how to operate as a unit. To accept that Sione was a significant part of my life and that he still is now.”

Levi shakes his head, his eyes falling closed. “I don’t even know him, Hunter. You want me to what? Give it a go and see how it feels next time we all fall into bed together?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Sione shoots to his feet.

He marches to my side and reaches one tatted hand down. With a long breath out, I take it and allow him to pull me to my feet.

“There’s an important piece of the puzzle missing here,” he says to Levi. He shifts back and crosses both arms over his chest, looking from man to man to man, then finally settling his gaze on me. “Hunter isn’t telling you something about me that you need to know.”

Swallowing past the emotion in my throat, I step up to him. “You don’t have to do this,” I say on a whisper, my words intended just for him. This wasn’t the direction I wanted this to go. It shouldn’t matter—Levi either wants this or he doesn’t.

“They’re too important to you, Mahina. I see it in your eyes. I feel it in the energy that surrounds them all. It’s okay.” He tucks my hair behind my ear once more. “I want them to know. It will make things easier.”

Eyes closed, I exhale and squeeze Si’s hand. Then, with an arm wrapped around his bicep, I hold him tight.

He takes his time assessing each man around the fire before finally speaking. “I have no sexual interest whatsoever in any of you.”

“Is that so?” Spence teases, resting an ankle over one knee. “You’re hetero, then?”

“No.”

All eyes are on Sione.

It means so much to me, that he’d open up about such intimate details with people who are practically strangers, but I hate that he has to at the same time.

“I’m demisexual,” he tells the group. “My heart, soul, body, and spirit belong to this woman. I want for no one else. I’ve only ever been intimately satisfied with her.”

His words cause heat to flood my cheeks. It’s the truth, though. Sione has only ever orgasmed by his own hand and while partnered with me.

“I’m not opposed to sharing her with you,” he continues, glancing at me for confirmation.

I nod emphatically. He’s on the right track.

“But I cannot and will not share the part of myself I reserve for her.”

Sione goes quiet, the only sounds now the crackling of the fire and the lapping of the lake water as it hits the rocks on the shore.

The silence isn’t awkward. Rather it feels as though we’re all processing the information he’s offered.

His truth can be difficult to understand. It took me a while to comprehend the distinctions between demisexuality and asexuality. Sione was patient with me and willing to answer my questions and redirect me when I wasn’t quite grasping a facet of his explanation.

He’s infinitely tolerant and so beautifully self-assured. He’s truly one of a kind. Sione: my one and only.

The silence is interrupted when Spence emits a low whistle. “Thank you for sharing that with us.”

Greedy nods, his lips pressed into a thoughtful line.

Levi clears his throat, looking from Greedy to Spence, then up to me. Finally, his gaze locks with Sione’s.

“I’m sorry you felt like you had to out yourself to get your point across. I feel like shit that I put you in that position, man.”

“It helped, though, yes?”

“Yeah. It did.” Levi rises to his feet, strides forward, and offers Sione his hand. “Looking forward to getting to know you.” Before Sione can respond, Levi is wrapping him up in a hug and thumping him on the back.

“Right. Well, then. This is starting to feel like an original episode of All Creatures Great and Small . Let’s wrap up this part of the evening, shall we?” Spence, who’s usually much more composed and patient, is clearly still on edge from the last few days.

Rightfully so. I make a mental note to carve out some time for just the two of us tomorrow.

“In summation,” Spence continues, “Sione is with Hunter and only Hunter. Hunter is with Sione. And with me. And with Garrett. And with Levi.”

I huff. “When you put it like that—” I huff.

“I’m with Hunter and with Levi,” he continues, paying me no mind. “On occasion, Garrett isn’t completely closed off to the idea of me giving him a hand—literally.”

“Yikes,” Greedy shakes his head and chuckles.

“Am I wrong?” Spence pushes.

Greedy looks at me, then Levi, before finally raising both brows at Spence. “Not entirely,” he admits. “But only when we’re all together.”

“Noted,” Spence states. “Levi is with Hunter and with Garrett and with me.” He surveys each of us, deadpan. “Any objections, amendments, or corrections to what’s just been shared?”

We’re all silent for a breath. Then Levi snickers, and a moment later, Greedy loses it, doubling over with laughter.

I press my lips together to fight back my own smirk. Listing out our sexual dynamics like he’s reading minutes from a board meeting is way too on-brand for Spence.

“Are you going to write that all down somewhere for future reference?” Sione asks.

I groan. I know he’s teasing, but—

“Excellent idea.” Spence pulls out his phone and makes a note, then stashes it back in his pocket. “I’ll distribute a draft memo of our dynamic to each of you by tomorrow at noon for your review.”