Entrusted (Club Destiny #7)(30)
Author: Nicole Edwards

When the waiter interrupted to bring salads, the table quieted and Elijah couldn’t help but wonder whether he’d darkened the mood at the table. A minute or two later, Samantha’s gaze aligned with his and he saw that she didn’t seem at all bothered by their topic of discussion. No, now she just looked curious.

“So, can I ask a personal question?” Samantha asked as they ate.

Elijah paused, his salad fork resting against his plate. “Of course.”

“Have you ever done this before?”

Well, that was about as personal as any question could get. Not that Elijah minded because he received that question quite frequently. He interacted with many people who shared the same lifestyle that he did and because of how taboo some people felt it was, there were often inquisitions into how many polyamorous relationships he’d been a part of.

“My official answer to that is one,” he said easily. “If you’re asking how many threesomes I’ve interacted with, it has been several. However, I assure you that I’ve always been safe.”

“Only one of them was permanent?”

“I’m not sure I’d call it permanent. More like long term. Beth had believed it was forever.”

“You were in a threesome with your wife?” Sam asked, sounding surprised.

“My wife and my best friend, James. Why? Did you think this was something I came up with recently?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to assume,” Sam answered, glancing down.

Elijah reached over and lifted her chin with his finger. “I don’t mind answering questions,” he told her. “This is an important topic.” Considering. “So, yes, technically, I’ve only been in a long term polyamorous relationship once. It unfortunately came to an end when Beth got sick.”

Sam’s eyes were shiny, her emotions right there for anyone to see. Elijah found that endearing.

Elijah decided to steer the conversation back toward Samantha for now. He didn’t want to be an emotional drain on her tonight. He had a lot of baggage, he knew it, and from the looks of it, Samantha and Logan knew it too. There would be a better time and place to talk about all of the details later. “And how about you? How many threesomes have you been a part of?”

Elijah waited for Samantha to answer, knowing full well what the answer was. He’d already questioned Logan about this exact subject. Considering Logan had approached him, Elijah had been curious as to what Logan and Sam were interested in. What their intentions were.

“Two…” Sam hesitated.

“Only two?” he asked, setting his fork down on his salad plate and pushing it away.

“Yes. I didn’t engage in this sort of activity prior to meeting Logan. And since we got together,” she explained, glancing over at Logan briefly, “there have been two men who I was involved with.”

“And you enjoy that sort of interaction?”

“Yes.” Samantha’s straightforward answer made Elijah smile.

“And you’re looking to find a more permanent – as you referred to it – person to be involved with?”

The hesitation that followed was the answer Elijah was looking for. Samantha might know what she wanted, but how she was to go about asking for it, she still appeared confused.

Based on what he understood, Samantha enjoyed threesomes; however, she seemed to establish attachments to the men she was with. For Logan, he wasn’t looking for temporary. Not that he seemed interested in permanent, but the man was looking for something more. That he was certain of.

Elijah was happy to say, he believed he could offer them both what they wanted. And in return, he’d get what he needed.

Chapter Nine

Sam stared back at Elijah, wondering how she should answer the question. Truth be told, she’d already started to see where Elijah was going with the conversation and she couldn’t help but realize exactly what the man was implying.

Glancing over at Logan, then back to Elijah, Samantha opted for the truth. “At the risk of making this sound like a job interview,” Sam told him with a laugh, “I’m not looking for a one night stand. I don’t care for temporary or fleeting either. We’ve done that already and as you can imagine, it isn’t easy for me.”

Sam noticed the way Elijah’s eyes darted to Logan and then back to her. “Then I’m happy to say that the three of us seem to be on the same page,” Elijah said and a bolt of heat erupted in Sam’s core. “In fact, I informed Logan yesterday pretty much the same thing.”

Sam kept her eyes on Elijah, seeing the heat reflected in his intense gaze. The man was mouthwatering. He reminded her a lot of Logan in the way he carried and presented himself.