She cleared her throat. “So The Wanderers are a society that maintains equal rights…”
“Yes.”
“But there are still far too many men and not enough women.”
“Yes.” He bit into his bottom lip as he watched her as if waiting for her to draw her own conclusions.
She wanted verbal confirmation though. “Do your men…share?”
He inhaled slowly and tipped his head back to stare at the overhang as if it pained him to answer her. When he lowered his gaze to hers, he nodded. “Usually. Not mandatory. Nothing is mandatory among my people. We have free will, but it is growing increasingly customary for polyamorous relationships to form. Family units with several men and one woman.”
She searched his gaze again, wondering what he was thinking and why he’d hesitated. “Do you belong to a family unit like that?”
He shook his head, seeming to pull himself together. “Not at the moment.” He drew in a breath. “Let me rephrase that. I do live in a family unit with three other men. We do not have a woman living with us.”
She stared at him. “Because you don’t want one?”
He licked his lips. “We just haven’t met the right woman yet.”
“Oh.” For some reason, she was relieved to know that. She wasn’t even sure what part. That he wasn’t married? That he didn’t currently have a woman? That he’d made a point of telling her?
She most definitely shouldn’t care one way or the other. He lived with three other men. That meant any relationship with him would not be one-on-one. She wasn’t sure how long it might be before she would be ready to enter into any kind of relationship even with one man. But four?
She reached for his face, cupping his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin against her palm. “You’re a good man, aren’t you?”
He chuckled. “How many men have you met?”
She scrunched up her nose before answering. “Just one.”
“Me?”
“Uh-huh,” she admitted.
He groaned as he pulled her closer, flattening her against his chest again. His huge hand splayed on her back. “I should make you go inside, head down to the bunker,” he murmured with no conviction.
“But you won’t,” she pointed out as she flattened her hand on his abs. She tipped her head back again. “Please. Let me stay. I like being in your arms.” She was playing with fire.
“The guys are going to kill me when they get here,” he muttered under his breath.
“The ones you mentioned to Maya? Why?”
Jay slid a hand to her hair and stroked through the locks, tucking it behind her ear. “Every inch of you is soft, even your hair,” he whispered.
She enjoyed the way he threaded his fingers in her drying locks, but she tipped her head back again anyway. “You didn’t answer my question.”
Jay sighed. “The three men coming tonight are my partners. Mile, Ledger, and Gatlin.” He stopped talking.
“Why will they be mad?”
“Perhaps mad isn’t the right word. Jealous might be more accurate. Jealous that I got to spend the day with a beautiful woman who didn’t mind being held while they were traveling.”
She slowly grinned. “I think I’m flattered.” She shrugged. “So, you usually share women and they aren’t here.”
“Yeah. That must sound ridiculous to you.”
She shook her head. “No. I may not know much about the current norms, but I’m not a prude. I’m not judgmental. My parents ensured the two of us were open-minded.”
“That may be, but if they left society over two decades ago, I’m sure they hadn’t seen many polyamorous arrangements yet.”