Confessions: The Princess, The Prick & The Priest (Confessions Series Book 4)

by Ella Frank

  ROBBIE FELT AS though he were in a daze as he slipped his hand into Julien’s. His heart was so full it was close to bursting, and as he looked out at the twinkling lights all around them, he wondered if it was physically possible to be as happy as he was without passing out from the rush of it.

  “Show me,” Robbie whispered, and then looked to the two men who had just made every wish of his a reality.

  Julien’s smile was dazzling as he tugged Robbie forward, and as they followed the wraparound porch to the back of the house instead of going inside, Robbie’s curiosity was piqued. This evening was not going anything like he’d expected, and he was starting to suspect he had no hope of guessing what these two had in store for him.

  As they made a turn to walk toward the back of the cottage, Robbie looked over his shoulder to see Priest following. His hands were in his pockets, his attention fastened on the two of them, and when he caught Robbie’s eyes, the smile that crossed his mouth made Robbie’s entire body respond. That smile was like gold, and Robbie swore to himself he would spend the rest of his life making sure Priest continued to look at him that way.

  Robbie grinned, and Priest indicated with a nod that he should turn around, and what Robbie saw when he did, took his breath away.

  Julien let go of his hand and stepped aside, and Robbie slowly walked forward to where the back porch opened up to a set of stairs leading to the ground below. There, lighting up the forest floor like stars, were dozens of lanterns, as far as the eye could see.

  Robbie looked over his shoulder to see Julien and Priest standing side by side. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful…ever.”

  Robbie reached for the rail to hang on, knowing there was a very real possibility his legs were about to give out.

  How it was possible to feel so much and still be standing, he had no idea. But when Julien reached him and said, “I have,” and kissed him before heading down the stairs, Robbie gripped the rail a little tighter and watched as Julien disappeared into the trees.

  “May I?” Priest said as he came up beside Robbie and crooked his arm.

  Robbie slid his hand through Priest’s offered elbow and said, “Thank you. I feel a little…”

  “Off-balance?”

  Robbie chuckled. “Off-balance. Breathless. So happy my entire body might float away from the high of it?”

  “Well don’t do that,” Priest said as he guided Robbie down the stairs. “Not when there’s so much down here waiting for you.”

  As they reached the bottom, Robbie looked out ahead of them and whispered, “This place is like a fairy tale.”

  “Fit for a princess, then?”

  Robbie nodded, and as Priest guided them forward, Robbie became aware of something he’d heard earlier. He’d been so distracted by what he was feeling and seeing that he hadn’t realized the sound of rushing water—the sound of a waterfall—was much louder now.

  As Priest weaved them through the golden glow of the lights, Robbie took in the beauty of the untouched slice of paradise they had somehow been granted access to tonight. Then Priest drew them around a corner, and Robbie gasped.

  “Oh my God.” Robbie could barely believe what he was seeing. He stared at Julien, who stood on a deck in front of a table that was draped in white, with the moonlight shining down over him, and the backdrop of the most gorgeous waterfall Robbie had ever seen in his life.

  “I can’t… I don’t… I don’t know what to say,” Robbie managed, as he tried to look at everything all at once. There were candles on the table, three chairs around it, and lanterns all over the place, and nothing in his wildest dreams could’ve ever come close to a night like this.

  “I believe our chef is waiting on you, sweetheart.”

  As Priest’s words floated around him, Robbie tore his eyes away from the most romantic setting he’d ever seen. “Then let’s not make him wait any longer.”

  JULIEN STOOD IN awe of the two men walking his way, and allowed the heady feeling of love to envelop him. Over the past several months they’d been navigating their way through this relationship one day at a time.

  They’d experienced incredible highs and some devastating lows. But when Robbie said yes to them back there on the porch, Julien knew that from here on out, whatever they were dealing with, the three of them would always be able to get through it together, as one.

  As Priest stood aside to let Robbie climb the steps, he looked up to Julien and winked, and Julien thought his heart might just stop. He knew tonight was Robbie’s night. But as Julien waited for his princesse to reach him, he couldn’t help but feel this was a renewal for him and Priest also. An affirmation that their love was just as strong now as it had been eight years ago.

  “Welcome to your dining room for the evening, princesse,” Julien said.

  “It doesn’t seem real.”

  “I know,” Julien said, and glanced over his shoulder at the waterfall in the distance. “I didn’t believe your mother when she said it was here.”

  “Neither did I,” Robbie whispered as he tilted his head back to take in the scene in its entirety. “This whole place, it’s exactly the way she described it.”

  “Oui, it is. The original owners passed it down to their children, who updated a few things, like this deck,” Julien said as he placed a hand on Robbie’s lower back. “I promised her you’d take lots of photos.”

  The candlelight reflected off Robbie’s shimmering eyes. “That’s the one thing she always regretted.”

  “I know,” Julien said, and then drew his fingers down Robbie’s jaw line. “Will you take a seat? Let me dazzle your taste buds?”

  Robbie looked at three silver-domed place settings. “Did you do all this?”

  “With some help,” Julien said as Priest came to them.

  “He’s being modest.” Priest pulled a seat out for Robbie. “He did nearly all of this.”

  Priest’s compliment made Julien’s heart warm as he walked around the table and pulled the cork from the bottle of Pinot he’d paired with tonight’s meal. Once Robbie and Priest were seated, Julien poured them both a glass, and then he went about removing the covers.

  “Oh, wow, Jules. This looks incredible,” Robbie said as he peered down at the meal in front of him. “Is it duck?”

  Julien nodded as he took a seat on the other side of the table, next to Priest. “Oui. It’s Magret de canard aux cerises avec une sauce au Porto. Seared duck breast with cherries and port sauce.”

  “You two are totally spoiling me. This sounds delicious,” Robbie said as he took his napkin and draped it over his lap.

  “It is,” Priest said. “It’s a meal that reminds us of a very special moment in our lives.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I was testing this meal on Priest for the restaurant the night you first called us from CRUSH,” Julien said, and Robbie frowned.

  “When I— Ohhh.”

  Robbie’s cheeks flushed, and Julien looked at Priest, who had a mystified look on his face, as though he couldn’t believe where they’d all ended up from that one night.

  “Mhmm,” Julien said as they all picked up their knives and forks. “I decided right then that this meal would be one that I kept specifically for us, and now that includes you.”

  Robbie shook his head and looked around again. “I still can’t believe I’m here. Sitting in a place I only ever imagined in my head, with the both of you.”

  “I can,” Priest said. “We’d been looking for you. Once we found you, this was only a matter of time.”

  Robbie sighed. “It feels too good to be true.”

  “That’s how you know for sure it is,” Julien said. “Nothing this powerful could ever be anything but real.”

  Robbie nodded, his eyes twinkling, and before he took his first bite of food, he said, “Do we get to stay here for the whole night? Please say yes.”

  Priest eyed him, his lips twitching a little. “You mean, out here with two crazy men in the middle of the
woods with nothing but the clothes on your back?”

  Robbie playfully smiled, his joy over the evening bubbling right up out of him. “Or off my back. I’m not picky.”

  “Then yes. I believe you get to stay here for two whole nights with those crazy men,” Priest said, which seemed to please Robbie immensely.

  “And then?” Robbie said, looking to Julien.

  “Then,” Julien said, and winked, “they’re going to take you home and marry you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Sometimes dreams really do come true.

  If you wish hard enough

  ~ Robbie

  “DID YOU HAVE enough?” Julien asked, as Robbie finished the final bite of his chocolate soufflé and sat back.

  Had he? Robbie didn’t think he’d ever been more satisfied by a meal in his life. Not that that was a surprise, considering a world-class chef had cooked it. My world-class chef. Wait, no—my fiancé.

  “Oui,” Robbie said with a grin. He was so damn happy right now, he was surprised his mouth wasn’t stuck in a permanent smile. “That was amazing.”

  “Bien. I’m pleased.”

  “And I have to say, being served by the winner of Chef Master in his sexy uniform far surpasses my earlier idea of having you both dress up and play good cop/bad cop.”

  Priest reached for his glass of wine and chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know. That idea certainly has its merit.”

  “Yes, well, we all know which cop you would be,” Robbie said to his other fiancé—yeah, okay, that’s never going to get old.

  He still couldn’t believe where he was and what had happened here tonight. He was now engaged to Julien and Priest, and no matter how much time passed, his brain kept coming back to that over and over again.

  “What are you thinking about, princesse?” Julien said. “You have a very dreamy smile on your face.”

  Robbie didn’t doubt it. “Um, yeah, how could I have anything but? Look at this place.”

  “While the place is lovely,” Priest said, and lowered his glass back to the table, “I find myself distracted by something else entirely.”

  Under the intense scrutiny of Priest’s stare, Robbie felt almost…shy. “You do?”

  “I do,” Priest said. “Now there’s two words you should start practicing. We’re looking forward to hearing you say them very soon.”

  Robbie couldn’t explain why, but he suddenly felt as nervous with the two of them as he had on their first date. It might’ve had something to do with the way they looked with the candlelight flickering over their handsome faces, and a waterfall streaming down behind them. They looked like two gods who had come to whisk him away and keep him for all eternity.

  At least, that was how Robbie saw their story going, and he wanted to memorize this exact moment for the rest of his life.

  “If you’re done,” Julien said, “would you like to take a look inside the cottage?”

  I’d like nothing more. “Yes, please.”

  As Julien and Priest got to their feet, Robbie’s gaze travelled up their tall frames, and then he closed his eyes for a second and made a wish.

  When they reopened, Priest said, “Are you okay?”

  Robbie pushed his chair back so he could stand. “Yes. I was just making a wish.”

  Julien smiled. “A wish?”

  “Mhmm,” Robbie said, and when Priest reached for the plates and started stacking them up, Robbie gathered up the napkins.

  “Do you do that often?” Priest said, as he placed the plates into the basket he’d pulled from under the table.

  “Sometimes,” Robbie said, handing over the linens. “And has there ever been a place worthier of a wish than this? This place is… It’s magical. And you know what? Sometimes the wishes even come true.”

  “Do they?” Julien asked, as he handed Priest the wine glasses.

  “Oh yes,” Robbie said. “I wished hard all the time for the both of you, and look what happened.”

  The two of them chuckled as Priest shut the lid on the basket, and Julien leaned down to blow out the candles.

  “Okay, cheeky boy,” Julien said as he came around and held out his hand. “I hope you wished to go inside, because that’s where you’re headed.”

  That was more than fine with Robbie. He couldn’t wait to get inside, strip down to nothing, and then crawl between the sheets with these two. He wanted to both thank and worship them for the best night of his life, and while they were out in the middle of nowhere, Robbie thought it best that they go inside for that. He wasn’t a huge fan of the idea of rolling around in nature bare-assed, just in case something other than his men decided to, you know, take a bite.

  The three of them headed back through the lit garden, and when they reached the door of the cottage and Julien held it open, Robbie stopped and said, “Is there somewhere I could maybe go and, um, freshen up?”

  “Oui,” Julien said, and then pointed down a narrow hall. “Down there to your left.”

  “You’ll find your toiletry bag already in there,” Priest said.

  “Just so you know,” Robbie said, “I don’t normally approve of the scheming you two have been up to behind my back. But since it worked out so well for me, I’m going to overlook it this one time.”

  “How very magnanimous of you,” Priest said, as Robbie walked inside and headed straight for the hall. He would check the cottage out in the morning when the sun was up, because right now, there were other things he wanted to do—two other things, to be precise.

  “I thought so,” Robbie called over his shoulder, and just before he stepped into the bathroom, he looked back to see both men watching him. “I’ll be out soon. Be sure to miss me a whooole lot while I’m gone.”

  Robbie disappeared into the tiny room and had the fleeting thought that if they were stuck in the middle of nowhere for the rest of their days, he sure wouldn’t mind.

  Not one little bit.

  “HE SAID YES,” Priest said, as the bathroom door clicked shut and he and Julien walked into the kitchen.

  “Oui, he did,” Julien said. “Quite emphatically. Several times.”

  Priest put the basket up on the counter, and as he opened the door for the dishwasher, Julien reached out to help.

  Priest brushed his hand away. “You cooked. I’ll take care of this.”

  Julien leaned back against the sink and crossed his arms, a smile playing on his generous lips. “So was he very angry about the police escort?”

  Priest turned the tap on and rinsed off the plates as he stacked them one by one into the washer. “He was very…Robert-like.”

  Julien laughed. “So he was furious.”

  “Ah, yes. Until he realized something else was going on. Then…then he was, as always, curious.” Priest washed off the utensils next, and once they were in the holder, he added the soap and set it to start. “This place, this dinner… Julien, you made it so special for him. He’s never going to forget this.”

  Julien put his hands on Priest’s chest. “We made it special for him. The place was all Sofia. But I have a feeling we could’ve asked him down at a jail and he still would’ve said yes.”

  Priest wrapped his arms around Julien’s waist and kissed him softly, slowly, until Julien’s hands slid over his shoulders and his fingers found Priest’s hair.

  “Je t’aime, Joel,” he said against Priest’s lips. “So much.”

  Priest ran his hands up Julien’s back as he kissed his way to his ear. “I love you. You make everything in my world make sense. You make all of us make sense.”

  Julien caught Priest’s lips again in a kiss full of love, full of forever, a kiss that only got better with time, and when they pulled apart, he brought his hand down along Priest’s cheek and traced a thumb across his lips.

  “Let me go and get out of this uniform and wash up a little,” Julien said. “There’s that small en suite at the front, and after cooking this afternoon, I’m—”

  “Perfect?” Priest said, as Julien st
epped back, their hands still linked.

  “You’re biased.”

  “I’m right. I bet Robert would agree.”

  As Julien let go of one of his hands and was about to free the other, Priest pulled him back in and kissed him again, more in love with his Frenchman than he ever had been.

  Julien started to laugh and pushed him away. “Quit it.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Give me ten minutes and you can kiss me all you like. Not all of us could shower and change before we got here tonight.”

  Priest let him go. “Fine, leave me.”

  “Never.” Julien backed out of the kitchen, and as he reached the door, he said, “Not ever.”

  Priest rinsed and washed the wine glasses, then cleaned up the rest of the kitchen and flicked off the light. As he made his way through to the bedroom, he checked the doors were locked, and the lights outside were turned off. He could hear the shower still running down the hall, and knew he wouldn’t have much longer until Robbie appeared. So Priest switched on the bedside lamps, pulled the covers back, and went about getting undressed.

  Tonight couldn’t have gone better. When Sofia had told them about the place and Julien suggested they see if it was still around, Priest could never have imagined what they’d found.

  The new owners had renovated the cottage to what it was today—a secluded, romantic oasis for honeymooners or special getaways, and tonight, an engagement fit for a princess. It’d been perfect, in every single way.

  Priest folded his pants and shirt over the chaise longue in the room, and once he was stripped down to his boxer briefs, he put a bottle of lube under the pillow and got into bed. He and Julien had left Robbie a little gift with his toiletries tonight, and Priest wanted to gauge his mood once he arrived before deciding which direction to lead them all in—and he didn’t have to wait long.

  Minutes after Priest settled in with his back against the headboard and the sheet across his lap, Robbie walked into the bedroom. With his hair slicked back, Robbie’s high cheekbones made Priest want to kiss his way along them to his ear so he could tell him how beautiful he was—because truly, he was exquisite.