by Ella Frank
When he straightened and wiped his hands, Priest cleaned Robbie off and held the napkin out to Julien, who placed a kiss on Robbie’s neck and let him go. That was when Robbie’s eyes strayed downward to the fully erect cock Priest was zipping back inside his pants.
Shit. Did he not enjoy what just happened? Is he regretting it? No way. Robbie knew whether someone was into him, and despite how fucking strange Priest was, the man was definitely into what had just gone down in this room—namely, me.
Robbie swallowed, trying to find his words, but after what they’d just done, he was pretty sure it would take a minute—or maybe ten—because holy fuck. He still couldn’t believe he’d let Priest order him about, and Robbie had just shut his mouth like a good little boy and done what he’d been told.
Okay, so maybe he hadn’t exactly shut his mouth. Ugh, what had he been thinking? Giving Priest an edge like that was just stupid. But the truth was that he hadn’t been thinking—not with his brain, anyway. And with Priest’s smug face only inches from his own, Robbie couldn’t deny that he’d totally gotten off on it all.
Priest reached out and took Robbie’s chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Let me guess. You’re trying to think of a reason to yell at me.”
Robbie was about to say no, but then remembered Priest’s lecture on lying and decided to change the subject instead. “Why didn’t you come?”
Priest grinned, a subtle curve to his pink lips, but instead of it softening his features, it made him look wicked hot, and Robbie realized he was disappointed he hadn’t gotten to taste them or feel them against his own.
How is that even possible? This is Priest, for God’s sake.
“Because I want to wait,” Priest said.
“For?”
Priest leaned in a fraction, and Robbie caught his breath. “What do you think?”
Oh, just say it, Robbie told himself as he licked his suddenly dry lips, and when the tip of his tongue appeared, Priest growled. “You want to wait until you’re inside me.”
Priest’s eyes flared, and Robbie reached out and grabbed the back of the low chair for support.
“Correct.” Priest straightened and looked down to Robbie’s newly interested cock. “And unless you want that to happen right here, over that table, you’re going to want to put your pants back on.”
Robbie hesitated just long enough for Priest to raise one of his copper-colored eyebrows, and then Julien came up beside him with his clothes.
“Put your pants on, princesse. You’re going to want something softer than a table under you the first time he takes you.”
“Want to run away now?” Priest asked.
“Why would I do that? I already knew you were a giant dick when I agreed to dinner. Your cock doesn’t scare me.”
Priest’s eyes narrowed. “Put your pants on, Robert.”
Robbie rolled his eyes, but since he felt stupid standing there with his pants in his hand, he did as he was told—again.
“I’m going to go and box up dinner. Then we can head out,” Julien said as he walked by Priest and kissed him on the cheek. “Try not to kill each other while I’m gone. I rather enjoyed this.”
As Julien disappeared inside the elevator, Robbie shook his head. “I don’t know how someone like you ended up with someone as amazing as him. I’m starting to think he didn’t speak English when you met.”
Priest turned to the table and picked up his laptop. “It’s a long story, but if you’re really interested, then you should come home with us and we’ll tell you all about it.”
As Priest walked over to the elevator and hit the button, Robbie followed. Then he asked the one thing that had been on his mind since the night of the Christmas party: “I don’t get all of this. What do you two want from me? Is it just about—”
“Sex? No,” Priest said, as the door slid open and he gestured inside.
Annoyed at being cut off, Robbie walked in ahead of him while Priest hit the button for the first floor, and as the doors slid shut, enclosing them in the small space, Priest said, “We want everything.”
PRIEST FIGURED IT wouldn’t take longer than three, two, one—
“What do you mean you want everything?” Robbie’s hand on his arm had Priest looking over his shoulder at the baffled expression etched into Robbie’s beautiful face—and yes, Robbie had an exquisitely beautiful face. With his fine features, Robbie was stunning to look at. His hair was thick, with honeyed highlights that caught the light every now and then, and right now it was a little messy from Priest and Julien’s hands.
“Priest?” Robbie said, as the door slid open.
Julien was coming down the hall with two black carry bags, and Robbie’s coat over his arm. He looked between the pair, and then his eyes stopped on Priest. “Okay, what did you do?”
Robbie shoved past Priest and into the hall. “He’s being his usual cryptic self is what he’s doing.”
Priest stepped out of the elevator. “And he’s being a drama queen, as usual. He asked what we wanted from him. I told him. But he’s having a difficult time wrapping his head around it.”
“I’m not having a difficult time with anything, thank you very much.” Robbie jabbed a finger at Priest. “You are being weird. Again.”
“No, I’m not. You asked if we only wanted you for sex. I said no.”
“That wasn’t all you said. Now who’s lying?” Robbie said, clearly worked up.
“Mon Dieu.” Julien laughed as he thrust one of the bags in Priest’s direction. “Can’t leave you two alone for five minutes without risk of bloodshed. Here, you take this, and, princesse? You’ll need to put this on before we go outside.”
Robbie took his coat from Julien and shrugged into it, a furrow between his perfectly shaped eyebrows.
“Whatever happened to make love not war, hmm?” Julien asked as he looked between them.
“He did,” Robbie said, and shoved his hands into his pockets.
Priest aimed his eyes heavenward and prayed for patience while Julien said, “It’s still early, but if you want, we can take you home, Robbie.”
“He needs to eat,” Priest said as he looked down at the bags in their hands and realized he was more concerned with the fact that Robbie might want to leave than actually finish his meal.
“He is right here,” Robbie said. “And quite capable of making a decision.”
“Well?” Priest looked at Robbie, who was glaring at him. “What’ll it be?”
Robbie scoffed. “Do you think I’m an idiot? There’s no way I’m going to pass on a meal made by Julien Thornton.”
“Good,” Julien said, and kissed Robbie’s cheek. “That’s a start, then, isn’t it?”
“I kind of thought me giving you head was a pretty good start, actually.”
Julien laughed. “Better than good, princesse. It was magnifique.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“Oui.”
“And if I go with you,” Robbie said, “you’ll explain what he was talking about?”
“We will, yes,” Julien promised, and slipped his arm through Robbie’s elbow.
“Okay then, let’s go.”
As the two of them walked off down the hall, Priest studied them side by side. He liked the way they looked together like that. The way Robbie hugged into Julien as though he belonged there, and maybe one day he would. Maybe they could both belong to him.
Robbie glanced over his shoulder and gave Priest a once-over, as though making sure he really wanted to go through with this. When his eyes climbed back up to Priest’s face, there was a new light to them—some kind of inner conviction, perhaps? And Priest got the distinct impression that whatever had begun here tonight was far from over.
Chapter Eleven
CONFESSION
Well, I didn’t see that coming.
AFTER PRIEST HAD parked the car and they’d all headed upstairs to the condo, Julien made his way into the kitchen. Priest followed, putting the bag on the center isl
and, and Robbie kicked off his shoes and padded over to the sheer white curtains pulled across the doors that led out onto the balcony.
Julien busied himself getting out plates and utensils while Priest unpacked the containers from the restaurant. In the car on the way home, he had called the cleaning crew he’d hired for the premises to have them come out and take care of the kitchen and skybox after their little visit to JULIEN, and now that everything was starting to settle, Julien allowed what had happened tonight to replay over in his mind.
“Are you okay?” Priest asked, and Julien nodded.
“Oui, mon amour. That was different tonight, wasn’t it?” He didn’t have to elaborate; Julien knew that Priest would understand exactly what he was talking about. That moment where Robbie had been between them and they’d each had their hands and mouths on him. Instead of things being fast and furious, as it had been in the past with others, things had slowed down and turned sensual, and the two of them had fallen into sync with one another as they worked together to please and win over Robbie.
“It was,” Priest said.
Julien looked over to Robbie and nodded. “We’ve been looking for so long that I never actually thought we’d find him.”
“I know.”
“But it’s never felt like that before. I believe I was caught a little…off guard.”
Priest moved in behind him and put his lips to the shell of Julien’s ear. “As was I. You two together make quite the picture. So much so that I’m finding it difficult to merely watch.”
Julien rested against the solid wall that was Priest’s chest. “Then he’s definitely the one.”
“Yes. He is.” Priest stepped around Julien and said, “We need to talk to him. See where he stands on all of this.”
“That we do,” Julien said, because all of this would be for nothing if Robbie wasn’t interested in the more of it all. They could easily go out and find a third for their bed, and had done so in the past. But they were beyond that now. They were sick of nameless faces between them, of meaningless nights with a body that would take on, and complement, the both of theirs and then leave the next day.
They wanted someone who not only fit them physically but who also completed the complicated, jagged puzzle that was them. And what it came down to was whether Robbie believed that he was the right piece. Did he even want to date them? Because they sure wanted to date him.
“Robert?” Priest said, and when Robbie turned to look in their direction, Julien drank in the sight of him all over again. He was stunning, and Julien couldn’t help but wonder how he’d look stripped completely bare. The taste they’d gotten tonight had merely been a tease.
“Would you like something to drink with dinner?” Priest asked.
Robbie shook his head. “Just a water’s good.”
“Very well,” Priest said, and then gestured to the couch. “Won’t you take a seat?”
Robbie walked between the sleek black coffee table and white couch, and chuckled. “You know, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way you talk. It’s just so…stuffy.”
Oui, Julien thought with a grin. You are exactly what we need.
Priest took three glasses from a cabinet and placed them on the counter where Julien was busy portioning out the food. “I suppose it’s a little bit different—”
“A little bit?” Robbie said, and sat down on the couch. “Try a lot. No one talks like you.”
Julien laughed good-naturedly and looked over at Priest, who was now filling each glass with filtered water. “He had an unusual upbringing. It left him unique in many ways.”
“Oh yeah?” Robbie said, his eyes moving to Priest. “What, were you raised in eighteenth-century England?”
“No, I was raised by my grandmother from the age of seven. She was from England.”
“No shit,” Robbie said, his eyes widening slightly. “I didn’t know that.”
“Why would you?” Priest asked. “I never told you.”
Robbie blinked a couple of times as though trying to poke a hole in that logic, but then shrugged. “I didn’t mean it like—Oh, forget it.”
Julien picked up the plates and brought them over to the coffee table. He put one down in front of Robbie and said, “One thing you need to know about Priest? He believes unnecessary talk is a waste of his time. If you want to know something, you need to ask him outright. He’ll always tell you the truth.”
Robbie raised his eyes to the man under discussion. “Yeah, I’m starting to work that out.”
Julien winked. “Let me get the other plate and then we’ll talk.”
As Julien headed back to the kitchen, he heard Robbie say to Priest, “Will you be participating in this talk? Or is it an unnecessary waste of your time?”
“Quite the contrary,” Priest said as he took a seat on the couch opposite Robbie. “Discussing whether you want to be part of our lives is very necessary.”
That seemed to draw Robbie up short. “Part of your…lives?”
“Yes. I told you at the restaurant, this isn’t just about sex for us. Although,” Priest said, as Julien took up a seat beside him, “that part we are particularly looking forward to. Even more so after this evening.”
Robbie blushed an enticing shade of pink to match his pants, and Julien gestured to the food. “Why don’t you eat? What you had earlier is hardly enough to satisfy, I’m sure.”
Robbie’s eyes dropped to Julien’s lap. “I don’t know. It tasted pretty good to me.”
“I told you so,” Priest said, arrogant as ever, and Julien pointed to Robbie’s plate.
“So does that. Now eat.”
“Geez, you’re almost as bossy as he is,” Robbie said. “You just say it with a smile.”
And on cue, Julien flashed him a winning grin. Robbie glanced at his food and then shifted off the couch to his knees on the soft mohair rug. Julien hadn’t meant for Robbie to sit on the floor, but as he picked up his knife and fork and cut into the lamb chop, Priest made a rumbling sound of approval.
Priest liked Robbie down there. In fact, Julien would go so far as to believe that Priest would like Robbie to sit by them every night like that, if Robbie was agreeable.
“So, okay,” Robbie said, oblivious to the reaction Priest was having as he speared a piece of lamb and then mixed it in the minted mustard. “Who goes first here? Because I have questions.”
He brought the fork up to his mouth. “Do you want to ask me something or should I just—Oh. My. God,” he said, chewing the bite of meat he’d just put into his mouth. “This is fucking amazing.”
Julien basked in the compliment as Robbie cut into a second piece and quickly shoveled it into his mouth. The conversation was all but forgotten then, as he moaned in delight with each new flavor he tasted. Like a starved man, Robbie shut his eyes, and his tongue and teeth raked over his lower lip as he enjoyed each morsel of food until his plate was completely clean.
Once he was done, he must’ve remembered where he was and realized that no one else in the room was talking, because his eyes flew open and he looked up at them with a chagrined expression on his face.
“Sorry.” He let out a little laugh, and then put his knife and fork down. “That was really good. I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”
“Don’t ever apologize for eating,” Priest said.
“Especially my food.” Julien chuckled. “I could watch you eat like that all day.”
Robbie took a sip from his glass of water. “Well, I don’t always eat like a starving man. But this was like having an orgasm in my mouth.” When Priest arched an eyebrow, Robbie raised a shoulder and winked. “Well, another one, that is.”
“You’re incorrigible,” Priest said, as he picked up his own plate and set it on his lap.
“I think you like that about me.”
“I think you’re right.”
At Robbie’s slack-jawed expression, Julien let out a bark of laughter, and once Robbie picked his jaw up off the table, he said,
“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever admitted you liked me.”
“Actually,” Priest said, “I didn’t admit anything of the sort. I said that I liked that you’re incorrigible.”
ROBBIE ROLLED HIS eyes at Priest’s ever-present logic. He reminded him of a Vulcan—like, a really fucking hot one. “Whatever,” he said, as Priest continued to eat. “You like me. Just admit it.”
Priest swallowed his mouthful and nodded. “I do like you, a lot. Or you wouldn’t be sitting in our home, and you wouldn’t have sucked my husband’s cock tonight.”
Robbie’s pulse tripped at Priest’s blunt words, and he was grateful he’d already finished eating, because he surely would’ve choked, or something just as embarrassing. “Yes, well, lucky me. He has a fantastic cock.”
“We can most certainly agree on that.”
Robbie shifted on his knees as his dick reacted to the memory of Julien in his mouth, and then he cleared his throat and decided to change topic. “Speaking of your home, I like how you guys redecorated it,” he said, and then cursed himself because way to bring up the fact that you were here before with Logan, Bianchi—just when they’d all been starting to get along, too.
Priest didn’t seem bothered this time, though. He actually looked over at Julien and… Shit, is that a fucking smile?
“Julien took care of all that,” Priest said. “I know where I’m not wanted.”
“You’re always wanted. But oui,” Julien said, and placed a hand on Priest’s thigh. “Priest took a lot of photos, so I knew what I was working with while I was stuck in L.A. selling our house.”
Robbie looked between the two and was struck by what an interesting pair they were. Both were so incredibly different in personalities, and yet, in some ways, so similar that it was surprising they got along and didn’t kill each other trying to be the one in charge. Not to mention the way they looked. It was almost too much to take when both were focused on him, as they were now. The testosterone poured off them in ways Robbie had never quite been able to achieve. Where he had smaller and daintier features, both Julien and Priest had bold, strong details that made up their striking faces.