by Ella Frank
“It’s funny,” Julien said, breaking the silence that had settled. “People often associate ‘different’ with something to be scared of, which is why I’m sure Logan warned us off when he—”
“Wait? What?” Robbie said, and sat up in the bed, and his action must’ve caught Priest’s attention, because he looked up from his computer and removed his earbuds.
“Logan spoke to you?” Robbie said to Julien, and then turned to look at Priest. “About me? When?”
Priest got to his feet and closed his computer, and Robbie allowed himself a moment to run his eyes over Priest’s upper body, which he’d left bare. When he got to the edge of the bed, Priest stripped out of his loose black pants, and Robbie ran his teeth over his lower lip as he openly admired all he was seeing. Priest’s body was wow, and so well disguised under all his suits and shirts, and Robbie couldn’t help but remember how powerful it had felt drilling into him over and over again.
Priest pulled back the covers and slid underneath, and as he did, Robbie scooted down onto his back between the two.
“He talked to us at the Christmas party,” Julien said.
Robbie frowned. “When?”
“When you ran away from us,” Priest said.
“I didn’t run anywhere,” Robbie said with enough indignation that his voice almost cracked. “I was dragged.”
“Mhmm,” Julien said, and Robbie glared at him.
“Mhmm yourself. I was ready to come over there and give you both a piece of my mind. But Tate—”
“Dragged you away,” Priest finished.
“Yes. They didn’t want me to cause a scene and embarrass the new partner.” Robbie rolled his eyes.
“I wouldn’t have been embarrassed,” Priest told him.
“Really?”
“Really. I don’t care what people think about me. I’m not here to please others. Only those I love.”
Robbie’s mouth parted, and he was about to say something snarky when he realized that was actually pretty cool. He didn’t really care what others thought either. “What did Logan say?”
Priest’s eyes lowered to Robbie’s lips. “That if we hurt you, he would cut off our balls.”
Robbie brought his hand up to his mouth, his eyes wide. Then he started to giggle. Holy shit. How did he not know that? “He really said that?”
Priest nodded.
Wow, Robbie would’ve paid money to see that. “But you work with him; you’re his partner. Won’t this all get complicated if he’s pissed off about it?”
“No,” Priest said, and then reached over and tugged Robbie’s hand down so he could trace his bottom lip with his thumb. “Because we aren’t going to hurt you.”
Robbie’s stomach flipped at the words. “Oh.”
“You must be exhausted,” Julien said, and Robbie realized suddenly that he was. “Sleep. We can talk all you like tomorrow.”
Robbie nodded and looked at Priest. “You have to work tomorrow?”
“I do.”
“Will I see you before you go?”
A small smile tilted Priest’s lips. “Would you like to?”
Robbie stared into the grey eyes he’d once despised and found himself getting a little…lost there. “Yes, I think I would.”
“Then I will make it so.”
The answer was so Priest that Robbie found himself smiling as both men leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“Bonne nuit, princesse.”
“Good night, Robert.”
With a blush and grin that gave away just how special he felt right then, Robbie watched as the two of them then kissed one another over the top of him. Then Julien stretched out on his side and Priest on his back.
“This is nice,” Robbie whispered, and hoped they didn’t think him silly or—God forbid—all in love with them or something.
But when Priest said, “Yes, it is,” and Julien kissed Robbie’s ear and whispered, “Oui,” Robbie cuddled into the covers and fell asleep with a smile on his lips and a strange sense of contentment filling him.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Julien sat on his yoga mat with his eyes shut and his legs crossed. His feet were tucked up high on the opposite thigh, and his arms were outstretched, wrists to knees. His palms were outfacing, and his fingers were aligned, except the thumb and forefinger, which were lightly touching, as the anxiety that had slipped through an unsuspecting crack last night disappeared from his mind.
He was coming down from his morning routine, and as he sat in front of the balcony door, the sun bathed his face. He’d left Priest in the bathroom to get ready around thirty minutes earlier, and Robbie had been passed out with his head buried in a pillow, no doubt still exhausted after last night’s activities.
With a final inhale…and exhale, Julien opened his eyes to find Priest standing just outside their bedroom door dressed and ready for work, his jacket over one of his fingers. His knowing eyes were trained on Julien, the serious set of his mouth letting Julien know they were not done with what Priest had seen during dinner. Because while Priest’s demons found him at night, it was the hours awake that were the biggest threat to Julien’s peace of mind.
“Good morning,” Priest said, as he walked across the living room, draped his coat over the couch, and then stopped behind Julien, who tipped his head up. Priest bent down and pressed an upside-down kiss to his lips. “How are you today?”
“Much better, mon amour.”
Priest’s eyes narrowed a fraction, but he straightened. “Good. But we will talk about this later, yes?”
“I’m fine,” Julien said as he got to his feet. “I just got caught off guard last night. All in my head.”
Priest cupped either side of his face, and as he touched their foreheads together, he said, “Don’t lie to me. You know better, and so do I.”
Julien shut his eyes and nodded. “Désolé. You’re right. This time of the year is always hard. That’s all.”
“I know, and you’re worried about the end of the month, when we have to go back west.”
Julien’s eyes opened. “I don’t know why it bothers me so much. I already know I’m not welcome. It’s the same every year.”
“Yet every year, the same thing happens. The attacks become worse the closer we get to the anniversary, then they lessen once it’s passed.”
Julien reached up to take Priest’s wrists and pull them free. “Oui, but being here, I thought maybe—”
“It would be easier to ignore?”
Julien let go of Priest and bent down to start rolling up his mat. “Can’t we just say we’re busy this year?”
“No. And you don’t really want that. Also, this discussion is not over just because you have turned your back on me.”
As Julien stood with the mat under his arm, he pivoted to face Priest. “I had not assumed my luck would be that good. But can we talk about it later? I just got out of my bad mood, and we still have a guest.”
“Very well,” Priest said, as he headed to the kitchen. “But we will talk.”
Julien knew they would. Priest was the only one he’d ever been able to talk to about this. But he wasn’t ready, not yet, and knew that was the only reason Priest wasn’t pushing.
Julien stored his mat in the corner of the room, and as he was about to walk back to the kitchen to start his breakfast, Robbie appeared in the doorway and Julien came to an abrupt halt.
The princesse had slipped into that red onesie he’d taken selfies in the day before, and his thick hair was tousled all over his head. As he leaned a shoulder up against the doorjamb, Robbie held a white pompom in each hand and tugged gently on the drawstring at the collar. The innocent expression on his face belied the mischievous light in his eyes, and suddenly Julien’s mood brightened and was replaced with the urge to drag Robbie to the floor and tear that outfit off him.
“Good morning, boys,” Robbie said as he looked from Julien to Priest, who was currently standing at the island with an unreadable expression on his face.
“Shocked that I can still walk this morning?”
An unexpected burst of laughter escaped Julien, as Robbie pushed off the doorjamb and walked over to him. When he was close enough to touch, Julien flicked one of the pompoms so he wouldn’t be tempted to do more, and then watched as Robbie sashayed off toward the kitchen.
When he got to the island, Robbie walked around it to where Priest was standing and gave him a mock frown. “Aww, don’t feel too bad about it. You gave it your best effort,” he said, but before he could move away, Priest caught Robbie’s chin and looked him directly in the eye.
“I don’t feel bad at all,” Priest said. “But why don’t you go and take a seat? Or is that a little difficult this morning?”
Robbie tongued his top lip for a moment, and then grinned like the flirt he was. “Okay, okay,” he said. “So you both have big cocks and know how to use them. What? You think that makes you special or something?”
“No. I think the fact that you took the both of us last night and can still walk this morning makes you the special one. So does that outfit. You really are good at following orders, despite your tendency to want to resist.” Priest let Robbie go and reached for one of the pompoms, but Robbie swatted his hand away.
“Oh, please. I’m not wearing this because you told me to. I’m wearing it because I look totally cute in it—which, I might add, neither of you have mentioned.”
“Our mistake, princesse,” Julien said as he took a seat on one of the breakfast stools. “I believe you caught us off guard, but viens ici, and I’ll tell you just how adorable you look.”
“That’s better,” Robbie said, and stood between Julien’s spread legs. “And because you’re being so nice to me, I’ll even let you play with my balls.”
Julien chuckled and looked over to see that Priest’s lips were pulled up in a grin that even he couldn’t hide.
“Robert?”
“Yes, Priest?” Robbie drawled as he looked over his shoulder, and Julien tugged on one of the pompoms.
“What do you usually eat for breakfast?” As Robbie’s mouth opened, no doubt with something insanely inappropriate on the tip of his tongue, Priest held up a finger and added, “At your nonna’s house.”
Robbie rolled his eyes. “Well, you’re no fun. But okay, cereal, toast, a bagel? Whatever. What do you eat?”
“Priest likes a coffee with three sugars and cream. And a bagel with far too much cream cheese,” Julien said, earning a glare from Priest.
“Excuse me. Not all of us want to drink a garden for breakfast.” Priest went to the fridge as Robbie looked to Julien.
“A garden?”
“I drink a green juice each morning. That’s what he’s referring to with such disgust.”
“Why don’t you tell him what’s in it?” Priest suggested, as he put a tub of Philly spread on the counter.
Julien got to his feet and kissed Robbie on the nose, and then smirked as Robbie gingerly took a seat. Making his way over to the fridge, Julien grabbed the colander where he’d already prewashed and cut everything he needed for the morning, then put it down on the counter next to Priest’s bagels and cream cheese.
Robbie screwed his nose up as he reached in and held up a cucumber. “This might’ve been better to show me last night,” he said, and squirmed on his seat. “I would’ve appreciated it more.”
Julien pulled the juicer out from under the counter and plugged it in as Priest took the vegetable from Robbie.
“No one appreciates what he’s about to eat,” Priest said. “But I will admit, his body is the best advertisement for a juicer that I’ve ever seen. It almost convinced me.”
Julien laughed as he popped a couple of apples in the funnel and flicked on the switch. Robbie grimaced, and Priest shook his head, and when the machine finished pulverizing the fruit, Priest added, “Almost.”
PRIEST POURED HIMSELF a coffee as Julien tipped his freshly pressed green juice into a tall glass and added a celery stick.
Robbie had been watching the entire process with a horrified expression, as though every time Julien added a piece of cucumber or spinach to the funnel, he was murdering the vegetable. But Priest had a sneaking suspicion it was more in revulsion over how Robbie thought it was going to taste—and that facial expression was the right reaction, as far as he was concerned.
“Would you like to try some?” Julien said.
Robbie looked over to Priest as he bit into his bagel. “Don’t look at me. You and him are alone with your cucumbers.”
“Oh, so now you develop a sense of humor,” Robbie said.
“I’ve always had one,” Priest said. “You’ve just been too on guard to notice.”
Robbie glared at him, but then looked back to the green concoction in front of Julien.
“Can we maybe add some vodka?” Robbie asked.
“At eight in the morning? I don’t think so. Kind of defeats the purpose. This is healthy. It keeps your mind clear.”
Priest raised his coffee to his lips, but before he took a sip, he added, “Or just bores it to death.”
Julien pointed at him. “Don’t be so harsh, mon amour. You want me to stay healthy, don’t you?”
“Always.” Priest kissed Julien and then said, “Robert?”
“Hmm?”
“What are you doing this weekend?”
As Julien wrapped an arm around Priest’s waist, Priest took a sip of his coffee, more determined than ever to see if they could convince Robbie to come and stay with them for longer than a night. It was the best way for Robbie to learn about them and vice versa. They needed time and space outside of dinner and bed.
“Would you like to come and stay with us?” Julien asked, as though reading Priest’s mind. “Friday through Sunday, maybe?”
Robbie’s head snapped up, and his eyes moved back and forth between them as though gauging their intentions.
Priest nodded. “I think that would be a smart idea, so we can all get to know one another better.”
“Better than—”
“Fucking,” Priest said, and, unbelievably, Robbie blushed. “Now that we know we are compatible—”
“Compatible? What am I, an electrical socket?”
“No,” Priest said. “You’re a sexy little spitfire who hasn’t stopped arguing with me since we met. It would be nice if we could find some common ground where you’re comfortable enough that you don’t feel the need to argue all the time.”
“I don’t always—”
“Boys,” Julien said, “play nice, or not at all. Those are the rules. And we liked playing, didn’t we?”
“Oui,” Priest told his husband, as Robbie rolled his eyes.
“Princesse?”
“I mean, obviously, yes,” Robbie said as he played with one of the drawstrings on his onesie, making the pompom twirl around. “I can barely sit and I’m already thinking about next time.”
That got a grin out of Julien and Priest.
“So come and spend the weekend with us. We can all go out,” Julien said in a much more convincing manner than Priest had. “Get to know each other.”
Priest took another bite of his bagel as he watched Robbie, who was carefully thinking over the proposition. “We know you work on the weekends—”
“You checking up on my schedule?” Robbie asked, and then batted his lashes at Priest. “Because that’s very—” Robbie’s words were cut off as the sound of an upbeat pop song hit all their ears. “Oh shit, sorry.”
Priest found it interesting that Robbie felt the need to apologize for the cell phone interruption, but at the same time, he couldn’t deny he was pleased. He liked that Robbie saw this as an intrusion on their time, because that was exactly the way Priest viewed it.
As Robbie disappeared inside the bedroom to find his bag, Priest turned to Julien and pressed a kiss to his mouth. “I’ll leave him in your capable hands. I have court this—”
Priest stopped talking as Robbie reappeared in the bedroom doorway. He had hi
s cell phone in his hand, and the cheerful smile that had been on his face only seconds ago had been replaced by a forlorn expression.
“Robert? Are you okay?”
Robbie raised his head and blinked a few times as though trying to focus, and Julien went around the kitchen island and crossed over to him to take his hand.
“Princesse? What’s the matter?”
Robbie raised his phone and pointed at it. “That was Vanessa.”
His cousin, Priest thought, as he too came around the counter and headed over to where both men now stood. Robbie looked pale as a ghost.
“My nonna,” he said, and then slicked his tongue over his lower lip. “She uh, she fell this morning in the kitchen.”
“Oh Robbie,” Julien said, and guided him over to the couch to sit. “Talk to us. Is she okay? Where is she?”
Robbie brushed the back of his hand against the tear that had just rolled down his cheek. “No, uh, she…” He paused for a minute and then looked at Julien. “She broke her hip. Luckily her neighbor was stopping by to say she couldn’t play their canasta game today. Betty called the ambulance.”
Priest placed a hand on Robbie’s shoulder and then crouched down until he was eye level with him. “And that’s where she is now? The hospital?”
Robbie nodded, his beautiful blue eyes wide and full of tears.
“Okay,” Priest said, mentally flipping through the things on his calendar today, then he looked to Julien, who was staring right at him.
No way. There was no way he was sending Julien to a hospital right now. Not without him. Not when Julien was already dealing with—
“I’ll take you,” Julien said, and Priest’s jaw bunched. This was not good. “Priest has court this morning, but I can call Lise and tell her I won’t be in today, all right?” When Robbie nodded but continued to stare at the floor, Priest looked back to Julien.
What is he thinking? He can’t do this.
