by Ella Frank
Julien chuckled and climbed into bed. Robbie turned to Priest and caught him squeezing his eyes shut as a shot of pain hit.
“Are you all right?” Robbie said, and raised his fingers to touch the angry skin on Priest’s chest, but stopped himself.
Priest took hold of Robbie’s hand and pulled it to him until the palm rested where the bullet had hit, and then he said in a low voice, “Yes, I’m all right. Because of you.”
Robbie raised his eyes to Priest’s, and the love and gratitude he saw there made his heart fill close to bursting.
“Years ago,” Priest said, “a thief stole my heart and brought it to life, and tonight a princess saved it. I love you, Robert, for so many reasons, but your strength these past couple of days was exactly what I needed to get me through. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Robbie bit his lip and nodded, knowing if he hadn’t asked Henri to get that vest to protect Priest, they wouldn’t be having this conversation right now—something he couldn’t even begin to fathom. “I love you too. So much.”
“We’re not letting you go now, princesse,” Julien said from the bed, making Robbie turn in his direction, and then Priest said by his ear, “You understand that, right?”
Robbie’s cheeks heated with pleasure. “Right.”
“Good.” Priest kissed his temple. “Now get into that bed and under the covers with Julien. I’m going to grab the pain medication Henri left, and we are all going to try and get some sleep.”
As Priest left the bedroom, Robbie turned to see Julien watching them with a soft expression. “That is what I wanted to come home to,” Julien whispered. “That right there.”
Robbie climbed into the bed, and as Julien slipped down under the covers, Robbie turned on the television, looking through the channels for something that would help them all forget for a little while and drift off.
He’d just bypassed several automatic nos when his eyes caught on a headline scrolling across the bottom of one of the news channels, and as it repeated itself, Robbie sat up in the bed, and Julien looked at him with a frown.
“Robbie?”
“Priest,” Robbie called out.
Julien turned to look at the TV. “I can’t read it with my eye. What’s it say?”
Robbie was just about to answer when a loud knock on the hotel room door startled him, and he heard Priest call out, “I’ll be right there.”
Robbie turned the volume up so Julien could hear what he was reading, and as the news anchor’s voice filled the room, the two of them stared in stunned silence at what they were watching.
“We have some breaking news coming in. It appears that escaped inmate Jimmy Donovan has been found dead after an extensive manhunt. His remains were found in the Calumet River, hundreds of miles away from the Louisiana prison he escaped from days before. Police are gathering a list of those who may have had a history with the once notorious crime boss of New Orleans, and it is believed it will take some time to narrow down a list of suspects. We’ll bring you more information as soon as it becomes available.”
No, Robbie thought, as he looked to the bedroom door. There was no way what he was thinking was true—was there? But as he looked over at Julien and saw relief and gratitude fill his eyes, Robbie had a sneaking suspicion it was.
PRIEST CAREFULLY WALKED across the living space to the door, and when the knock came again, he peered through the peephole. There, standing on the other side, was the young lady who had checked him and Robbie into The Peninsula when they’d arrived. With a frown, Priest unlocked the door and pulled it open.
“Hello,” Priest said, wondering why they were getting an early wake-up call, when one certainly had not been requested.
A bright, sunny smile crossed the woman’s face. “Oh, good morning, sir. I’m sorry to disturb you so early, but your guest from yesterday dropped these two bags off just now and asked me to hand-deliver them to, uh…” She looked down at the note in her hand and scrunched her nose up. “A priest?”
Priest’s eyes dropped to the black bags at the woman’s feet, and as he realized what he was looking at, he schooled his expression, casually leaned an arm against the door, and returned her smile. “Yes, that would be me. Last name’s Priestley. My friends call me Priest.”
“Oh,” she said, a blush blooming on her cheeks. “I thought you were actually a—”
“No.” Priest chuckled and then coughed. “Far from it.”
“Well, umm, there they are. I’m sorry it’s so early.”
“That’s perfectly all right.”
She walked backward to the private elevator and hit the button, and Priest made sure to keep his expression pleasant as she stepped inside. But as soon as she disappeared, the smile dropped, and Priest grabbed a bag in each hand and headed back inside the suite.
When he undid the first one and saw stacks of hundred-dollar bills, he shut his eyes for a minute and sent up a quick prayer. Then, with his heart in his throat, he unzipped the second and found the same, though it was a little less full than the first, and there was a note sitting on the top.
Priest reached for it, and as he unfolded it, his pulse sped up. He knew who it was from.
Okay, here goes, the only confession I will ever give to a priest.
This belongs to you. I hope you don’t mind, but I took a little, for payment due.
I think I deserve that for looking after half your heart. But then again, we both know I’d do anything to keep it safe. Tell Julien and bright eyes I said hi…or don’t.
Either way, I won’t be offended.
Until next time, I’ll take care of the Aston Martin.
~ H
Priest stared at the words on the paper, and he must’ve read them ten times over before they sank in, and when they finally did, the weight he’d been carrying around his entire life lifted from his shoulders.
The cut had been clean, the head of the snake now buried, and he could finally breathe.
“Joel?” Julien said.
Priest turned around and saw Robbie and Julien standing in the doorway. He straightened to his full height as they looked at the bags beside him, their eyes full of questions.
“Is that—” Robbie said.
“Yes,” Priest said, and nodded as he walked to them, ready to tell them everything they wanted to know. “It is.”
Julien and Robbie looked at one another, and as some kind of silent message passed between them, Priest said, “What?”
When Robbie turned back to him, he shook his head, and that beautiful smile that reminded Priest of sunshine and happiness appeared on his face. “Nothing.” But his eyes told Priest there was more going on than they were telling him.
“Let’s go to bed,” Julien suggested, and took Priest’s hand.
As they all climbed under the covers, Priest reached for the remote, about to turn on the television to help keep their minds occupied. But as he did, Robbie reached across and snatched it from him.
Priest arched an eyebrow, as the rascal stuffed it under his pillow, and Julien chuckled.
“No television,” Robbie said with a grin. “I’ve decided that’s my rule from now on while in bed. You don’t like cell phones. I don’t like TVs.”
“Since when?” Priest said, and shifted down until he was on his side.
“Since…since today. Right here. Right now.”
“I agree,” Julien said. “Plus, I don’t want to think about anything other than the two of you. Let’s leave the rest of the world, and everything that’s too difficult right now, out there for a while. There’s tomorrow to deal with all of that.”
Priest stroked his fingers along Julien’s cheek, and then leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth. “I love you. Both of you,” he said, and then he leaned over and took Robbie’s lips in an identical expression of love. “I will never let anything happen to either one of you, not ever again.”
The three of them settled into one another, arms, legs, and bodies tangled, and as each heart
beat alongside the other, Priest shut his eyes.
For the first time in three decades, he slept the peaceful sleep of one who knew his loved ones were safe, and so was he.
Coming Soon
CONFESSIONS:
THE PRINCESS, THE PRICK, & THE PRIEST
Join Robbie, Julien, & Priest as they finally get the HEA they so richly deserve.
Thank You
Thank you for reading
CONFESSIONS: PRIEST
I hope you enjoyed the next chapter of Robbie, Julien & Priest’s journey. If you did, please consider leaving a review on the site you purchased the book from. The men would be MOST grateful.
If you would like to talk with other readers who love this series, you can find them HERE at
Ella Frank’s Temptation Series Facebook Group.
Special Thanks
I have to start this “Special Thanks” by thanking you all for falling in love with Priest the same way I did, back when he first appeared in Wedlocked (Preslocke Series #3).
That was when he first started to “talk” to me. I was looking for a character who was complicated, and mysterious, and someone who would ruffle Mr. Robert Bianchi’s feathers and forever change his life. I think it’s safe to say that Priest and his husband, Julien, successfully did that—and haven’t quite finished yet!
It was important for me that we got to see and understand who this man, who has been in our lives for six books now, is. I wanted to explore just how far Priest would go for his men, and how far he has come in opening himself up to love, considering where he started. For this, Priest needed an emotional journey and cleansing, and I hope you enjoyed and felt his story, right along with Robbie and Julien.
As always, none of my books would see the light of day without Brooke Blaine by my side. She helps me with every minor and major breakdown, and when I feel like I might just be losing my mind, she is always there to tell me that if I had, she would be the first to let me know (and she would—her honesty is invaluable).
To Zaza Zoo, who waited oh-so-patiently for this installment as I moved house and wrote like a mad woman needing to get this story out of my brain. Like a champ, she read through and helped me to make sure my Julien was gorgeous and complete as always.
To Arran. I still think Mr. Editor is by far the missing hero of the Marvel collection and would make that franchise much more successful if he were in it. They don’t know what they’re missing.
Miss Judy! You, like me, had a big move these past couple of months. But like the rock star you are, you came through with those eagle eyes of yours as always. Love you, lady!
Sarah & Jenn at Social Butterfly PR —ladies, you are a helpful hand when needed, a positive spin on a gloomy day, and I’m not sure how you do all you do with such a small amount of time in a day, but you do. Thank you for always being there, even when you have so much going on.
And a special, special thanks to my dad (who likely will never read this). You are such a great man, a wonderful role model to your two girls, and I am so lucky to have you in my life. House of The Rising Sun played on a loop for this one, and that’s all you. Thank you, because it sparked such an interesting idea for my Priest’s life.
Thank you as always to my readers! I am so excited to bring you The Princess, The Prick, & The Priest, and give these men the HEA they truly deserve. Coming soon!
Until then,
MUAH!
Xx Ella
About the Author
If you’d like to get to know Ella better, you can find her getting up to all kinds of shenanigans at:
The Naughty Umbrella
And if you would like to talk with other readers who love Robbie, Julien & Priest, you can find them HERE at
Ella Frank’s Temptation Series Facebook Group.
Ella Frank is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan-favorite contemporary romance, Sex Addict. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.
Want to stay up to date with all things Ella?
You can sign up here to join her newsletter
For more information
www.ellafrank.com
