AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Julien climbed into the passenger seat, and once he was in, the man slammed the door shut and hit a button engaging the locks until he came around to his side and got in. Once he was behind the steering wheel, he started the engine and then glanced in the rearview mirror—then he did a double take.
“Motherfucker,” he said, and Julien whipped around in his seat to look out the back window. There, at the far end of the street, a looming figure stepped into view, a baseball bat raised in his right hand.
Julien brought his eyes back to the man in the driver’s seat, and the grey eyes boring into his suddenly sparked to life. The attraction Julien had felt outside ignited as the man reached for the gear stick and threw the car into drive before he punched the gas.
Julien was slammed back into his seat, and before he could help it, a laugh escaped him as the car shot off down the street, Lorenzo getting smaller and smaller in the side mirror as Julien’s mystery captor/savior hurtled them out into oncoming traffic that had horns blasting and Julien reaching for the bar overhead.
His heart was in his throat, his fingers were white-knuckling the oh shit bar, and his eyes flew to the surprisingly in-control driver, as Julien’s adrenaline hit an all-time high.
Who is this man? he asked himself again. He had no idea. But he was unlike any lawyer Julien had ever met before. No, this man was so much more, and Julien didn’t even care right then that he was being driven to a police station. All he hoped was that the stranger beside him took them the long way, because he wasn’t ready to be out of this man’s presence. Not now…maybe not ever.
“YOU SAVED HIM,” Robbie said, his eyes shifting from Julien to Priest. “You totally saved him.”
Julien noticed Robbie was looking at Priest with a newfound expression on his face—awe—and he couldn’t blame him. There was no one Julien admired more than the man sitting beside him.
“Oui,” Julien said. “He did save me.”
“Wow,” Robbie said, flopping back in his seat. “That’s amazing, and insane.”
“It was kind of crazy,” Julien agreed, and settled back into the crook formed by Priest’s arm. Priest eyed him, and Julien knew he was thinking about everything that had come after, but now wasn’t the time to revisit that.
Priest offered a small smile. “He was trouble from the second I laid eyes on him.”
Julien slicked his tongue across his lower lip. “Seems we have a thing for trouble,” he said, and then they both turned their eyes back to Robbie.
“I’m not trouble,” Robbie said, and then a soft yawn had him covering his mouth, the night obviously catching up with him.
“You are all kinds of trouble, Robert Bianchi.” Priest got to his feet and walked around the coffee table. “Would you like us to drive you home?”
Robbie’s eyes found Julien’s, and when he offered a lazy smile to the young man, Robbie looked back up to Priest. “But we haven’t talked yet. You know, about…” He gestured to Julien with his hand, and then to Priest, who took it in his and tugged on it, urging Robbie to his feet.
Once he was there, Priest put his index finger under Robbie’s chin and asked again, “Would you like us to drive you home?”
Julien saw Robbie’s Adam’s apple bob as he stared at Priest, and then he heard Robbie whisper, “No.”
Julien got to his feet and walked around the coffee table behind Robbie. He ran his fingers down his arm to his hand. “Then come with me.”
As Robbie turned toward him, Priest said behind them, “I’ll be in in a minute.”
Julien nodded to his husband, and as he led Robbie around the couch and toward their room, he heard Priest stacking the plates and taking them to the kitchen, and thought, not for the first time, that he couldn’t have picked a better car to steal eight years earlier.
PRIEST CLEARED AWAY the coffee table to give himself a few minutes alone to relax his brain and body. Tonight had been eye-opening in ways he hadn’t expected, including this past hour or so. Sitting in his and Julien’s condo talking with Robbie had felt so natural, so comfortable, that he’d almost forgotten why Robbie was there in the first place, and that only confirmed what they’d thought all along—Robbie was exactly who they’d been looking for.
From the restaurant, to sharing a meal and a story, to now, when he’d stood between them and said he wanted to stay the night, it had all felt so right, and Priest had to remind himself that no, Robbie wasn’t all in yet. And no, Priest wasn’t allowed to take—not yet.
But seeing Robbie down on his knees for Julien, and then later when he ate his meal—Priest took in a deep breath and leaned up against the fridge, then let it out—that had been something to behold.
