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“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.
