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“We don’t want to mess it up. We want to enhance it,” Priest said. “Julien and I love each other very much. But at the same time, we recognize there are certain things we can’t offer one another. Things that someone else could.”
“Like me?”
“Exactly like you.”
Robbie’s eyes narrowed, and he grew more serious than Priest had ever seen him before. “And what exactly is that?”
“For me,” Julien said, “it’s your warmth, your smile, the happiness that radiates off you in waves. You’re so passionate about things whether you’re angry or excited, and that joy you have for life? It’s contagious. It’s special, princesse. You are special.” Julien gave Robbie a half-smile that made his dimple come out to play. “Priest knew it from the second he saw you.”
Priest reached out and touched a thumb to Robbie’s lower lip, tugging it free of his teeth until Robbie was staring right at him. “I’m a—what did you call me? A strange, strange man,” Priest said, with a slight arch to his eyebrow that made Robbie grin. “I’m also a very busy man. And it’s not something borne out of unhappiness within my relationship at home, but more the driving need I have to never stop.”
A frown pulled down Robbie’s brows. “What do you mean, never stop?”
“When you stop doing things, your mind wanders, you lose control of what you’re focused on, and you start to think about other things. And for me, that never ends well.”
“So, you keep busy so you won’t think about these other things?”
“Yes,” Priest said. “And I like control over my life, as much as possible. I had so little of it as a child, and now I find it helps me to stay focused. But that makes for a lonely home at times. I can become distant, shut down, intense…” He looked to Julien, who shook his head and reached for Priest’s hand.
“You’re always there, mon amour.”
Priest’s lips tilted, but they both knew he was right. While they both had ghosts that haunted them, his had left him feeling less of everything, whereas Julien’s had left him feeling more.
Robbie moved so he was on his knees between them. “Can I ask another question?”
“Always,” Priest said, and Julien nodded.
“If this isn’t just about sex, if this is about a—”
Robbie looked between them, and Priest finished, “A relationship.”
“Yes,” Robbie said, and began to twist his linen pajama top in his hands. “How do I know that I’m not going to get hurt? What if I fall in love with the both of you and you decide it was just sex?” Robbie shook his head. “I can’t just be some experiment. I won’t do that.”
“We would never do that to you,” Julien said.
“You say that,” Robbie said. “But how do I know that?”
“You don’t.” Priest’s words landed in the room like a bomb, but then he reached for Robbie’s hand and entwined their fingers, and Robbie took in a shuddery breath. Priest found that he was just as affected by the touch—it was simple, it was intimate, and it was so powerful that it caught him completely unawares.
He swallowed, and then looked to Julien, who was watching the two of them closely. “We have never done something like this before. We have never”—Priest paused, searching for the right words—“never invited anyone beyond our bed. But we are inviting you inside our lives, Robert. We aren’t the most traditional men, we are aware. But we want you to know us, we want you to understand us, and we want to know you. We know that’s going to take time, and we also know the risk on all sides. You might decide you don’t want to be with us.”
Robbie snorted. “Are you kidding?”
“No. I’m not,” Priest said. “Relationships are complex. Feelings follow no rules.”
“All we’re saying is, you can’t control your heart, princesse.” Julien took Robbie’s hand in his. “I learned that years ago. Do you really think Priest is an easy man to love?”
Robbie grinned but said nothing.
“Exactly,” Julien said. “Any relationship is risky.”
“But,” Priest said, and looked at Julien, “it’s a risk we want to take because we want you to be ours.”
Robbie blushed and scooted up the bed on his knees until he was closer to the two of them. “And you…you’d both be mine?”
Julien’s lips curved as he brought Robbie’s hand up to his lips and kissed the center of his palm. “Oui. We’d be yours.”
Robbie looked at Priest and pursed his lips. “And there’d be no one else. No other person brought in? Just us three.”
Priest smirked. “Do you really believe for a second we could handle anyone else when we’re busy handling you?”
“That’s not an answer…Joel,” Robbie said, and Priest tugged on his hand, bringing Robbie close enough that their mouths were only a breath away.
“If you are in our bed, there will be no need for anyone else. We already told you: we’ve been looking for you.”
