“WE MEET again, Mr. Thornton.”

A shiver of awareness raced up Julien Thornton’s spine as he stood in the jail cell of a downtown L.A. police station where he’d been thrown around an hour ago for public intoxication.

He didn’t need to turn to know who was on the opposite side of those steel bars. That voice was the one he’d been hoping to hear when he’d made his “one call” and left a message after a generic voicemail. That voice? It had been on his mind since the last time he’d heard it, nearly two weeks earlier when he’d met—and attempted to steal the car of—a man who called himself Priest.

Julien pivoted on his heels, and when he did, he realized that he’d grossly underestimated the impact that Joel Priestley had had on him the first time around.

Oui, he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him, that was true, and oui, he might’ve purposely provoked the police officer tonight hoping he’d end up needing a lawyer. But Dieu, he’d forgotten the way Priest made his body respond. Like an inferno was licking through his veins.

With auburn hair, stormy eyes, and a presence that Julien gravitated toward like a magnetic force, he didn’t think anything could prepare a person for the powerful energy Priest exuded. Not to mention that cool, judgmental stare of his.

But Julien had no one to blame for that judgment but himself. Maybe if they didn’t always meet at the end of one of his week-long benders, he could have the upper hand with this man for once. And wouldn’t that be délicieux, he thought, as he looked at the lawyer who’d dropped him home two weeks before, instead of at the police station like he’d originally threatened.

Priest was as put together now, at three in the morning, as he had been that afternoon in the alley. Suited up in a tailored navy number that framed his broad shoulders and emphasized the rich color of his hair, he looked sharp, controlled, and dangerous to Julien’s already unstable state of mind as he stood there sizing him up with an unreadable expression.

“I’m curious,” Priest finally said, as he clasped his hands behind his back and took a step closer to the cell where Julien had spent most of the night sobering up. “Did you not understand me the last time we spoke?”

Julien clenched his jaw and wondered if Priest realized how condescending he sounded when he spoke—or just how much it turned Julien on. “Non. I understood just fine.”

“Then what part of ‘I won’t be so lenient next time’ made you think that calling me to bail you out of here was a good idea?”

Julien was still trying to work that out himself, but thought it might have something to do with the fact that he was drawn to this man. There was something about Priest that made him feel alive, when all he’d felt for months now was dead inside.

When Julien didn’t respond, Priest cocked his head, studying him closely, the disapproval rolling off him in waves. “Are you that hard up for a date that this was the only way you could think to get one?”

Putain, the man was arrogant. But for reasons Julien couldn’t explain, that seemed to make him all the more appealing. “You’re the one who gave me your card the last time we met. Perhaps it’s you who are hard up for a date, monsieur. Giving your number out to—”

“Criminals?” Priest frowned. “No. That’s called smart business acumen, considering I’m a criminal attorney.”

Julien scoffed. “I’m hardly a criminal.”

“Really?” Priest said, and took his time examining the six-by-eight space Julien currently stood in. He then leaned forward and said in a lowered voice, “Your current situation tells a different kind of story.”

Despite his “current situation,” and the reason he’d gotten himself into it, Julien felt his lips curve, and he realized exactly why he was drawn to Priest. He possessed the one thing that Julien had been looking for—the ability to take his mind off the black hole his life had become. “Maybe it’s le destin.”

“And what does that mean? Destiny?” Priest straightened and brought his arm around to check the time. “I doubt destiny has anything to do with it. A more likely scenario is that I was your only option.”

“Even if that’s true,” Julien said as he wrapped his fingers around the bars, “you came anyway.”

“As I said before, it’s my job.”

“At three in the morning?”

“At any hour of the morning,” Priest said, and then looked down the hallway that was devoid of anything other than dreary off-white tiles and horribly bright fluorescent lighting. “I’m going to go and see if I can get you out, and then you and I are going to have a talk.”

Something about the way Priest said you and I made Julien’s pulse race, and as Priest went to walk away, Julien whispered, “J’ai vraiment hâte,” and the ever-so-serious lawyer stopped in his tracks and looked back.

This time when those eyes roamed over Julien, his breath caught. There was nothing cool about that stare now. There was heat, interest, and an intensity that made Julien’s fingers tighten around the bars before Priest cut the connection and walked away.

Julien watched him go until he disappeared around the end of the hall, and then he released his breath on a rush. Merde. He’d never been so attracted to someone in all his life, and as he stood there waiting for Priest to save him yet again, Julien knew he needed to stop what he was thinking.

There was no way in hell he deserved someone like that. Non, no way at all. That didn’t, however, stop him from counting down the minutes until Priest returned to him…

AS THE MATTRESS dipped down under him, Julien’s eyes slowly opened and the man from his dreams took form in front of him.

He was gloriously naked, and the glow of the city lights cast an intimate silhouette of Priest as he pulled back the covers and slipped between the sheets for the second time that night. The room was silent as Julien placed a hand against Priest’s chest and studied his face, wanting to see for himself if the strain from tonight’s unexpected caller had eased any.

“I thought you’d fallen back asleep,” Priest said, as he covered Julien’s hand with his own, and that was when Julien saw it: the slight narrowing of Priest’s eyes, as though he was still troubled over what had happened earlier. He ran his fingers down Julien’s cheek.

“Non. Not yet. I was drifting in and out. But it’s never a bad thing to open my eyes and see you, mon amour.” Julien turned his head and brushed his lips over Priest’s fingers. “I was actually thinking about you. So one might say you appeared right out of my dreams.”

“One might also say that you are tired and slightly delusional.”

“Peut-être,” Julien said, and then a soft hum left his throat as Priest kissed his jaw, and then started to make his way down Julien’s neck. “That’s one of the reasons you love me, is it not?”

Priest’s lips drifted over Julien’s collarbone, then he raised his head and said, “It is.”

Julien cradled Priest’s face between his hands, and this close he could see that Priest’s eyes were focused on him, waiting for whatever it was Julien wanted to say, and there was plenty.

It was sometime early Thursday morning, and less than an hour had passed since their boyfriend, Robbie Bianchi, had arrived at their front door ready to take them up on their offer that he move in. But unbeknownst to their princesse, he had walked into a situation none of them could’ve seen coming.

So oui, Julien had plenty to say about tonight’s turn of events. But he also knew that now wasn’t the time. Instead, he looked over to the slip of light visible through the cracked door of the bathroom and asked, “Is Robbie coming?”

“He already came. He’s showering now, winding down,” Priest said, as he rolled Julien to his back and maneuvered himself over the top of him. He wasn’t fooled at all by Julien’s diversion tactics. “I thought you would’ve joined us in there.”

“I know,” Julien said, and originally he’d thought so too after he’d sent Robbie in to find Priest. But once he’d brought Robbie’s bags inside and locked up, Julien had been unable to push aside the call regarding Priest’s father, and had known that following Robbie into the bathroom wouldn’t be about giving Priest what he needed right then, but more about what he himself did—and that was answers.

“I had too many questions for you,” Julien said. “I still do.”

Priest sighed and lowered his forehead to rest it against Julien’s. “It’s late. Can’t we wait until tomorrow to drag my past out into the light of day?”

Julien opened his legs so Priest could settle in between them, and then ran his fingers over the scruff of his beard. “Oui, we can wait.”

Priest rested his forearms by Julien’s head and shut his eyes. It was clear he was more in control than he had been an hour ago, but there was still an air of agitation about him. “How about you tell me about this dream of yours instead?”

Julien let his eyes flutter shut and, for the moment, allowed Priest to distract them both. “Well, it was about you.”

“Yes… You already said that.” Priest pressed a kiss to Julien’s lips. “What about me?”

Julien’s eyes opened and he grinned against Priest’s mouth. “I was thinking about the night you bailed me out of jail. And how— Ahh…” One of Priest’s hands had slipped down to wrap around Julien’s stiffening cock, giving him a long, slow pull. “Refais-le, Joel.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I can’t think about anything when you’re doing that. Putain.” Julien arched his head back into the pillow, as he thrust his hips off the bed.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Jamais,” Julien said, panting.

Priest began to move his hand up and down Julien’s erection, and then he sucked on Julien’s lower lip. “Why were you thinking about that night? Surely we have more memorable ones.”

“We have many,” Julien said, as his eyes found Priest’s. “But I was thinking about how glad I was that I kicked that police officer in the shins.”

Priest’s hand stopped its movement, his eyes narrowing a fraction. “I didn’t know that,” he said, and Julien craned his head up to kiss Priest’s serious mouth.

“Oui. He was going to let me go that night with a warning. But I… Dieu que c’est bon.”

“But you?”

“I wanted to see you again.”

“Even if it meant jail?”

“Even if it meant jail,” Julien said. “I wanted you to come for me.”

“Jesus. I always forget what a reprobate you were when we first met. So much fucking trouble.”

Julien wound his arms around Priest’s neck. “Like you’re a saint. Tell me, did you make Robbie wait until after you came before you sucked his cock tonight, or—”

“How can you be sure I sucked his cock?”

“Because, mon amour,” Julien said, as he flicked his tongue over Priest’s lower lip, “I can taste him on you.”

Priest tossed back the sheet and moved his way down Julien’s body.

“I find that I’m in the mood to focus on things other than myself tonight. Sucking Robert off was a great distraction, and from my experience, our princess mixes very well with something French.”

Once Priest was on his stomach between Julien’s thighs, he ran his tongue up the underside of Julien’s shaft, well on his way to blocking out his problems with something more pleasurable. “Let’s see if that’s still accurate.”

And all Julien managed as Priest lowered his mouth down over him was “Oui… Let’s.”

ROBBIE BIANCHI STOOD in the steamy shower stall with his eyes shut and his head tipped down, as warm water sluiced over his tired muscles. It felt ah-mazing against his stiff neck and shoulders, and after the week he’d had, he was enjoying the few solitary minutes he had to himself.

Not that he wanted to be alone. Oh, hell no. Not when the alternative was to belong to the two men in the room next door. But when he’d made the spur-of-the-moment decision tonight to accept Julien and Priest’s invitation to live with them, Robbie had expected to knock on their door and then crawl in bed between them. Instead, he’d walked into a situation he hadn’t expected or understood—and, quite frankly, he still didn’t. All he knew was that whatever it was, it had left Priest broodier than usual and Julien visibly stressed.

Robbie wiped the water away from his eyes and then reached for one of the bottles of body wash and flicked open the lid. As he brought it up under his nose, he took in a deep breath, and the scent that enveloped him was all Julien.

Mmm mm mmm. Robbie remembered that scent well. But considering the visual that accompanied it, that was hardly surprising. Julien’s leg… Over his shoulder… His nose burrowed in the short curls surrounding his French boyfriend’s cock. Not to mention the way Priest had deliciously laid claim to his husband at the same time Robbie had been giving Julien head.

It was, hands down, one of the hottest moments of Robbie’s life, and one he’d memorized and relived about a hundred times since—in private, of course.

He grinned at the memory and felt a little giddy over the fact that he could now think of Julien and Priest as his, then he poured some of the gel into his palm and began to rub it all over his body.

As he soaped up, Robbie realized for the first time since he’d arrived that he was completely and utterly relaxed. He knew a lot of that had to do with the orgasm Priest had just given him before heading back to bed. But he was also aware it had to do with this new sense of purpose he was feeling.

These two men—his two men—had invited Robbie deeper into their world tonight. It was clear that Priest had gotten some troubling news this evening. But instead of telling Robbie that now wasn’t the time to discuss moving in, Julien had opened their door and told him, with an honesty Robbie was coming to admire and respect, that Priest had needed him—him, Robbie Bianchi—and then sent him off to go and help their man…

ROBBIE WALKED INTO Julien and Priest’s—and wow, my—bedroom, and heard the faint sound of water lapping up against the bathtub. He stared for a moment at the crumpled sheets on the massive bed and wondered what exactly had been so upsetting that it had pulled both of these men from their sleep, since he now knew it hadn’t been him.

Knowing he wouldn’t get any answers by just standing there, he continued in the direction of the bathroom where he knew Priest would be. When he reached the doorway and stepped inside, the large aquarium that had once captured his attention now played second fiddle to the man who was lounging in the porcelain tub with his back to him.

Priest’s thick hair was darker than usual, as though he’d run his wet hands through it, and his arms were up on the rim, where he was tapping out a steady beat that didn’t falter, didn’t once waver, as Robbie walked further into the room.

When he reached the side of the tub and stopped, Priest angled his head and let his gaze wander up Robbie’s jeans to his plain white Henley, and when their eyes collided, Robbie could instantly see what Julien had been speaking of.

Troubled. That was the word Julien had used. Priest had received “troubling news,” and it was right there in his eyes that were usually so focused, as they drifted off over Robbie’s shoulder to look at nothing in particular.

It was apparent that no talk was wanted for the moment, and when Priest turned to look up at his fish, Robbie wondered if that was his cue to leave. He stood there staring down at the silent man he had started to believe he knew, and realized that perhaps he’d been wrong. Maybe he’d rushed into all of this without thinking, because he suddenly had no idea what he was supposed to do next.

Robbie swallowed around the lump that had lodged in his throat, and as he looked over his shoulder, ready to go back out and find Julien, he felt the light touch of fingers against his own. He glanced down to see that Priest had reached out to him, and this time when their eyes connected, there was an unspoken request: stay.

Robbie looked around the bathroom, trying to decide what to do next, then his eyes landed on the towels that were neatly folded over a silver bar attached to the tiled wall and he had an idea.

Both Priest and Julien had said that the one thing that grounded Priest most in his life was control. Control of his surroundings so he wouldn’t think about everything else swirling out of his grasp. So maybe if Robbie gave him something to focus on…maybe if he gave Priest complete control over him right here and now, Robbie could somehow calm whatever was wreaking havoc behind that inscrutable expression.

Robbie took one of the towels from the bar and folded it over, then he dropped it down on the floor by the tub.

Priest’s eyes narrowed slightly at the move, but then he finally spoke. “Strip.”

Robbie’s heart soared at the order. Knowing that he’d just read the situation and man right filled him with a sense of accomplishment he’d never experienced before, and, without another word, he stripped.

Not a minute later, Robbie stood as naked as the man lying beneath the water, and finally Priest ran his eyes over him.

The last time they’d been in this situation, Robbie remembered how hard his heart had been beating, not to mention how hard other parts of him had been. He’d been aroused and nervous, on edge about how he’d been feeling and what was going to happen later that night. But this time around, as he stood there for Priest, along with the arousal, he felt something different: compassion.

He wanted to help Priest, to heal him, as silly as that may sound. But right then, Robbie knew he could offer Priest something that no one else could—total acquiescence.

“Kneel by me,” Priest said, and Robbie went to his knees.

When he was on eye level with Priest, he reached for Robbie and ran his finger down his jaw line. “Are you here to stay, Robert?”

Robbie knew without a doubt what Priest was asking. Was he moving in? And Robbie licked his lower lip and said without reservation, “Yes.”

Priest slowly nodded. “And right here, right now with me… Are you comfortable where you are?”

Robbie had never been more so—and wasn’t that eye-opening for someone who prided himself of being fabulously independent and strong-willed? “Yes.”

“Good. I like seeing you there. More than I probably should.”

A flush of pleasure swept over him, and when he went to respond, Priest touched his fingers to Robbie’s lips.

“Shh,” Priest said. “No more for now. Just be here. That is enough. You being here with us, it’s as it should be.”

AFTER THAT, ROBBIE had willingly washed Priest from head to toe and had been completely shocked when Priest then climbed out of the tub and went down on his knees.

What was probably more shocking, though, Robbie thought, as he turned the faucet off and stepped out of the shower, was the fact that during that moment, he’d been just as consumed with what his heart was feeling as his body—and when it came to these two men, there were a whole lot of “never befores” going on.

Because whether he was in a room with them or not, Robbie’s memories of Julien and Priest were so vivid that he sometimes imagined he could hear their voices when they weren’t there.

It would’ve been embarrassing if they could read his mind to see just how hard he was—what? Falling for them? Yeah, that’s totally what’s going on here. I’m falling all over myself for them. God…

Robbie finished toweling off, and then pulled open the bedroom door, and the image that greeted him made him more than aware that he had to be careful of how fast he allowed himself to move here, because every second he spent with them, Robbie got in deeper.

The light from the en suite spilled into the room and surrounded Julien and Priest where they lay on the mattress. The covers had been kicked off the end of the bed, and Julien was stretched out naked with his legs spread wide. His hands were gently stroking Priest’s hair as he lay between Julien’s thighs with his cheek resting on Julien’s hip and his eyes shut.

They looked relaxed and peaceful. A far cry from what they’d been when Robbie had arrived earlier, and when Julien spotted him and offered an inviting smile, Robbie walked toward the bed.

As Robbie climbed onto the mattress, Priest shifted slightly but didn’t open his eyes as Julien continued to stroke his hair.

Robbie carefully scooted in close until he was lying on his side with only inches separating them, and then he whispered, “He sleeps. I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen proof.”

Julien’s eyes softened as he looked down to Priest. “It’s rare, but oui, he does sleep.”

“That’s good, right?”

“That’s very good. I wasn’t sure he would anymore tonight.”

Robbie yawned as he slipped his hands under his cheek on the pillow. “He hardly said anything to me in there. I wasn’t even sure what to do, but…”

“Whatever you did was parfait. You, as yourself, are exactly who he needed tonight. He’ll talk when he’s ready. He always does.” Julien brought his hand up to touch Robbie’s chin. “Now it’s time for you to get some sleep.”

Robbie nodded and heard Julien whisper, “Close your eyes, princesse. Everything’s going to be all right.”

Yes, Robbie thought, as his mind began to drift off.

Tonight he’d come to these men—his men—and as he fell asleep beside them, he knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be.

Robbie Bianchi was finally home.