Page 14 of Priest (Confessions 3)

“Over here,” Julien said from where he was leaning against the wall of a terrace that had lights strung up around the trestles.

Priest let the door go, and as it slowly shut behind him, the din of the crowd inside faded until there was nothing—just silence.

“What is this place?” Priest asked, as he took in the patio filled with outdoor furniture. A couch ran halfway around the perimeter of the fence enclosure that had to be soundproofed, because he couldn’t hear any traffic outside, and in L.A., that was close to impossible. There was a fire pit off to one side and a large table with an umbrella on the other that was also covered in twinkling lights.

“It’s where the contestants used to come and talk things out after each challenge.”

Priest slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked farther out onto the patio and looked around. “So it’s basically where you argued, gossiped, and—”

“Sat thinking about everything I’d say the next time I saw you. Oui.”

Priest ignored the final effort his conscience was trying to put forth for him to walk away, and instead did the exact opposite. He strode over to Julien until he was toe to toe with him. “What did you come up with?”

Julien lowered his gaze to Priest’s mouth. “Nothing…”

When one of Priest’s eyebrows rose, Julien pushed off the wall and closed the gap between them.

“I realized that I don’t want to talk, monsieur. Not anymore. And neither do you.”

Julien raised his hands and put his palms flat on Priest’s chest; the second they connected, it was like a match had caught, and the fire began to blaze.

“How private is this patio, chef?”

“How private do you want it to be?” Julien said, his breath ghosting along Priest’s jaw.

Priest wrapped his fingers around Julien’s wrists and slowly drew them away from his body. When Julien opened his mouth as though to protest, Priest wedged his foot between Julien’s and brought his hands behind his back. “I want it to be private enough that I can have another taste of you…”

When Priest’s very obvious erection brushed up against the one Julien had no hope of concealing, Julien made a sound close to a purr in the back of his throat, and then angled his head back, his lips parting on a soft moan.

“Putain,” Julien said, and Priest finally did what he’d wanted to do from the first time he’d met Julien Thornton: he tongued that lower lip and watched those jade eyes darken with arousal.

“You are a devastatingly attractive man, Mr. Thornton. Breathtaking.”

Julien thrust his hips forward, making Priest growl, and then he said, “Embrasse-moi…”

Priest narrowed his eyes, wondering what that meant, but then Julien’s lips curved into a provocative smile and the message was clear, even before he whispered, “Kiss me.”

Nothing could’ve held Priest back then. He had been fighting his attraction to this man since he’d found him trying to hot-wire his car, and when he finally touched his lips to the lush ones waiting for him, Priest’s entire world changed course.

The first thing he realized was that he hadn’t been wrong. That first kiss in his office hadn’t been some delusion he’d made up because he couldn’t get Julien out of his head. He hadn’t imagined that intense passion they’d shared even through the sadness—if anything, he’d underplayed it.

The second thing: Priest was in so much trouble, because all of the rules he’d ever put in place for himself about getting involved or allowing someone to care for him? He was about to throw them right out the window if it meant having this man in his life.

Priest released one of Julien’s hands and ran his fingers down his cheek, and as he held Julien’s chin in place, Priest finally sank his tongue inside that delicious mouth and tasted every inch of it until a groan rumbled out of Julien.

As Julien’s back hit the wall, his eyes flew open, and he pulled his mouth free, panting. With swollen lips and lust-filled eyes, he continued to move his lower body against Priest. “Ahh, I see how it is …”

Priest remained silent, but braced his hands on either side of Julien’s head, waiting for whatever he was going to say next.

“Now that I’ve won Chef Master, you suddenly want me.”

Priest narrowed his eyes at that assessment. “If you believe that, then you don’t see anything at all.”

“Non?”

“No. I’ve always wanted you, even when you were locked in a jail cell.”

Bold as ever, Julien leaned forward and scraped his teeth along Priest’s jaw, and when he got to the ear, he said, “Prove it.”

Priest had no problem doing that, and was about to show him. But before he could, Julien slipped out from between him and the wall and said, “I got my life together because you said it was the only way I could have you. But now it’s your turn, Mr. Priest.”

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