Julian punches his thumb against the button for the elevator, and it opens immediately with a quiet chime that echoes in the quiet lobby. This elevator is now hallowed ground to us, and as we step inside, it feels like coming home.
The moment the door closes, we turn on each other as if we can all feel it. In a perfect circle, we only hold each other, breathing in how it feels to be together again. The love between us is sacred.
The ride to the top floor is short, and when the doors open again on Julian’s floor, I don’t feel ready to leave this embrace. Clearly, neither are they, because no one moves.
When the doors close again, Julian slams his hand against the red hold button, freezing the elevator in place. Then he turns on us with frenzy in his eyes.
A frenzy I know we can all feel.
My hand latches around the back of his neck, hauling his mouth to mine. I kiss him with ferocity, nibbling on his lips and sucking eagerly on his tongue. He mewls and moans into my mouth.
Coming up for air, I reach for Freya next, burying my hand in her hair and dragging her pretty, soft lips to mine. Her kiss isn’t any gentler or any more inhibited. She is just as ravenous for me as I am for her.
I’d like to strip them both down right here and have my waywith them in this elevator. And when Freya practically leaps into my arms, wrapping her legs around my waist, it’s clear she feels the same.
Julian and I squeeze her between us as our lips tangle messily. I just need them in any way I can have them, and while I can acknowledge that fucking in this elevator isn’t quite realistic, I’m too hungry for them to care about that now.
Freya is rubbing her eager cunt against me as Julian kisses the back of her neck. Julian’s hands travel up the front of her shirt, massaging her breasts as I kiss a line along her jaw.
“Both of you. Inside. Now,” he mutters in a sexy command. He hits a button, and the doors of the elevator open.
Rather than set Freya back on her feet, I hoist her over my shoulder and carry her out of the compartment. She squeals excitedly as we follow Julian into his apartment.
Being back here after the fight we had last night is jarring. I glance down at the floor as if the ring I tore off and tossed away would be waiting for me, but it’s not.
We don’t stop in the living room or kitchen. Julian leads us directly into his bedroom and then into the bathroom. “I need you both naked immediately.”
After he starts the shower, he disappears from the room. I set Freya on her feet and stroke a gentle touch across her cheek. She grips my hand, her hesitant eyes lifting to meet my face. “Archer, I?—”
“You don’t have to apologize,” I say, but she only shakes her head.
“Yes, I do.” Her voice squeaks as she starts to cry, and I gather her in my arms. She doesn’t seem to care that I’m still sweat-soaked and bloody. Her arms wrap around me lovingly, her petite shoulders shaking against me as she cries. “I was scared,” she sobs.
“So was I.”
“I told my mom everything, and I won’t ever do that to you again.”
Her cheeks are soft in my hands as I lift her face up to mine. “I’m sorry you had to do that alone.”
“Me too,” she replies. “But that was my own fault.”
“And how did she take it?”
With a smile, she shrugs. “Wonderful. She likes you. I mean…who wouldn’t?”
Gently, I press my lips to hers, because sometimes kisses say what words can’t. Things likeI love you. Things likeit’s okay. Things likeI’m here now.
“I thought I told you two to get naked,” Julian says from the doorway to his room.
With a chuckle, I help her out of her shirt. As I unsnap the back of her bra, my mind briefly questions if perhaps I forgive too easily. Should I have demanded more of an apology or a promise that it won’t happen again?
My heart says no. Because maybe my heart knows that coming back isn’t something I do often. Sticking around isn’t normally my style, but here I am. I’ve pushed away my parents, my brother, my best friend. I don’t want to push Julian and Freya away.
They are not the ones I run away from. They are the ones I run away to.
Julian is stripping off his shirt and pants. Desperate to be free from these clothes, I reach behind my back and tug off my T-shirt. I can’t seem to get naked fast enough.
By the time the three of us step under the spray, it’s like the elevator all over again. We’re all feral and desperate for each other’s touch. Freya wraps her arms around my neck, her wet, naked body against mine.
