“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Archer says as he rushes to put his body between me and the exit. “Of course you’re not interrupting.”
“Then what is happening?” I ask with a quiver in my voice.
“Last night, I was just—I was having a rough night, so I went to the club to find Julian, and we…” His voice trails off, and I have to squeeze my eyes shut, because the image and the knowledge are all too hard, too much to bear.
“You know what? I don’t want to know,” I argue. “I think that this is just too complicated. Three people in a relationship. I don’t know how to do this without feeling jealous when you two are together without me. I just—I need to leave. I don’t think this is going to work.”
As I reach for the door, Archer grabs my hand and tosses me over his shoulder. I shriek as the room turns upside down.
“Archer! Put me down!”
“No, I’m sorry,” he replies. “I’m kidnapping you.”
“Archer, I’m serious,” I cry, clinging to his body.
He eventually deposits me on the couch, dropping me with a bounce. Then, kneeling on the floor between my legs, he holds my chin in his finger. The loose hairs from my bun are in my face, and I stare through them at the infuriatingly handsome man in front of me.
“Are you always so intense?” I snap.
“Yes,” he replies instantly. “Now, please listen to me. I came to Julian last night because I was in a really bad mood. I just needed…him. And sometimes, it might be like that. At times, Julian will just be better at handling me. And other times, I’ll need you more. We can’t always all be together, and we can’t always fulfill each other’s needs. It doesn’t mean that we don’t care about you as much as we care about each other.”
Tears prick my eyes as I stare up at Archer. From behind him, I hear Julian add, “We needed this, Freya. Archer and I. We needed last night.”
I tilt my head to look into his eyes. “Why?”
“Because until last night,” Archer says, staring into my eyes, “Julian and I felt like just two guys dating the same girl. I wanted to feel like I was in a relationship with him too.”
“And do you?” I ask, blinking away a tear.
“Yes, I do.”
“And you?” I ask, looking at Julian behind him.
He nods. “Yeah.”
“You two don’t want to be together alone, right?”
“Fuck no,” Archer barks. Then, without warning, he wraps his arms around the backs of my thighs and drives me into the couch. “You balance us out, baby,” he mumbles with a flirty smile.
Dammit, it works, making my stomach flutter with butterflies. Is this how he’s always going to be? Making me furious one moment and then giddy the next? It’s going to be very frustrating if it is. I rest my arms on his shoulders, tousling the back of his hair.
“If we do this, I think we need clear rules and clear communication.”
“You got it,” Archer says.
“I agree,” Julian adds.
“What if two of us are stronger than all three of us?” I ask, worried for the answer.
Archer presses his lips to my stomach. “Impossible. Nothing could be stronger than the three of us.”
Julian drops onto the sofa by our side. My gaze dances between the two of them. “Are we sure we want to do this? It seems like an awful lot to take on.”
“Oh, we’re doing it, Chef,” Archer says with a wink. “Besides,” he adds, “we do have plans to make it up to you.”
“Oh really?” I ask with a tilt of my head.
Archer kisses my jawline, moving his mouth toward my neck. Meanwhile, Julian takes my hand, gently caressing my fingers and wrist.
