Chapter 42
Freya
In my dreams, I’m floating over boiling pots and steaming vegetables. Vibrant bursts of color appear in front of me, and I soar through the chalky powder like sailing through clouds.
Then I’m in my kitchen, but instead of noise and chaos, it’s quiet and serene. Archer is there, watching me from across the room as I stir the marsala sauce. He has a delicious, aroused look on his face, as if I’m doing something salacious and erotic.
Looking down, I realize I’m naked, but instead of being filled with embarrassment, I flaunt my body for him, feeling sexual and empowered by it.
Warm hands slide up my thighs, and I press back into them. Knowing it’s Julian, I hum into his touch as he softly whispers in my ear, “Remember when you said I could do this?”
Suddenly, I’m needy and desperate for him. I want his touch, his pleasure, his cock.
He tugs me toward him. Moisture leaks from my core as the need and arousal rises. It’s so intense it almost hurts.
Then Julian thrusts inside me, and I’m no longer inside my kitchen or floating through clouds of color. I’m in Julian’s bed, clutching the sheets tight as he impales me on his cock.
My eyes are still closed, my hips pressing back to meet his thrusts.
“Oh God,” I cry out as I writhe beneath him. It doesn’t just feel good. It’s like my body is made of pleasure. It still thinks I’m in a dream, and I moan and whimper like an animal as he fucks me. “Don’t stop,” I exclaim as he picks up speed.
“Does that feel good, baby?” Archer mumbles with his lips against my cheek.
“It feels so good,” I reply.
Finally peeling my eyes open, I stare into Archer’s eyes as he lies next to me. I realize now that all the softness I was feeling when I was asleep was their hands on me at the same time.
Archer takes my mouth in a kiss while Julian continues pistoning his hips. Reaching my hand down Archer’s body, I find his hard cock hidden behind his briefs. I rub my palm against it, making him moan.
“Can I fill your mouth while he fills your pussy?” he mutters in my ear. His filthy words set my body on fire.
“Yes, please,” I reply in desperation.
Archer scrambles to a kneeling position in front of me. I have to move onto my hands to elevate my top half in order to reach my mouth to his cock. Then I let him slide his length along my tongue, reaching the back of my throat.
When I gag, he groans loudly. Then I wrap my hand around the base and stroke him as my lips work his shaft. Once I get into the rhythm with Archer’s cock, I’m able to really relax and take in the sensation of both of them filling me at once.
“Fuck, baby,” Archer grunts, holding my hair at the scalp.
“Look at you, Freya,” Julian adds. “Taking two cocks first thing in the morning.”
“That’s our girl,” Archer replies. “All fucking ours.”
“Oh God, I’m coming,” Julian says, his voice strained and wheezing. His hips jerk and stutter as he unloads inside me.
I pick up the speed on Archer’s cock, squeezing the head and sucking on the tip to make his body shudder. With a deafening groan, he comes, and when the salty jets hit my tongue, I close my lips around his cock and swallow.
“Good girl,” he says, stroking my face as I clean up his length with my tongue. With both of them still inside me, they reach for each other, and I hear the sound of their lips devouring each other.
Collapsing onto the bed when we’re all spent, our bodies lie in a warm heap together. I’m not sure whose leg I’m touching or who’s stroking my hair, but I don’t care. My eyes drift closed again, and I melt back into my dreams, wishing I could wake up like this every day.
“You want some more coffee?” Julian asks as he passes by, pausing to place a warm kiss on the side of my face.
“Yes, please,” I reply.
He leaves to brew me another cup.
Onyx purrs in my lap as I read the initial reviews for the restaurant, even though the guys told me not to. Of course, all of them are glowing so far. With time, I’m sure I’ll stop looking, but for now, I need this praise. The risk of looking is worth the reward.
Onyx meows, rubbing her face against my neck. I scratch her head and kiss her between the ears. “Did you know my namesake, the Norse goddess Freyja, rides in a chariot pulled by cats?”
Julian laughs near the coffee maker. “How on earth did you know that?”
“My mother is a mythology professor, Julian. Just get her started on stories, and she’ll tell you some wild stuff.”
He chuckles again. “Well, that’s good to know. Gives me something to talk to her about when we take her sightseeing tomorrow.”
“Oh, she’ll love that.” The idea of spending the day with my mother, Archer, and Julian fills me with a sense of excitement and a hint of anxiety.
This is really happening. She is whole-heartedly accepting of us, and I love her so much for that.
But yeah…the idea of having two boyfriends around my mom still makes me giddy. And I can’t wait.
Julian sets down my coffee and pets Onyx too. “Guess we need more cats for your chariot.”
“Where’s Archer?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” Julian replies. “He left early this morning. He’s up to something, I can tell.”
“Oh God,” I reply with a frightened look. “I don’t know if I should be excited or terrified.”
Julian chuckles before going to the fridge to make Onyx her breakfast. “You know, I’ve been thinking,” he starts. “And maybe Archer should be here for this, but it’s really your choice…”
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“It seems wasteful to have you paying for that little flat across town.”
My hand stills on the cat’s back as I stare at Julian, who is talking way too nonchalantly for my comfort.
“If I didn’t pay for that flat, where would I live?” I ask with caution, in case I’m reading this situation wrong.
He glances over his shoulder at me. “You’re here every night anyway.”
“Julian, are you asking me to move in with you?”
As he turns around with the glass dish in his hand and sees the expression of shock on my face, I think he realizes the gravity of this moment. Then I remember that Julian is not and has never been a relationship guy. He doesn’t realize that this is huge.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?”
“No reason,” I say, quickly swallowing down my shock. “You know I’ll have to move all my stuff in.”
“Of course.”
“And I’ll want to add some color to this place.”
“I sure hope so,” he says. Watching me suspiciously, he places the cat food on the floor. “So is that a yes?”
Pressing my lips together and trying to remain casual so as not to spook him, I nod. “Yeah, I think that’s probably a good idea.”
“Good,” he replies, as if we just decided on what to have for dinner. Not the rest of our lives.
“And what about Archer?” I ask.
“He’s probably downstairs packing up as we speak.” We both laugh, our eyes glistening with excitement.
As I finish my coffee, I bounce my knee under the counter, just imagining what it will feel like to make Julian’s apartment mine too. This gorgeous penthouse will be mine. Waking up every morning like I did today.
“We should get going,” he says, looking down at his watch.
“Where is he?” I complain.
“He’ll just have to meet us there. I’ll text him,” Julian replies from the mirror by the front door. He’s checking his appearance, but instead of meticulously styling his hair like he used to, he runs his fingers through it, leaving it sort of messy.
I watch with pride as he shakes a pill from the bottle onto his palm and tosses it into his mouth. He’s not ashamed or afraid anymore, and it makes my heart swell to see it. Then he grabs the keys and walks to the door. I pat Onyx on the head as I go, grabbing my bag on the way.
When we reach the hallway, I tuck myself under Julian’s arm. “Your partner is going to kick you off the team if you don’t go back to work at the club.”
“I’d like to see him try,” he jokes.
“I’m serious, babe. You have your own company to run. I won’t need you at the restaurant every day.”
“I know,” he mumbles with his lips against the side of my head. “Let me get you through your first week, and then I’ll go back. Besides, there are six of us running that place. They’re doing just fine without me.”
He presses the button for the elevator, and we wait for it to open.
“Yes, but I bet they miss you.”
He chuckles at that. “Maybe.”
Just then, the doors chime as they open, and I smile at the sight of Archer in the elevator. My mouth opens, ready to greet him as I suddenly realize that he’s not standing. Then my eyes widen, and Julian stiffens at my side.
“Oh my God,” he mutters.
Archer is down on one knee in the center of the elevator with a box in his open hand. My jaw is hanging open as I take in the sight of him like this, tears brimming in his eyes.
“I had a good, long talk with my mom last night, and we spoke about family and what it means to us. She explained that without my dad and my brother to hold her down, she felt lost, like she belonged nowhere. That’s how I felt before I met you two.
You are my family. You are my forever. You keep me grounded and make me excited for the future.
You give me something to live for, and all I want is to be everything and more for you too. ”
I suck in air on a sob as the world seems to fade out of focus around the man on his knees in front of me.
There’s a tremble of nerves in his voice, and it makes me love him even more to know he’s genuinely nervous about this. When the elevator doors try to close, Julian slams a hand against them to keep them open.
“Technically, it’s not legal yet for three people to get married,” Archer continues, “but I have to believe some day it will be. Although I don’t care about the laws. It’s the commitment I care about. I want you two to know I will be yours forever.”
My fingers lift to my lips as a tear slips over my cheeks.
“So…will you?” he stammers. “Marry me?”
It’s silent for only one second, so all I hear is my own heart thrumming in my ears. Not a shred of doubt courses through my mind. I would marry Archer right this very second if given the chance.
“I’m not sure how this would work,” Archer says. “If maybe you two want to talk about it first—”
“Yes,” Julian blurts out with enthusiasm.
“Yes, you want to talk about it first?” Archer asks.
Julian smiles the brightest I’ve ever seen him smile. “Yes, we’ll marry you, Archer. I mean—”
He looks down at me, at the tears ruining my makeup as I glance back and forth between them. Did they really think there’d be any hesitation in my mind?
“The world only makes sense to me when the three of us are together. I don’t need to think about it,” I say, wiping my eyes. “Yes. I want to marry you.”
“Really?” Archer asks as hope and relief fill his lungs. His eyes are blazing as he jumps to his feet. The three of us collide with tears, sniffles, and giggles. I kiss each of them in a rush, a flurry of excitement holding me tight in its grip.
The doors of the elevator close behind us, and we hardly notice. Archer opens the ring box to reveal two simple and elegant gold bands. Pulling them out one at a time, he hands the first to me, sliding it on my ring finger. It feels so surreal as it passes the knuckles.
Then he pulls out Julian’s and slides it on his only empty finger. It blends beautifully with the others.
With excitement and elation, we fall together. I fit snugly under Archer’s chin while Julian nestles into his side. We are like a puzzle, stacked together perfectly. Like we were made for this.
And truly, nothing brings me more pleasure than hearing them kiss as I cuddle into Archer’s chest. Then feeling the moisture on each of their lips as I take a kiss of my own.
These men are mine. And now I have a ring on my finger that says they will be mine forever.
When we reach the lobby floor, the doors open, and we’re met with a noisy celebration of cheers and applause from the apartment staff. It’s sort of fitting they’re here since they were here the night we met.
“They knew about this?” Julian asks.
Archer laughs as we step off the elevator. “Yeah, I needed their help holding it for me at the top while I waited for you guys.”
“Is this where you’ve been all morning?” I ask, staring down at the gold on my finger.
“Yeah, I called a jeweler at the crack of dawn. After last night, I knew I needed them today.”
“I’m so proud of you,” I say, touching his face with love in my eyes.
This is a big deal for Archer. Not just the commitment but the bright outlook on the future.
That’s not something he had when I met him, and it’s not something he wanted.
Now he’s not just excited about the future but he’s making plans for it, ready to live it.
“Now let’s get to work. We have a restaurant to open,” Archer says, placing each of us on either side of him as we walk.
To think I met these two men when they were at their lowest, when they considered themselves hard to love, but it was never hard for me. I saw the diamonds shining under the dirt they buried themselves in.
When they were the most guarded and closed off to the world, they were suddenly thrust into mine.
They’ve taught me so much already in these six months.
They’ve taught me that money buys a lot of things but can never fill the hole in your heart.
They’ve taught me that the ones who push away the hardest usually need love the most. And they’ve taught me that the greatest thing the universe can reward you with is people, and I must have done something really good because I have two of the best. And they’re all mine.