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Dante was a handsome man, and Sylvia couldn’t understand what would leave such a man with a yearning for priesthood. She always associated priests with older guys. She wouldn’t be surprised if his congregation sat at mass on a Sunday and drooled over him.
Why would a priest be so troubled though?
“Have I lost you?” Sylvia jumped at Eric’s words.
“What?” Sylvia blinked, and focused her attention on him. “Sorry. I was thinking about something.”
“Hmm. My brother no doubt.” Eric smiled. “He gives me a lot to think about on most occasions…You know what? You need to see the sky from outside.” Eric jumped up and pulled her up with him.
At the door, he helped Sylvia into a thermal fleece, and pulled on his own before he held the door open for her to step outside.
“It’s a clear night, and just look at the stars.”
“It’s breathtaking,” Sylvia commented as she leaned against the porch railing to gaze up at the night sky.
“Yes she is,” Eric whispered.
Sylvia turned and realized Eric was talking about her. The look in his eyes said more than anything ever could, and as he came and stood behind her, his arms curved around her stomach in a loving caress. With a slight tug, he had her wrapped up in his strong arms, and she felt like he never intended to let her go. So, as they watched the stars together, she prayed he never would.
Chapter Fifteen
The morning walk had turned into something more and Eric didn’t know whether to be disgruntled or not. Since they’d started walking, both Sylvia and Emelia had been chatting away, which left him to talk to his brother. Eric had wanted to talk to Dante for a while now to try and get to the bottom of what bothered him. He just didn’t expect Sylvia to pass him over for his sister. He knew he was being too damn childish but he just couldn’t help himself.
When they’d set off from Dante’s cabin that morning, everyone had been quiet, and probably still sleepy, because God knew he had been after having a naked Sylvia in his arms all night. They’d made love twice—a frantic coupling in the shower and then a slow seduction in bed. Sylvia had been worried about making too much noise with Dante and Emelia being under the same roof, but they’d managed it. He would have had to use his hand if she’d refused because he’d been so fucking hard for her.
With a quick rearrange in his jeans, Eric stopped to admire the view of the mountains he could see peeping through the trees up ahead. He’d done this trek with Dante before, but the view and the approach never got old.
“You have it bad.” Dante laughed, stopping beside him.
Eric frowned.
“It’s written all over your face,” Dante continued, “plus, this is the first time you’ve ever introduced anyone to the family.”
He expected that to come up and it didn’t bother him like he thought it would. So he admitted, “I’m not letting her get away. For one, I’m not going to run unless it’s toward, Sylvia.” He sighed and gazed at his woman. “She’s one in a million and we’ve been dancing around each other for over twelve months now.”
“Twelve months?” Dante commented, and whistled. “That’s a hell of a long time for you. What took you so long?”
“She was dating Ramon.”
“What?”
“He took her out, and to family functions, but it turns out that when Ramon admitted to his feelings for Noah that Sylvia wasn’t as disappointed as she could have been. She’s mine now, so that’s all that really matters.”
Dante chuckled. “I’m happy for you, brother. I’ll wait to be asked to marry you both.”
Eric whipped his head around and faced Dante. “I never said that.” His heart beat frantically in his chest at the thought of a permanent commitment. He’d only just come to the realization that he couldn’t walk away from her, but marriage? Hell, that really did give him a fright.
The grin on Dante’s face when it finally registered told him he’d been successfully teased.
The ass!
“So, what’s going on with you?” Eric turned the tables on his brother. It was a question he’d wanted to ask and had waited for the right moment, so he figured the heart-to-heart was finally the right time.
At first he sensed his brother was going to lie, but then he admitted, “I’m tired, Eric.” He moved forward, away from the rock that Sylvia and Emelia were sitting on, and looked out to the valley below. “I don’t know what I want anymore. At one time, I knew exactly what I wanted and I went for it, but that ended and I became a priest.” Sighing, he sat on a large boulder and leaned forward, his arms rested against his thighs as he met Eric’s gaze. “I jumped at religion to hide.”
“Hide? From what?” Eric was puzzled.
“Life.” Dante glanced over to the women before the view in front of them held his focus. “Something happened that I’m not going to get into, and it sent me running scared, straight to the church. It was a split-second decision and one I’ve had to live with since then, as well as the consequences of what happened.”
