AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I thought we weren’t going to talk about me,” I say, trying my best to smile back at him.
“Okay, I can talk about myself,” he says. “There’s something I find deeply upsetting about you having to deal with this just because of who your mother is. You shouldn’t have to deal with the consequences of things you have nothing to do with.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your mom,” he says. “I think she had some experience with what you’re going through.”
“You think it wasn’t mental illness? You think she was actually possessed?” I ask, my throat suddenly dry. Fuck, I wanna talk about this, but even talking feels like a monumental amount of effort all of a sudden.
“I think you’d be surprised at how closely linked those things are,” he says softly. “And I also think it takes a hell of a lot of work and grit to be able to stave it off and live something that’s almost entirely like a normal life. It must be hard for you, pretending everything’s okay even when you feel like you’re drowning.”
I laugh. “Yes. You’re really bad at talking about yourself.”
“Occupational hazard,” he replies. “Who wants to hear anything about how a priest is doing? What I’m thinking? I’m here to listen. Not talk about my own issues.”
“I don’t want you to listen,” I say, turning my head to look at him. Even though I can only see a sliver of him in the darkness of night, he’s exceptionally handsome; arched eyebrows framing his high-cheekbones, olive skin stretching over the rest of his features. “I want to talk about you.”
“What about me?”
“Anything,” I say. “What are you thinking about right now?”
He considers that for a second. “I probably shouldn’t tell you,” he says.
“Why?”
“Because it’s embarrassing,” he replies, his voice dropping into something that sounds like a dark, breathy whisper. “And it’s private.”
I bite down on my lower lip. It’s hot outside, but the air between us feels electrified, even hotter than before. Maybe it’s just me. But I don’t move at all, and I wait for him to continue, all while I wonder if he even is going to continue at all.
“But do you really want to know?” he says in a whisper.
“Yes,” I reply, then nudge him with my elbow. “C’mon, Father Salinas. Confess.”
He snorts. I love it when he laughs. When he smiles.
“I’m thinking about how beautiful you are,” he says. “I’m thinking about how much I wish I could wrap my arms around you right now and feel your lips against mine. How much I wish I could take your mind off all this shit.”
“By doing what?”
I feel him swallow next to me. I probably shouldn’t have asked that, but I’m so fucking curious, and he’s so close, and he smells so fucking fantastic—I can’t stop myself. I can feel heat uncurling in the pit of my stomach as he inches even closer to me, his pinky against mine.
This is the first time I’ve been close enough to him to smell him, and his scent is a mild mix of soap and incense.
“By making you come,” he says, his lips only inches away from my ear. “Until the only thing you can think about is your pleasure.”
“You…like me?” I ask, practically stumbling over my words.
He laughs, obviously disconcerted. “What is there not to like?” he says. “You’re so beautiful, and smart, and funny. I’m made of flesh and blood. And I like women. It would be so hard not to notice you.”
I bite down on my lower lip. “I wasn’t expecting this,” I say.
“I still want us to be friends,” he says. “I don’t want you to be self-conscious around me. I don’t want our dynamic to change. But, honestly, it’s hard to look at you and know that the two of them have had sex with you and I’ll never get to see what your face looks like when you come. It’s selfish. Stupid. And it feels like it’s the only thing I can think about.”
I slide my hand down the front of my body, toward my breasts, and I can hear his breath catching in his throat. I didn’t expect to be as turned on as I am when he looks at me, but his gaze is electrifying, and as his breathing quickens, so does mine. “You don’t have to touch me,” I say. “Watching isn’t a sin, right?”
He laughs. “Don’t worry. If it is, I can repent later.”
I hitch up my skirt, leaning back on the railing. I hear his breath catch, and I slide my fingers into my panties, running the tips of them along my clit and sending a shiver up my spine. I’m already so turned on, and the way he’s looking at me—the hunger written all over his face, the fact that he won’t move to touch me.
