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I hear King and Rook chuckle, but as I turn to Priest, the flames are shimmering in his eyes. A slight curve to his lip appears, and I give him the same in return. I catch a couple of kernels and cool them before making a spectacle of tossing them up and catching them before the screams stop, the gurgling quiets, and the body sags. I pack away my things and say bye to Tali and Carmen, heading out the door.
“What do we do now? With the body, I mean?” Priest asks, genuinely curious.
“We leave the cell door open for a few days, and the wildlife will take what they want, then what's left will be released into gen pop.”
“So what do we do now?”
“Head home and get shit-faced.”
Dane and Dice are watching the twins. I told them I wouldn’t be back for a day or two. They know what I’m doing, so we head for the clubhouse.
Before King and Rook take off, Rook grumbles. “I need to get the smell of terrible BBQ off me before it ruins it for me altogether,” he kisses me on the cheek. “You did good!”
They walk away. I smell myself and frown. Priest reaches over the bar, grabs a tequila bottle, and then reaches for my hand. “Come on, you can get cleaned up in my room.” He doesn't wait for a reply. He just takes off down the hall, dragging me behind him.
He chugs the tequila as he backs into his room but never breaks eye contact. It feels different, he feels different. When he hands it to me, I do the same. I only turn to look away as I rest the bottle down. He steps towards me. “You were fucking magnificent tonight.”
I give him a half smile as he steps forward again. “Are you okay?”
I nod, giving him another small smile. He steps closer still, and now his chest brushes mine as we both breathe heavier. “Priest,” I say quietly. I close my eyes. He reaches up and cups my face. “I’m not sure–” I sigh as I relax into his hand. “I’m so fucking lonely, but I’m not sure I can do this. I’m not sure relationships are for me anymore. I’m not the same person.”
“Ray, look at me.” He pushes my chin up so I'm facing him. “Steel once told me, he told you, when people are made, they're made in pairs, one single heart and mind split into two and sent off into the world. Maybe they’ll find each other, maybe they won’t. He… he said you were the other half of him.”
“Priest, don't… please.”
“I truly believe that Ray, that you were made for him. However, after everything you went through and survived…” He slides his hand over my hammering heart. “You were reborn in the fires of hell. Reshaped into a new being, a superior being, a phoenix rising from the ashes. What returned, this devastatingly beautiful creature before me I believe, is the other half of me, the other half of my heart and the other half of my soul!”
He moves slowly towards me, giving me an out, but as his lips reach mine, gentle but firm, I melt into him. The kiss is relaxed and unhurried. His tongue slides against mine, and he steps into me, pushing me back against the wall. I slide my hand up over the back of his head, pulling him in closer, but he steps back as my heart hammers in my chest.
“I will put the shower on for you.” He steps back, and I’m confused.
“Priest, I’m sorry… Did I do something wrong?”
“Not at all, but I’m a patient man, Ray. I want you to be one hundred percent ready for this, whatever this is, and for that to happen, we need to have a talk. I have very specific tastes… and we need to make sure that is something you're comfortable with. But you must shower first because that smell is confusing.”
“Confusing?” I ask, cocking my head to the side.
“Yeah, I can't decide if I'm hungry or horny.”
I actually laugh and can't decide when I last laughed like that.
As I step into the bathroom, Priest steps out; a part of me is disappointed, and a part of me is relieved. I don’t look… how I used to. My body is not the same. It's been abused and broken and reborn… I just don't know if I know who I am yet.
Priest steps back in the bathroom while my back is to him, and I freeze and start to breathe heavily. Fuck, I can’t think straight. I’m panicking at the thought of him seeing me naked, but the door clicks open, and he slides in behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing slowly down my neck.
“I want to take this slow with you and want to make sure you're ready. I will wait for you, but I can't play second best to a ghost, Ray, so you need to be ready. That being said, knowing you were in here, I couldn't stay out there.”
He spins me around so I’m facing him, and I look up into his eyes. He's not that much taller than me, only a few inches, and as I meet his eyes, he steps back, raking his gaze over every part of me. I suddenly feel self-conscious. I start to cover my stomach, and he takes my hand in his and pulls the small scar to his lips that I left on myself, and he kisses it. He drops abruptly to his knees before kissing across my stomach, every place where there's a stretch mark or a scar not caused by Bas and Roach. Then, rising to his feet, he kisses me slowly. Then he takes a step back, causing a shudder to rain over my body.
“You're the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I don't want to scare you off… maybe we should talk before we… can’t put the lid back on Pandora's box.”
He steps back again. “I’ll wait. No rush. I just need to take a step back till we've talked.”
I nod, and he leaves. When I climb out of the shower, there's a T-shirt on the sink for me, so I dry off and slide it on. This all feels too familiar and not quite different enough. But I step out of the room, and he's on the bed, ankles crossed, a long, lean body covered by only a pair of boxer shorts that are doing little to help hide the situation.
I pull at the bottom of the T-shirt, stretching and tugging it down. “I can’t say I’ve seen this look on you before, Ray. It's adorable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so unsure about something.”
I take a deep breath. “I'm unsure of everything these days, Priest, especially my body… I’m… self-conscious. My body isn't what it used to be. It's tattered, torn, defiled, and ugly… you're laid out with barely a blemish, and the only tattoo you have is the Reapers’ one. Priest, we are a million miles apart.”
