Total pages in book: 21
Estimated words: 19305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 19305 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 97(@200wpm)___ 77(@250wpm)___ 64(@300wpm)
Valerie.
I don’t want to leave her behind. She’s rocked my world and left me begging for more. I can’t run, not without her. But I can never come clean about who I am. I can never tell her that the man she’s chosen to give herself to is a monster.
The delusions of a hot priest probably chip away at her soul and psyche. What would she think if she found out I’d broken at least seven of the Ten Commandments in the last few hours, let alone weeks?
But if there was ever a time to break down and pray, hoping that the big man upstairs would turn a blind eye to my discretions and lead me to salvation, it’s now. So, God, if you’re listening…
Do your thing.
6
VALERIE
Achilly wind bites at my exposed arms and legs, leaving goosebumps along every inch of skin it touches. The pitch black of this moonless night consumes my surroundings, and even the small light above the porch burns a dim shade of yellow. Two cars are parked out front. Reed’s old jalopy and an equally decrepit, muddy brown sedan.
I shouldn’t be here.
He’s busy, and I’m acting on a whim. The man I saw sitting at the coffee shop could have been anyone. Not many men in Aurora look like Reed, but I’ve fantasized about him so much and so often, I wouldn’t be surprised if my mind was playing tricks on me. Now I’m outside his manse, shivering in the cold, hoping he’ll invite me in and…
I don’t even know what.
The curtains are drawn on the only window looking into his cottage. A human-shaped shadow walks back and forth, while the other is an unmoving blob sitting off to one side. But their voices are clear, even through the howling winds.
“Listen, old timer, I don’t want to threaten a fellow brother . . .”
Threaten? Why would Reed have to make any threats at all?
“But if you don’t pack up your shit and skip town, there’s going to be trouble.” Reed stops pacing. His imposing form blocks out the light and leaves an enormous black spot on the curtain.
My monstrous angel.
“Leave? I can’t. I’m late as is, and this would further solidify me as the laughing stock of our faith,” the blob speaks. His voice is soft. Feeble. He’s afraid of Reed.
“How does the old saying go? Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words can never harm you,” Reed says. “I won’t be here long. I’m just a ghost in the wind. Give me my time, and I’ll give you your parish.”
My heart sinks into my guts.
Reed’s leaving? No. He can’t. He just got here. Perhaps I was foolish to place my trust and happiness in a man I hardly knew. I gave so much of myself to him in one big go, and I never considered him disappearing a possibility. I was blinded by lust, so desperate to have him at my side that I couldn’t see tomorrow, let alone where the future would carry us.
The feeble-sounding blob shuffles in his chair. “You’re not going to be here long, brother? And why’s that?”
“If I told you, old boy, I’d have to kill you.” I expect to hear either of the men laugh, but it never comes. “So, are you going to give me the time I need or—”
Reed takes a step towards him, and the blob raises his hands in surrender. “I’ll go. I’m not here to stand in the way of whatever demons you’re facing. But remember, when you stand before the pearly gates, your secrets will come to light.”
“When that day comes, Father, I’ll accept my place among the wretched and burning.”
Oh no. What have I done? I’ve thrown Reed off his course. Dad’s right, isn’t he? Reed isn’t anything like the priests we’ve had before. He’s a different kind of beast, using his time here to atone for the sins he’s committed in the past.
And without a thought or care in the world, I’ve placed myself between him and his salvation—for no good reason other than he drives me wild and leaves a puddle in my panties. Fuck.
The two of them stand and make their way towards the front door.
Shit, I’ve got to get out of here. I can’t let him see me, not with what I’m wearing and my dastardly intentions for standing outside his door. I launch off the porch and fall into the small flowerbed in front of it.
“What was that?” Reed swings the door open and exposes his massive, shirtless frame to the elements. “Get behind me and don’t move.”
The bespectacled man peering around Reed’s muscular physique has more of the stereotypical priest characteristics. He’s short, balding, and dressed in black with a golden cross pinned to his jacket.
“Expecting trouble?” the priest asks.
“Nothing I can’t handle,” Reed says, stepping onto the flimsy porch. The wood creaks and screeches beneath the sheer weight of him. His golden eyes scan the pitch-black horizon while his body flexes muscles I didn’t even know existed.