Chapter 24
The townhome was quiet today, probably because neither of us wanted to go to his damn fundraiser. Especially because it was honoring the ‘hardworking ruler of our sweet town, Jack Saint Clare.’ I told Gloria I didn’t want to go, and she scolded me.
“It is the town you are appearing for, not Jack. Please behave, Father Franklin. People have already felt your absence in the past few months.”
Translation…
Ever since I had my Mortifera and didn’t give a shit about faking it.
Damn…
I was getting too careless in my affection for Sayuri.
It wasn’t like I was making out with her daily, though I can’t say I didn’t want to.
I have respected her. She’s slowly found herself, little by little.
As the cage that Kaito had her in dissolves.
I was here for her freedom, not to become another cage.
The problem was…my heart felt like it was in a cage, and she had the key.
Sunlight spilled through the blinds in sharp, golden streaks that cut across the polished wood floor.
The heater hummed faintly in the background, casting a low, warm glow across the room, and I sat on the edge of the couch, my robe loose, with one leg bent.
My coffee was already cooling on the table in front of me, and I looked at my watch.
Dammit. I need to move my ass.
“I’m getting ready, Mortifera, be down in a bit!”
I ran up the stairs, stripping as I went. I practically threw myself into the bathroom, and I hadn’t even noticed the door was left ajar until the steam billowed up the mirror and I caught the shadowy form in my peripheral vision.
She wants to watch?
Smiling to myself, I turned my back to the door and motioned my hand like I was grabbing my dick. She was a Peeping Tom. I had to mess with her.
“Mmm. Fuck, Sayuri, just like that, I need you.” I moaned as convincingly as I could. This may have started as a joke, but seeing and hearing her soft gasps made me hard for real.
“Oh god, I can’t help myself. I need you.”
The groans and grunts weren’t exactly fake, despite myself. This woman was addictive. It wasn’t fair.
I wasn’t ready to give up my game, not yet.
She was leaning against the wall, her lips parted and her dainty hands pressed against her chest.
“I need you, Sayuri…I need you to know that…”
She hung on every whimpered word, and I reveled in this masterful brilliance.
“I need you to know that…” I repeated.
If being a priest ever failed me, I had a blossoming career as a porn star.
“Sayuri, just know that…” In a clear, calm voice, I turned toward her and finished. “I really need you to know that wombats have cube-shaped shit.”
Sayuri blinked, completely stunned. I cackled like a damn hyena as she ran at me.
“Are you kidding me, Jed? What on earth is your damage?”
I laughed harder as her fists pounded into my chest where she could reach.
“You are ill!”
She was in the shower with me, and dammit, her body sculpted to her dress so wet like this.
“Yeah, I am so crazy, baby.” I teased and held her fists above her head. “About you.”
She gasped again and then caught herself faltering. “I don’t know what to do with you, ōkami.”
I waggled my eyebrows at her. “Well, darling, you were the one spying on me. What did you expect?”
She blushed and shook her head, trying to get out of the glass containment.
“Oh no, you don’t,” I said, spinning her around.
The soap on the shower bottom was too slippery, and her wiggling caused me to fall on my ass. Her body came down with me, toppling over my chest.
We stared at each other for a moment and then burst out laughing. The uncontained joy made my sides hurt, but then I saw the light spark in her eyes. It was so rare I could see her this close, so vulnerable.
I am fucked.
“Sayuri…” I said slowly, not even knowing what the fuck I was doing.
“Yes, Jed?” Her voice was just as slow, and it was like gravity was pulling us closer, her lips so damn close to mine.
“I…lo—”
Knock. Knock. Knock.
We jolted apart, our hearts beating so fast they felt as one.
“Jed? Are you in there?”
Fuuuuck, it was Gloria of all people.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Normally, I wouldn’t look so much like a kid caught with his hand in the delicious cookie jar, but Gloria…had a key.
“Hide!” I harshly whispered to Sayuri, scrambling to get out of the shower and throw on a towel over my deflating dick.
At least he had gotten some sense.
My heart slammed, and the panic surged when I heard the front entrance door click and Gloria enter. I glanced at Sayuri, her eyes wide and her chest heaving.
“It’s okay. We got this. Just um. Go hide in the closet.”
“The closet? Really Jed? What are you? A teenger?”
I shook my head. “No, actually, I am a sworn holy figure who had a woman in my shower.”
Her eyes flicked to mine again before rolling her eyes and tiptoing to the bathroom closet.
“Behave, Mortifera,” I said softly.
She started to fuss, but I shook my head.
“Shh,” I warned, pressing my finger to my lips, stepping back, and shutting her safely inside.
Gloria knocked on the crack in the door, and it creaked open. Gloria’s head peeked in, her clipboard in hand, and her expression slightly flustered.
Had she seen Sayuri?
“Jed…I, uh…I am sorry I didn’t realize you were indecent. I was uh…I was just checking on—”
I straightened my spine, forcing calm and letting a smirk curl across my lips to mask the rapid beating of my heart. “Gloria. Everything okay?”
Her eyes swept the room, oblivious to the chaos hiding just inches from her gaze. In her hand, she held out one of Sayuri’s soft, silky underwear, and I paled.
“What is this, Father?”
I cleared my throat, snatching the thing from her hand and forcing a laugh. “Oh, thanks, Gloria. Jerry did some laundry here, and he was missing some items from Dawn’s load. I will let him know it’s been safely retrieved.
Gloria looked at me like she didn’t quite believe my quick wit, but she dusted off her blouse and nodded.
“Is there a reason for your unexpected drop in, Gloria?”
“Yes…I just wanted to see if everything was on schedule for the fundraiser.”
I nodded slowly, adjusting the towel on my hips and standing in front of the closet to better hide Sayuri. “All good. Wrapping things up here, and I’ll be heading over soon.”
She hummed, jotting notes. My chest was still hammering, my pulse loud in my ears. She lingered a moment and then sighed deeply.
“I also felt it was right to warn you that Miranda will be present. I know you requested her absence in this…but it is her husband. I can’t very well ask him to exclude her.”
My blood went cold. Miranda. Of course.
“I see.”
Gloria waited for me to say something else and then muttered something about running another errand when I didn’t.
When she left, and I heard the door downstairs click shut behind her, I let the air out of my lungs.
I exhaled slowly and opened the closet door. Sayuri peeked out, her eyes wide, with her pouty lips slightly parted, and cheeks still flushed. There was a puddle on the floor where she crouched, and a few minutes later, the water would have seeped out of the bottom where Gloria could see.
“You…you’re impossible,” she whispered, yanking her panties from my hand and stuffing them in her pocket.
“And you love it,” I murmured, a purposeful smirk sliding across my mouth. “Always leaving puddles around me. Tsk tsk, altar girl.”
She let out a soft laugh and whacked me with the back of her hand lightly.
I leaned closer, brushing a stray lock of damp hair from her face, my hand lingering lightly, possessive, and protective. The smell of soap, wood, and heat hung between us while every second stretched, and every heartbeat bloomed like a flower that cocooned us.
“You should keep those silky strings in a more private space next time, naughty girl,” I murmured, low, letting the warning curl like smoke around her.
Her lips twitched into a small smile, and she leaned against me a fraction of an inch closer. The tension between us was thick, tangible, and dangerous.
I let my hands rest lightly on her shoulders, my fingers grazing. Every brush of her wet skin sent sparks up my spine. Her eyes met mine, wide and vulnerable, yet daring. I could almost…almost speak the words that had been burning in my chest for months.
I love you.
But I didn’t.
My love wasn’t a gift.
It was a cage.
And my beautiful acolyte was too beautifully freed.
Instead, I let the quiet stretch, heavy with our heat and laughter. She shifted slightly, warm and pliable against me as she embraced me in a hug I wasn’t expecting. I could feel the tension in her body as her pulse quickened under my fingers.
“Next time…?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
When I didn’t elaborate, she waited, but I walked away and out of the bathroom. She followed me. I opened my drawer and scooped out a handful of my clothes. She studied me as I dropped the garments on the floor and offered her my hand.
“A drawer for your drawers, milady.”
She rolled her eyes and laughed, but she walked forward and placed her single piece of clothing inside the opening. It was so peaceful to watch the joy spread along her face. I could see it in her smile. She felt this. She knew that she belonged here.
With me.
She let herself settle against my chest just a little more than before. My heart broke open for her. I loved this damn woman so much it hurt.
But I couldn’t tell her.
If I did…it would doom us both.