Priest (A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Love Story) (10 page)

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

JACE

After I made sure the rest of our group
all had their canoes and each boat had at least one person in it who knew what
they were doing, I put ours into the water and stepped in. Then, I reached out
my hand and helped Lily step in.

As I did that my eyes caught Daphne’s. She
was watching us. I made sure not to let go so quickly that Lily fell down again,
but I didn’t hold onto her too long. I wondered what was going on behind
Daphne’s blue eyes. Was she wondering if I slept with Lily, too? I wondered if
I cared because I had to be careful, or because I didn’t want Daphne to think I
wanted someone else.

“Okay, so do you want to paddle, too, or—”
Lily jerked the paddle from my hand with a snort.

“Are you insinuating I’m not capable of
paddling? Do you remember summer camp, sophomore year?”

I smiled. I did remember it. That was one
of my favorite summers ever. We were sophomores in high school and we’d been
dating for about six months at that time. That was a church trip, too. We
canoed and hiked and had a campfire every night. It was a great time. It was
the first time I told Lily that I loved her, too.

It was kind of a serious topic to get into
right then, so trying to lighten the mood I said, “I remember. I remember that
I brought two whole bags of marshmallows and you burnt them all to a crisp.”

Laughing at the memory, she said, “That’s
the only way to eat a marshmallow! Those white squishy things are disgusting.
But when you make them all black and crunchy…mmm, like heaven. They melt in
your mouth.”

I rolled my eyes. “I like the puffy white
goodness,” I told her.

“Do you remember that little cave we
found?”

“Yeah,” I said, softly. “We carved our
names into the wall.” She was purposely trying to take me back to the feelings
I had for her. I wondered why.

“It was where you first told me you loved
me.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I was so nervous about
that. I wanted to tell you for weeks, but I was scared to death you would think
that I was rushing things and I’d scare you away.”

As I recalled those times, the feelings I
had for her seemed to be rushing back. Was that what she was looking for?
Obviously, I didn’t still love her, but I could remember the feel and the taste
of her lips the first time we kissed…and how badly I wanted to make love to
her, even though it went against everything I believed in at that time.

I couldn’t help but wonder how I went from
an idealistic young man that was so strong in his faith that he could turn down
temptation to the point of losing his girlfriend who also happened to be his
best friend…to a priest who had sex with a stranger. And now, looking at Lily, I
was wondering what it might be like to have sex with her.
Jesus, I’m a mess.

“It didn’t scare me,” she said. “I wanted
to hear it, so bad. I already knew I loved you. You were hard to get over,
Jace.”

She looked sad, and I got that old
familiar rush of feelings I used to get each time I told her that I wouldn’t
compromise my beliefs and have sex with her. “I’m sorry, Lily. I truly am. I’m
sorry that I hurt you. I was so confused back then. I felt the calling, but I
also felt so much for you. It was a daily struggle, trust me.”

She sucked in a deep breath and said, “You
know what? Let’s not talk about that today. It’s so pretty out here. Let’s
stick to remembering the good times…like that time we went swimming at midnight
in the Charles River?”

That one was like a zinger, straight to
the libido that was already stretched almost to its limits. I really thought
she was doing it on purpose. “Yeah, that was another unforgettable trip. If I
recall, one of us went skinny dipping that night.”

“It would have been two of us, if one of
us hadn’t been so stubborn.”

I grinned. “It was damned tempting…which
was exactly what you were going for.”

She stopped paddling and leaned in close
to my face. For a second, I thought she might kiss me. I had to wonder why I
was just sitting there, waiting for it. She didn’t kiss me, but she was
definitely flirting as she said,

“You’re right; I was like Eve trying to
tempt Adam into taking a bite of the apple. I wanted you so badly… I would have
done just about anything to get you to make love to me.”

My blood felt like it had been heated to
the boiling point. My heart was hammering against the inside wall of my chest.
I could feel sweat accumulating across my brow, and things that shouldn’t be
rising, were nearing half-mast. I could barely breathe until she finally sat
back in her seat and began paddling again.

I wanted to close my eyes and pray. I
needed some kind of guidance here, and I needed so much more strength if I was
going to keep resisting temptation. I wondered if this was a test.
Is the Lord testing my faith? Have I already
failed in my carnal thoughts alone?

I had repented over sleeping with Daphne, but
my thoughts had remained impure since that night and God knows what those are,
even if no one else does. I’d dreamt of Daphne every night, and I thought about
her at least twenty times a day. Not even Lily ever had that kind of effect on
me.

I glanced around at the people who had
come out for the trip. They all looked up to me, they respected me, and they
expected me to be who I was supposed to be. They expected me to be pure enough
to lead them, but instead, I was leading at least one of them, astray.

Ryan was right about one thing: I always
tried to be what others wanted me to be. I always felt like I was failing
miserably, too.

My eyes found Daphne. She and her friend
were talking and laughing as they paddled. Something about her tugged at me
deep in my soul. It wasn’t sex…or at least it wasn’t “just” sex. There was
something in her eyes that reminded me of myself. That lost part of my soul
that was aching to belong, but suspecting that I never would.

“Hey! Did you hear me?” Lily was looking
at me strangely.

“No, I’m sorry. I was going over next
Sunday’s sermon in my head.” I’d have to do one about fidelity so that I wasn’t
both lying and having sex. Oh hell, I’d already been lying…about having sex.
What a freaking mess. “What did you say?”
Focus,
Jace!

“Just that I missed those times we used to
have. I miss my best friend. I haven’t had one since that I was able to talk to
and had so much fun with.”

I smiled. “I feel the same way.” That part
was true. She was my friend, and we did have a great time together. “The
hardest part about losing you was losing that closeness we always just seemed
to have right from the beginning.”

She put her hand on my arm in a “friendly”
gesture…and then she stroked my skin with her thumb and said, “I’d really like
to have some of those good times again.” That touch crossed the line between
friendly and flirty.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR

DAPHNE

“Who do you think she is?” I couldn’t stop
watching Jace with that woman. It was like rubber-necking a wreck on the
freeway.

Carla rolled her eyes. “I thought you were
going to forget about him.”

“I will…tomorrow. Who do you think she is?
Maybe she’s his sister.” I was actually hoping that wasn’t true. That would
just be gross.

Carla laughed at that. “Now you’re just
trying to fool yourself. Come on, you know she’s not acting at all ‘sisterly.’”

Right. I knew that.

“No, but he’s not acting ‘fatherly,’ either.
Look at them, laughing like two kids. She’s still touching him with every other
word, too. Jeez, this is a church trip, get a grip!”

“It’s a good thing you look good in green,
girl.”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Yes, you are. Let it go, baby girl. You’re
going to get hurt.”

“I’m letting it go. I’m just curious about
the company my priest is keeping, that’s all.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

I looked back at Jace.
She’s right. I am lying through my teeth.
I’m so jealous of the woman with Jace I can hardly see straight.

God,
I have to get over him. If he’s seducing women, it’ll come out and there will
be a scandal. I don’t want to be a part of that. That’s the last thing I need.
I need to put distance between myself and him before that happens… And before
my heart explodes because right now, it feels like it’s going to.

“Oh my God! Daph! We’re going to hit the
rocks!” Carla screamed at me, and I looked over my shoulder. There was a clump
of big rocks that I hadn’t even seen. I’d been too busy mooning over Jace.
Is this my punishment? I’m going to die in
the Boston Harbor so God can judge me to my face?

I got a grip at last and said, “Quick!
Paddle left, Carla!” She started paddling frantically, and so did I. Our
screams had drawn the attention of the rest of the canoers and I saw Jace paddling
furiously towards us. He’d taken the paddle away from his girl and looked
frantic.

“We’re going to hit them!” Carla yelled.

“Let go of your paddles and hang on,” I
told her.

“What about you?”

“Just do it!” Carla put her paddle down
and grabbed onto the seat with two hands. My plan was to use my paddle to push
off against the rocks and keep us from hitting them. It was a decent plan…I
thought.

My paddle made contact and for just a
second I thought it was going to work…right up until the paddle skimmed across
the top of the stone and the boat slammed into the rocks anyways. As I was
sailing through the air, I was praying that I’d at least miss the rocks.

Luckily, God was listening. I hit the
water with a huge splash. My life jacket made it kind of like hitting a wall,
though, and I bobbed and weaved along the surface, getting caught up in the
current right away. I heard Carla yelling my name and I heard another splash,
but I was too busy trying to find something to grab onto to pay much attention
to it. I didn’t know that Jace had jumped in the water after me until I felt
his strong arms circle my waist from behind.

“I got you, Daphne. Don’t struggle, okay?”
His lips were close to my ear—and believe it or not, even in the midst of the
chaos and the chilly water, I was turned on. I had to wonder what kind of spell
this man had me under. If he kissed me right there, I wouldn’t protest.

“I’m going to move my legs,” he told me.
His breath was warm and it almost felt like he was touching my ear with his
lips on purpose. “Move yours with me, okay?”

I couldn’t speak.
God, I’m a mess. I want him to kiss me right here…right before we drown
.
I nodded. He moved his legs, and I moved mine. As they brushed against each
other under the water, it reminded me of that night and the way our legs met
each time he thrust forward and buried himself inside of me. I shuddered and
God help me, I pushed my body back into him a little bit tighter. I loved the
way his body felt against mine. I’d been craving it.

It took a while, but we made it to the
boats finally. Carla was practically hysterical. “Jeez, you just about gave me
a heart attack! What if you had hit those rocks when you flew out? You could
have been killed!”

She had tears in her eyes. It took a lot
to get Carla that upset. I felt bad. “I’m okay, Carla. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“You’re damned right you scared me!” She
realized she’d just cussed in front of a priest and looked at Jace. “Sorry, Father.”

He smiled. “It’s okay; you’re entitled to
be worried about your friend.”

“Are you okay, Jace?” the woman in his
boat spoke up. I’d almost forgotten about her.

“I’m good, Lily.”

“Can I help you in?” She just wanted to
touch him again.
I don’t like her.

“You know what? Since Daphne and I are
both soaking wet, we should just take the same boat. The water will pool up in
the bottom and there’s no sense in the two of you getting all wet, too. I’m not
certain how many sets of extra clothes the volunteers collected to bring.”

I looked at Carla. She was trying to
suppress a smile. I gave her a warning look. Then, I looked at the woman in
Jace’s boat. She wasn’t smiling. That made me smile. I’m a terrible person. She
was thinking Jace wanted to be with me. I was hoping for the same.

“That sounds like a smart idea,” Carla
said. She stood up and while Jace held onto the other boat, she stepped into
it.

He looked at his “friend” then and said, “We’ll
see you ladies on the other side.”

She smiled, but it looked forced. Carla
started paddling. She was still grinning. For a girl who told me I should give
up on the priest, she sure was happy to give us room to be together. Jace
helped me up into the canoe and then I grabbed his arm and helped pull him in,
as well.

For a few seconds, we just sat there
looking at each other. Finally I said, “Thank you for saving me.” My teeth were
chattering together. I was cold, but I was also nervous.

Jace grinned. “You’re welcome. I’m sure
you would have been okay. It’s hard to move around in these life jackets
sometimes, but they’ll keep you bobbing down the harbor all day.”

“I appreciate it anyways,” I said, picking
up the oars. “I didn’t really want to bob down the harbor all day.” He was
giving me a strange look. I realized he was looking at the oars in my hands.

“I don’t think so.” He was grinning.

“You don’t think so, what?” He didn’t want
me to row the boat.
Man, you make one
mistake...

“I’ll row, thanks. Not that I don’t trust
you…”

I laughed. “Seriously?” He didn’t answer
me with words. Instead, he reached over and plucked the oars out of my hands
with a grin and began to row.

After a bit, just to break the awkward
silence I said, “I’m sorry you got all soaking wet.”

“It’s really okay, Daphne. The church has
a big wicker basket full of donated clothes that they told me we take to all of
our functions, just in case. We can grab some of those and hang these up to dry
while we have lunch. It’ll be fine.”

I was right on the verge of asking him
about his friend. Thankfully, I caught myself. That would have been way too
familiar. We had a one-night stand that really, really, never should have
happened. I have to stop this and get him out of my head.

I shivered again as I watched him rowing
the boat in his wet t-shirt and jeans. The t-shirt clung to his chest and abs,
and his biceps flexed and tensed as he rowed us to shore and I was reminded of
the way they’d tensed and flexed when he held himself up over me and…