Page 37 of Savior

“Don’t be.” Her hand comes over mine, soft and reassuring.

“Did you always want to be a priest?” she asks, and I’m so damned thankful for the subject change.

I ignore the idea that she’s done so to keep my hand on her thigh and my mind off it. “Since I was very young.”

“Seems like a lonely life.”

Do not take the bait.

Do not go down that path, Luca.

“It can be.”

Her fingers brush over my knuckles, and I feel each inch they trek and memorize how they feel.

“I’ve seen too much darkness in the world to believe in… well, anything.”

I open my mouth to tell her I completely understand her stance but clamp it back shut. My fingers dig into the soft flesh of her thigh, and she shifts closer to me.

God, what are you doing to me?

No answer comes. One never does.

“Maybe you need to let the light in,” I finally manage through gritted teeth.

“Are you the light?”

My eyes flick toward the ceiling.Really?

“I’m merely a beacon ofHislight. A conduit.” My tone implies I no more believe my words than she probably does. I bite the inside of my cheek as she moves my hand up her thigh an inch.

My body burns. I fight the urge to tug my hand away. I fight the equal urge to drive it higher.

“You should come to Mass tomorrow. See for yourself. Maybe you’ll find something in the message that’s helpful.”

This has her hand pulling away from mine.

I put my hand back on my lap, where it always belonged.

“Maybe. I don’t really know if that’s the place for me. My place in the world isn’t as grand as yours, Father.”

This has me turning to face her. My eyes have adjusted to the room’s light enough to see a tear sinking down her cheek.

Capturing it, I let its gravity seep through me. “It’s grander.”

“You think too highly of me.”

“You think too little of yourself.”

For the longest moment, we stare at one another.

I’ve been teetering on a sharp edge for some time, and it seems so has Sloane.

I don’t know what that means for me.

I don’t know what it means for her.

I know it feels like a divine power brought us together for a purpose, and I’m confident that purpose isn’t for me to touch her whenever I can and dream indecently about her.

---