The Consequence of Secrets - Part Two: A Priest Romance Read Online Free Page A

for being so deceitful but I remind myself this is self-preservation. 
    “Go and put on that new dress I bought you, I’m taking you out to celebrate,” he announces, holding on to me by the tops of my arms as he peers into my face. “Are you happy?”
    “Ecstatic,” I lie, smiling broadly, because in truth, even though I feel a little guilty, most of all, I’m petrified that he’s going to find out I’m lying, and I’ll never see Braden again.
     

Chapter 4

     

Emma
    The next day, I expected to have Braden slip into the pew next to me again, but instead, I found Father Matthew was in residence instead. Finding that odd, I spend a little less time in the church than normal then try to call Braden using the number I have from when Jules and I were helping at the youth center. I want to tell him that I used the test and that we have maybe three months to come up with a plan and execute it, and hopefully it will involve putting Gabe behind bars and throwing away the key.
    I feel jittery and I need to talk. I’m nervous about what I’ve begun with Gabe, so when he doesn’t answer, I head to the Youth Center anyway, to see if perhaps Braden is there and just doesn’t have his phone on him.
    “Hello?” I ask, pushing open the entry door. The lights are on, and the first thing I notice is the mural along the back wall. It’s coming along beautifully, and looks so colorful and happy with the children’s drawings stretching along the brickwork. I’m so glad they went ahead with it as it will be beautiful when it’s all done.
    Stepping inside, I continue to look around, but no one is on the first floor that I can see, although, I can hear a rushing noise from the basement and head toward it, walking carefully down the stairs that are lit with a single bulb and down into the darkness.
    “Hello?” I call louder, the rushing noise so much louder in the vast space below, but ahead, where the basement opens out, I can see where the noise is coming from. The pool is being filled, and to the side of it, is Braden, standing at the edge looking in at the water as the internal lights cause the surface of the half filled pool to shimmer in a mess of color from the tiles below.
    “Braden,” I say, reaching out to touch his arm gently to alert him to my presence. When he turns, his beautiful face lights up with a smile as his blue eyes dance and reflect the soft glow from the pool.
    He reaches out and takes my hand, bringing me to stand next to him so we’re looking down at the filling pool together.
    “What do you think?” he asks in a yell, the rushing noise like a waterfall as the water inches upward.
    “It’s beautiful.”
    “It’s your eyes,” he yells, moving his hand about to indicate the surface. You can’t see the mural below, so all there is are the various colors bouncing in the tiny waves.
    I give his hand a gentle squeeze and look up at him, wishing for a moment that we really were standing next to a waterfall, and that I wasn’t married to a wife beater, and he wasn’t standing in front of me with his clerics and collar on, and I wasn’t lying about being pregnant and trying to find a way to disappear. I just wish that things were simpler instead of being so damn complicated all the time.
    Looking down at me, his eyes have a sadness in them as he presses his lips together in a smile then reaches up and gently runs the backs of his fingers against my cheek. His mouth moves but I don’t know what it is he said. It’s far too loud for me to hear him speak without yelling. But, I don’t really need his words; I can see what’s about to happen in his eyes.
    Slowly, he lowers his mouth to mine. At first, it’s soft – a simple teasing of lips as his nose brushes lightly over my cheek and I feel his breath wash over my face, warm, sweet, and tempting. Then comes a soft suck as he pulls at my bottom lip, his breath shaking slightly as he drops his forehead against mine, and just breathes, his eyes