Priest (A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Love Story) (21 page)

I think I let out a scream right into his
mouth as I came again. That orgasm was unexpected, and I even dug my
fingernails into his back.

He didn’t complain. He sucked my tongue
into his mouth and didn’t miss a beat. He kept going, stroking in and out,
kissing me, sucking on my lips and tongue, telling me I was beautiful until I
suddenly heard him grunt, and then groan and then I felt him tense and just
before he released he said, “Daphne!”

He fell shaking into me and I held him
there. I didn’t want him to move…ever. I didn’t want to breathe. He was my air.
He was all that I needed. I knew that with everything in me.

CHAPTER
FOURTY-EIGHT

TWO
YEARS LATER

JACE

“Aw, look, Jace has a little heart-shaped
note in his lunch box…isn’t that sweet.” I felt myself blush. Daphne insists on
packing my lunch every day, which I love. But I usually check it for the notes
before I open it in front of the other guys.

I’m not ashamed of her…completely to the
contrary. But, working in construction, you have to have a little bit of a hard
edge. Pink, heart-shaped sticky notes kind of blow that out of the water.

“You’re just jealous, Craig. I’m sorry
that nobody loves you enough to send you a heart-shaped note in your lunch.”

“I’ll give you one for that ham sandwich,”
Mike said to Craig.

“It would take a lot more than a sticky
note for you to get your hands on my ham.” Mike and I were laughing before
Craig realized how that sounded. “Aw, screw you guys!” He turned his back to us
and started eating his lunch. Mike looked up at me again and said,

“Did you get that raise?”

“I got it. It’s my two year increase.
It’ll help a lot with the new house and everything.”

Mike nodded. “My raises would help if I
could get the wife to stop having kids. That Catholic stuff is okay, but I
really wish the Pope would approve birth control. She told me yesterday she’s
pregnant again.”

Craig still had his back to us, but I saw
his shoulders shake. “What’s up with you?” Mike asked him.

“How many is that, nine?”

“Shut up,” Mike said. “It’s six.”

“And, you haven’t made a boy yet?”

“This one’s gonna be a boy, I can feel
it.”

“That’s what you said about the last two.”

Mike shrugged. “Oh well, if this one
ain’t, she’ll probably try for ten more.”

“You could stop having sex, you know. That
would stop the production of children.”

“Fuck that,” Mike said. We laughed.

I thought about how different my life was
now from two years ago. The only men I had in my life then were my brothers and
other priests. I didn’t realize how much fun it was to stand around like this
and just talk and laugh like one of the guys. That’s all I am here.

Max had got me the job. I used to work
construction when I was in high school and he had a client with a construction
firm starting a new project in the city. It was perfect for me, and I took it
as another sign that I was making the right move.

Ryan had only rolled his eyes at me when
he heard I’d gone through with leaving the church. I think he was just worried
about me, but now, two years later, even he has to admit that I did the right
thing.

“When are you gonna have some, Jace?”

“I think we’re going to wait for a bit. We
just got married a month ago, you know.”

“Yeah, we were there,” Craig said. “That
little wife of yours is…”

“Don’t say it,” I told him with a warning
look.

“What?” he said, trying to look innocent.
“I was just going to say she’s a nice gal.”

“Yeah, right.” He laughed his lecherous
laugh. I wasn’t really offended. Craig talked about his wife all the time. He
was crazy about her. He just liked to give me a hard time.

After lunch, we went back to work for
another four hours. I was operating the crane today. The building was an old
church, and we were refurbishing it.

None of the guys here know about my past
as a priest, but the first day we were on the job, Craig caught me staring up
at the cross at the top of the old brick building. There must have been
reverence in my eyes because after that he called me Father Jace. I had to
laugh at that.

When the day was over, I gathered my
things, climbed in my pick-up and went home…to the woman and the life I loved.

CHAPTER
FOURTY-NINE

DAPHNE

“I think I like this one the best,” Carla
said, holding up one of my and Jace’s wedding photos. I took it from her hand
and looked at it. It was one with her in the background, making a face. I
laughed and tossed it back at her.

“I’m looking for one to have framed and
hung over my new mantle.”

“I know, I think that one is perfect,” she
said with a wink.

“I think we’ll keep looking,” I told her
with a smile.

I looked around my and Jace’s new house
and sighed contentedly. I love him so much. I love our house. I love our life.

We got married down at Columbus Park under
the lit arbor just as the sun was going down. The photos all have the harbor
and the glorious sunset in the background. It’s like the day was designed just
for us. I knew that’s an entirely narcissistic view, but on this point, I didn’t
care.

I was brought back to the present by my oh-so-direct
friend. “So, when are you going to start popping out kids?”

I laughed. “We’ve only been married for a
month. Slow down there, skippy.”

“Yeah, but you’ve been doing the nasty for
two years. Come on, you’re behind. I’ll be a fabulous auntie.”

“I’m sure you will be, as long as you
don’t say things like ‘doing the nasty’ in front of my child.”

She was crazy, but I loved her. She went
on to say, “Maybe you two aren’t doing it right. Is Jace ramming that hard…”

“Carla!” I stopped her there. I love her,
but I didn’t want to discuss my husband’s hard anything with her. My face was
bright red, I could feel it.

She laughed. “You still blush like a
school girl every time I mention sex. You need to read some trashy novels, get
some ideas. You two are probably still doing it missionary, aren’t you?”

With a giggle, I said, “Trust me, we have
plenty of our own ideas.”

“Oh, really? Tell me more. Have you done
it all over the new house yet? Does Jace like doing it doggy style?”

“Carla! Stop,” I was laughing. Jace and I
had no problems in the bedroom. As a matter of fact, it was quite the opposite.
Some days we did it like rabbits all over the house and, yes, in different
positions.

I was still not comfortable talking about
it, though, and Carla knew that. She loves to tease me. She likes to call us
“The virgin duo.” Little did she know, there was nothing virginal left about
either of us.

“Here it is,” she said, suddenly. She was
holding another photo from the pile of wedding pictures. When she handed it to
me, I saw that this time, she wasn’t kidding.

Jace and I were facing each other holding
hands. The water from the river could be seen in the background and the sun was
glinting off of it as it lowered, casting a golden glow around us both. That
was beautiful, but even more so was the look in our eyes as we stared at each
other. It was going to look perfect above the mantle.

“I love it!”

“Yeah, me, too,” she said. It was the
first serious thing she’d said in twenty minutes. “You know after you have kids
you’ll have to take it down, though, right?”

“Why?”

“Please, you’ll have so many pictures of
the kid, you won’t have room to hang your own. Just think about how gorgeous
that kid will be with the two of you as parents.”

I smiled and tried to picture our baby. I
hoped he looks just like Jace.

“Yeah, I bet he will be a looker,” I said.

“He?”

“I just think since Jace has two brothers,
maybe the boy thing runs in his family.”

“Maybe, but I’d like to order a niece,
too.”

Before I could respond to that, I heard
Jace come in the front door. He came in and found us still sitting on the couch
looking at our wedding pictures. He said hello to Carla and kissed me.

He was all dirty from work in his jeans
and t-shirt with his big arms showing underneath the short sleeves and his hard
chest outlined by the cotton material. I would take him down and eat him up
right there if Carla wasn’t here. Even after two years, just looking at him
excites me.

“What are you ladies doing?”

“We’re picking one out for above the
mantle. What do you think of this one?” I held up the one Carla picked out and
as I looked at it again I realized that part of why it was so beautiful was
that it was a day that neither of us thought we’d ever see. You could see the
love in our eyes in it.

“I love it.” The look in his eyes
described the way I felt about it without words. He leaned over and kissing me
again.

“Hey, Jace, I was just asking Daphne when
the two of you were going to start making babies,” Carla said.

He laughed. “Whenever she’s ready. I’m
going to leave that up to her.”

He wasn’t just saying that. It’s what he’s
told me from the beginning. We both want kids, but he said it was important to
him that we wait until I feel ready to do it, without being stressed or
anxious. It should be a beautiful time in our lives, not a worrisome one.

He’s so sweet that he even questioned if I
thought we should take some parenting classes, since neither of us had an
example to go on. I honestly thought we’ll be okay. I’m definitely not my
father and he is the most incredible, generous, big-hearted, nurturing person
I’ve ever met. Our baby will be so lucky to have him.

“I volunteered to show you guys some new
positions, but wifey is getting all embarrassed about it. You wouldn’t mind if
I tagged along one of these days and just made sure you two virgins were doing
it right, would you?” Carla asked him.

“Shh! Carla!” I laughed again. Thank God
Jace was used to Carla. He was laughing, too. She has no filters, but she has a
good heart and she loves me and Jace knows that. It’s all that matters to him,
and I love him that much more for putting up with her.

He winked at me and said, “I’ll leave that
up to her, too, Carla. Appreciate the offer, though.”

I looked at Jace. “I told her we were
completely fine in that department.”

“She’s is right about that. We may have
started out virgins, but I think we’ve got it mastered,” he said, wiggling his
eyebrows.

“Are you sure? You know you don’t always
have to be on top. Sometimes it’s fun and more productive to have her sit right
down on your lap and you can kind of like…” She flexed her hips up and screwed
up her face. Jace laughed and shook his head as he went into the kitchen to get
a drink. I scolded her again, jokingly.

“I want to wait a year or two. I just got
this nursing job, and I’d like to work for a while first.”

“Yeah,” Carla said, “I guess that way you
can build up some leave. Don’t take too long, though. I want a baby to play
with.”

“Why not have your own?” Jace asked her.

She looked at him like he had two heads.
“Bite your tongue. I don’t even have a regular man yet. I’m not cut out to be a
single mother.”

“You take your time, honey,” I told her.
“You’re still young and beautiful. Have fun.”

“Hey,” Jace said, pretending to be
insulted. “Are you saying being married to me isn’t any fun?”

I got up and went over to where he was
sitting. I sat down on his lap and kissed him. We forgot Carla was there as we
kissed passionately. I could feel him growing hard underneath me.

Carla cleared her throat and said, “Um… I
think I’ll just be going.”

We laughed and apologized. “Sorry, we just
get carried away,” I told her.

She snorted and said, “Newlyweds,” but she
was grinning. “I really have to go. See ya, Jace.”

“See ya, Carla.”

I got up and walked her out. I gave her a
hug before she left and promised I’d call to let her know how the new job goes.
I’d just finished two years of nursing school and I got a job at the University
Hospital. I was really excited about starting.

Jace had been so helpful and supportive
while I was in school. I couldn’t wait to start making money and contributing
to our lives. He said that part doesn’t matter, and I believe he means it. But
it will make me feel better. He works so hard. I want to be an equal partner.

After she left, Jace showered while I put
away the wedding pictures. We went out to dinner. Now that we’re living in
Boston, we eat out once a week on Fridays. The rest of the week, we take turns
cooking and on Sundays after church, we have dinner with his brothers.

We started going to a new church. It’s
still Catholic, but no one there knows our history and it’s more comfortable
for us there. We’re both still very devout, practicing Catholics. What has happened
in the past is between us and God, but we both still feel strongly that we did
the right thing and God is on our side.

Tonight, we went to a place near the
Harbor called Legal Sea Foods. It’s one of our favorite places to eat when
we’re in the mood for shellfish. The manager knows Jace from a job his company
did for him last year, so he always starts us out with a huge shrimp cocktail.

We sit upstairs when we’re in the mood for
quiet elegance, but tonight I wanted the two-pound lobster, so we had to sit
downstairs for that. It’s a lot louder downstairs because that’s where the bar
is at and a lot of college kids hang out there.

While we were eating, Jace looked over at
the bar crowd and said, “Do you ever feel like you’re missing out?”

Confused, I said, “On what?”

“You’re about the same age as those kids
at the bar. They’re just having a great time without a care in the world. You
just finished school and you have a house and a husband to take care of. Do you
ever wish you could go back and do it the way they’re doing it?”

I glanced over at the kids. I thought
about high school and even if you factored out my horrible father, you couldn’t
pay me to go back. It was fraught with constant anxiety over what to wear and
who was talking about who and what boys were going to want if I went out with
them.

Being a child of sexual abuse could have
sent me over to the promiscuous edge, but instead, it sent me in the other
direction. I never accepted dates because of my fear that the guy would want
sex. I was a senior before I had my first real relationship. He was the one who
ran when he tried to get me in bed and I told him about my dad.

I looked back at Jace and thought about
how when you change one thing in your life, it often alters the course of it,
and I said,

“No, not even a little bit. Mostly because
had I done things differently, I would not have met you. Look at me now!” I
giggled.

He smiled. “Yeah, look at you now. Happy
looks so good on you. It’s hard to imagine the different courses our lives
would have taken if we’d never met.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you think you would still be a priest
if we’d never met?”

He nodded and popped a piece of lobster in
his mouth. “Yeah, I think so,” he said, after he swallowed. “It wasn’t
terrible. I was never really content with it, but until I met you, I really
thought it was where I was supposed to be.”

“Are you ever sorry you gave it up?”

“Not even a little bit,” he said, copying
my words with a grin. “I love you, Daphne. I love our life, and I think God and
I are okay these days.”

“Good. Me, too.”

“You too what?”

“I’m good with God.”

“What about me?”

I knew what he was fishing for, but I
liked messing with him sometimes. “You just said you’re good with Him too.”

“But what about how you feel about me?”

“Oh! I’m good with you, too.” He made a
sad face and I smiled. “I love you more than life itself.”

He grinned and said, “I knew that, I just
wanted to hear it out loud.”

******

When we got home that night, Jace looked
at the couch and with a grin he said, “You know something?”

“What’s that?”

“We made love on my old couch and on your
old couch, but we haven’t done it on our new one yet.”

I went over and slid my arms around him.
He kissed me deeply, and I said, “Do you think we should christen it?”

“I absolutely do,” he agreed with a grin.
He flexed his hips into me, and I felt him already growing hard. He kissed me
again and as he did, he pulled my dress up to around my waist. I broke the kiss
and raised my arms so he could finish pulling it off. I walked over to the
couch, saying,

“Let’s do this.”

He laughed. “I think I want you on this
side,” he said. He was standing near the back of it.

I raised an eyebrow, but went around next
to him. He grabbed my face in his hands and gave me another hard kiss as he
released my bra. He flipped me around so I was facing the couch and pulled my
panties down. I stepped out of them and felt his hands roam down across my
backside, over the curves of my butt and dip between my legs.