That night he’d come to me through the tunnels had changed everything. It was like all the years between us had melted away, all of the pain, all of the longing, all of the suffering, and we were finally back where we were supposed to be, with each other.
I needed to trust that, trust him—and I did.
I grabbed the remote, about to kick off my shoes and watch some mindless TV, when a knock on the door put every muscle in my body on high alert.
No…
No, there’s no way that’s?—
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I tossed the remote on the couch and ran to the door, which I all but ripped off its hinges.
There, standing in front of me in relaxed jeans, a cozy turtleneck sweater, and perfectly windswept hair, stood Rafael. He had a bag in each hand, and a half-smile on his lips, and when our eyes locked and held, he shrugged.
“You got room for an ex-priest with nowhere to go?”
I reached for his sweater and pulled him inside as I shoved the door shut behind him, my lips finding his before he could say another word.
The sound of bags falling to the floor was overshadowed by my groan when Rafael cradled my face and deepened the kiss,slipping his tongue between my lips and sweeping the inside of my mouth, tasting every inch he could.
My body instantly reacted to being touched, held, and loved by him, my heart racing, my cock throbbing as he ran his fingers through my hair.
“You’re really here,” I whispered, pulling back so I could look at him standing in my place again.
“I really am.”
“For how long?”
“For however long you want me.”
My stomach flipped as I looked him over, not quite believing what he was saying—and some part of that disbelief must’ve been written on my face, because Rafael reached for my hand and brought it up to his heart.
“I spoke with the archbishop. I told him everything.”
My eyes widened at the thought of confessing anything to De Vecchi, let alone my most sinful thoughts. “When you sayeverything…”
“That I still love you. That I’ve always loved you.”
I grimaced. “Bet he loved that.”
Rafael laced his fingers through mine. “He wasn’t all that surprised.”
“No?” I led him through the living space to the wide, U-shaped couch that faced my mammoth TV. “He seemed pretty confident about your needing to follow God the last time I spoke to him.”
“He mentioned that. But he also told me that he always knew there was affection between us.”
“Affection?”
Rafael nodded as I gestured for him to sit, and when he moved to the corner seat, I made sure to take the spot right beside him.
He grinned and arched a brow toward the rest of the enormous couch, but I shook my head.
“If you think for one second I’m moving over there, you’ve lost your mind,” I said.
“Not at all.” Rafael took my chin between his fingers and leaned in to brush a kiss across my lips. “I was just thinking how happy I am that you chose to sit so close. You’ve been too far for too long.”
“Notthatfar,” I said, glancing over at the window that overlooked the rectory, but Rafael cradled my cheek and turned me back to face him.
