“Da?”
“I need you to promise me something,” she breathed.
“Anything,” came his immediate answer.
Maggie flicked her gaze to his mouth, her thumb tracing along the line where his cheek met his beard. “Promise you’ll never lie to me again…”
“I promise,” he agreed, his voice husky and low. “No more secrets, no more lies.”
That was all she needed to hear. Maggie wanted to throw caution to the wind and kiss the priest then and there. She nearly did, but for a frantic knock at the door.
Chapter Nineteen
Anatoly could feel Maggie’s breath on his neck as he leaned in. His brain was foggy with desire, making it difficult to think, to do anything other than pray she kissed him. He wanted so badly to feel her soft, pink lips against his mouth, to slip his fingers into her hair and hold her close to his chest. The strength of this temptation was too much for him to resist; she was too much for him to resist.
He was just about to give in when the pounding at the door shattered the moment. In a flash, he was stepping away from her, clearing his throat and trying to smooth his torn, holey shirt.
“Father Anatoly! Are you okay in there?” James’s voice came through the door as the handle wiggled, but it was still locked.
Maggie bent over and picked up the pistol from the floor, then slipped it back into her purse. Once she was done, Anatoly finally unlocked and opened the door so that James could see all was well.
“We are fine, Father Deacon,” Anatoly assured him, attempting to keep his voice even.
“I heard gunfire,” James pressed.
The deacon glanced over at Maggie, who had wandered to the other side of the room. Her cheeks were flushed pink and even from the corner of his eye, Anatoly found her alluring. More than anything, he wanted James to leave so they could resume their conversation.
“Gun did go off, but nobody was hurt. There is no cause for alarm,” he insisted to his subordinate. He was ready to pull rank and insist the deacon let the matter drop, but he appeared to take the dismissal in Anatoly’s tone.
“If you need me…”
Anatoly shook his head. “I will not, but thank you, James.”
The deacon glanced at Maggie again, the slightest bit of tension evident around the corners of his mouth. His dislike was evident, but that was a matter that could be dealt with later.
“I will see you at midnight mass, Father,” James said, and then he retreated through the door, leaving the pair alone once more.
“I take it he hasn’t seen your bullet trick yet,” Maggie remarked, her tone wry. Now that they were alone, she had turned to face him again just as he was now facing her. She looked nervous, her fingers playing idly with the hem of her sweater.
Anatoly felt it, too. The room seemed smaller and yet she was too far away for his liking. His feet moved without conscious thought, closing the distance between them in just a few, measured strides. He didn’t react to her attempt to change the subject and he came to a stop just in front of her.
She craned her neck back and he watched her throat work as she swallowed. “So, what’s it like, drinking blood?”
“It is unpleasant necessity,” he answered honestly.
“All I can compare it to is getting my steak too rare once… It was pretty gross, if I’m being honest,” she babbled anxiously, looking anywhere but at him.
“Maggie…”
Her cheeks blushed when he said her name, but her round eyes finally found his. “Yes? What?”
Anatoly reached up and brushed a wet strand of hair behind her ear. “Why did you come here tonight? You were on date.”
“Yeah, well, it sucked,” she shot back.
“So you came here? Why?” he pressed again. All of this could have been avoided if she’d not shown up and yet he was relieved she had. He still felt like there was something she wasn’t telling him and if they were laying all their cards on the table, then that meant getting a straight answer out of her.
Maggie frowned at him, but she still didn’t step away. “You left so suddenly, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
