Lust: Chapter 27

The murmur of the ocean fades as we make our way from the beach, and I feel like I could die of contentment. Brandon and I just spent the morning walking along the water with our coffee.

Like we’re a couple.

It’s heavenly anguish, but I’m surviving. I’m trying to live in the moment and enjoy our last day.

Or maybe I’m hoping he’ll change his mind…

“I need you to behave yourself at work today,” Brandon suddenly says, breaking the silence. His voice is firm, authoritative. A spark of something wicked flickers in his eyes, and it’s all I can do not to melt into the sand.

I turn to him, smiling innocently. “Behave myself? And how have I been misbehaving, Pastor?”

A ghost of a smile flits across his lips. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t be seen groping my PA—

“Volunteer PA.”

He snorts. “As if that would make it any less of a scandal. No, we both need to behave today, but especially you, young lady.”

My tummy flips at the pet name. I never thought Brandon would use kink to cope with his biggest insecurity about our relationship.

I love that he’s this way. There’s so much we could explore if we had the time to do it. Maybe I could even work out some of my insecurities over living as an atheist in a church community. Maybe we could play out some priest fantasies…

God, I need to stop thinking this way.

Live in the moment, Mari.

“No bending over and showing me those beautiful tits,” he says. “No talking back to me.”

“Talking back?” I giggle. “There isn’t a more daddy phrase than that.”

He grabs me by the chin, those dark eyes narrowed but with a spark of amusement. “I am your daddy, for the next eight hours.”

Coldness washes over me, and I look down at my bare feet in the sand. Eight hours. How final.

How sad.

“I’ll behave,” I say, forcing a smile.

He must sense the change in my mood, because his grip on my chin softens. His hand slowly trails up my cheek. He leans forward and presses a featherlight kiss on my forehead. “Even though I’ve sinned,” he whispers. “I have no regrets. I wish I did. God knows I wish I did.”

I swallow. “Then why end this?”

He sighs. “I know it’s hard for you to understand, but relationships that begin in sin—”

“That’s bullshit, Brandon.” He jerks back at the sharpness in my tone. “It’s black and white thinking.”

He laughs humorlessly. “I’m a man of God. Part of the bargain is black and white thinking. I know the world is full of nuance, but some of us just aren’t cut out to navigate it without strict principles. Mariana, think of all the people we would hurt if we continued this. My congregation would probably never trust me again if they knew that I slept with my intern. Your family…”

When his voice quivers, I have to look away. Tears hover behind my eyes, and I don’t want them to fall.

“I’m already deceiving them.” His voice has regained some of its firmness. “I don’t want to compound my sin.”

I nod rapidly as I pull away from him. “Let’s get to the office. I want to enjoy our last day together.”

And I mean it. Even though there’s a physical ache in my chest that feels like it might never leave, I don’t want to spend our final moments wishing for something that can never be. If he’s set on living in black and white, at the very least, I can give him a few hours of vibrant color.

Brandon

“Mariana,” I say, my voice husky. “I have a job for you in my office. Come now.”

A smile tugs at her lips as she stands up from her computer, but I turn away before I’m tempted to return it. I don’t want to be soft with her right now. Not yet. Not until after she’s behaved herself.

This is so wrong, and somehow, I don’t even care. Sin has made me reckless. I sent Harper home early today, and it’s now just another dead Monday evening. No worship practice or Bible studies. My associate pastor and worship leader are already home with their families.

It’s just me and Mari.

After she follows me into my office, I gesture at my bookshelf. “The top shelves are a mess. I need you to organize them for me.”

She follows my hand with her gaze. “Why does it look like they were messed up on purpose?”

I take a step in her direction, gripping her chin. “What did I say about talking back to me?”

She smiles. “It won’t happen again, Sir.”

I stroke her cheek with my thumb. “Good girl. Now get to work.”

Just as she walks toward the bookshelf, I grab the stepladder I fished through the storage closet to find. Just for this.

“You’ll be using a ladder this time,” I say through clenched teeth. “And you’ll be taking off those shoes. If you do try anything like you did on your first day, I’ll bend you over that desk.”

Mariana’s beautiful dark eyes grow huge, but then she slowly bends and starts removing her shoes. “Maybe I want you to.” Her words are faint, whispered.

“What was that?”

She purses her lips, as if to fight a smile. “Nothing, Sir.”

I narrow my eyes. “Good. Get to work. I’m going to be reading my Bible, so you’d better not distract me.”

She grins like a naughty little kid. God forgive me, if anyone walked in on us right now, they’d think I was committing blasphemy.

Mariana climbs up the stepladder, giving me a view of her toned calves. She has such a lithe, athletic body with delicate curves. I love having the pleasure of gawking at it as much as I want. After sitting in my desk chair and setting my Bible in my lap, I turn to the side to get the best view of her.

For the next few minutes, she slowly arranges books on the shelf. Occasionally, she glances over her shoulder and smiles mischievously at me.

“Mariana.” I say sternly.

Her eyes grow hooded. “Yes, Pastor?”

“What did I tell you about distracting me?”

She widens her eyes in mock innocence. “How am I distracting you?”

I lean back into my chair and set a hand behind my head. “I’ve told you how much I like your neck. You’re drawing attention to it.”

Her smile grows. “Am I? By turning it toward you?”

I frown, though I can’t stop my lips from twitching. “Watch it.”

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“Get back to work now, young lady. I promise you the next time you distract me, there will be consequences.”

I return to my task of pretending to read my Bible, never keeping my eyes very far from her. After a few minutes, a loud thud makes me look up. Mariana is making her way down the ladder to retrieve a fallen book. She smiles at me before bending down, arching her back and sticking her ass out much farther than necessary.

“Stop right there.” I keep my voice low and dark.

She looks up at me innocently. “Sorry, Sir. I accidentally dropped a book.

I slam my Bible shut. “I don’t think it was an accident.”

She bites that delectable bottom lip. “It was. I promise.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “First you drop a book on purpose. Then you lie to me. Get over here. Now.”

Her excited little grin makes heat flood my gut.

“What do you need me to do?”

I stand up and gesture at the desk. “Bend over, and don’t make me wait.”

She glances at the desk and back at me, those beautiful dark eyes growing hooded.

I narrow my eyes on her sweet little face. “Don’t test me, little girl.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to punish you with my cock.”

She squeals as she makes her way over to my desk. When she bends over the front of it and extends her hands forward, I could come at the sight of her. Here she is, offered to me as if on an altar to atone for her sins. I rub my palm along the silky material of her skirt. She has such a pretty ass, plump and shaped like an upside-down heart. I want to memorize every inch of it before the day is over.

I lift my hand in the air and bring it down hard on her skin. The cracking sound resonates through the room.

She inhales sharply. “You didn’t say I was getting a spanking.”

“That was for making me wait. Now lift your skirt for me. Slowly.”

She reaches her hands back and finds the hem of her dress. As she gradually pulls it up her thighs, a groan is pulled from my chest. “That’s a good girl. Keep going. Take those panties off.”

She follows my command. By the time her ass is bare, the tingling ache in my cock is almost unbearable. I’m going to come quickly from this. I grip her underwear and yank it down her thighs. When I set my fingers between her thighs, I’m greeted with a slippery wetness. “Oh, Mari. You’re soaking for me.”

She lets out a low moan as I unzip my pants and yank out my aching cock. “I’m already as hard as a rock. This is your fault.”

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

“You’ll really be sorry in a minute.” I rub the tip of my cock against the soft skin of her ass. “I’m only doing this for your own good. You know that right?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“What a good girl you are,” I croon, “taking your punishment.”

“What is going on?” a voice that sounds like Sofia asks.

The shaking words are so faint, I could almost believe that I dreamed them.