“Preacher, thank the almighty Lord you’ve come.” She points a shaking finger into my bedroom. “I hope you brought your Bible because this one needs the demons driven out. Her feminine wiles are out of control. Why, I’ve even heard rumors she’s got the local boys worked up. I’m sure they won’t be held off any longer—”
“I dare them to try.”
Did that cold, raspy voice really belong to the preacher?
Again, my mother laughs nervously. “W-well thank you kindly for coming, preacher. Can I get you something to drink?”
“Scotch.”
A pause. “Oh…well sure. I’ll fix that right up for you, while you get ready.”
My breath catches in my throat when Joseph’s tall form fills the doorway and he looks nothing like the town holy man. No, the look in his eyes when he sees me tied to the bed is decidedly hellish. A muscle snaps in his cheek and he seems mighty close to ripping off the doorframe. Because I made him forsake his faith back in the church office? Yes, that must be it. He looks so livid.
“I take it you didn’t leave my office your own accord, Mila?”
I shake my head slowly.
“If I’d known what was happening in this house, I would have come much sooner,” bites the preacher, blue fire igniting in his eyes.
“Well, I would have told you, only…” says my mother, joining him in the doorway and handing him a glass of amber liquid. “I thought the baptism might drive out the devil. It’s not your fault, preacher. Mila’s evil is more firmly rooted than most. Her father was the same. Left me high and dry with that hellion in my belly.”
“Leave us.” Joseph turns his blue eyed fury on my mother and she stumbles out of view. “Let me do my job.”
“Of c-course,” babbles my mother, her footsteps receding. “Y-yes, preacher.”
Me and Joseph stare at each other as the front door slams and silence reigns.
He kicks the entrance to my bedroom shut and walks slowly toward the bed. Oh God, he’s going to try and exorcise me. He said so himself that he has a job to do. Oh, my heart, it’s ripping into a hundred pieces. The man of my dreams thinks I’m evil. “I’m sorry,” I whimper, pulling at my bonds. “I’m sorry I tempted you in a place of worship. I’m sorry I made you forsake your faith.”
“Mila.”
Tears roll down my temples. “Yes, preacher?”
I think Joseph is going to sip his scotch, but instead he holds the glass to my mouth. “Drink, baby girl.”
After I’ve done as I’m told and the burn in my sternum has calmed me some, Joseph sets the drink on my side table. Then he reaches down and brushes away my tears with his thumb. “I’m the one who should be apologizing. I’ve been trying so hard to do the right thing and stay away from you, I missed the horror you’ve been living with.” His lips peel back from his teeth. “Who could treat my sweet angel like this?” The lump in his throat slides up and down, his fists becoming shaking fists. “Have any of the local boys touched you?”
“No. I’ve been staying inside lately, except for church.” Hope has snuck into my tone. He called me his sweet angel. Is it too much to hope for that everything he said to me in the office was true? I want to so badly, especially when Joseph exhales a pent up breath and rasps thank fuck. But I want to be positive I’m not going to ruin the preacher, so when he reaches over my head to untie me, I shake my head. “Maybe you should wait to untie me preacher. Make sure I’m not going to tempt you down a dark path first.”
His soft laugh is incredulous. “I’ve been down every dark path this world has to offer. You’re the opposite, little girl. You’re the path of light. That’s part of the reason why I’ve tried so hard to keep my distance.”
“What’s the other reason?” I ask breathlessly, my nipples turning to tight peaks at the endearment.
Joseph grows short of breath watching it happen. “Apart from you being a teenager?” He skims his palm up my inner thigh, tracing the edge of my panties with his middle fingers. “I’m a very bad man underneath this starched Sunday shirt, Mila. I’ve managed to lay low and adopt this new way of life. But one taste of your mouth and the man I’ve been hiding is already trying to break free.”
“Maybe I am a bad seed, then,” I whisper, my lower lip shaking.
“No, Mila. No, you just call the real man inside me, like nothing else in this town. Like nothing else anywhere on this damn earth.” He dips his head and breathes harshly against my mouth. “Unfortunately that real man is a bastard. And you’ve woken up his jealousy, lust and violence. It’s not your fault, little girl. It’s fate. I don’t know how long I can pretend to be a holy man when I’ve given in and taken what’s mine. I’m going to be like a dog with a fucking bone.”