“Sweet,” Chris said.
Trinity led them inside, under a chandelier, and up a grand staircase, where they set up shop for Young inside the master bedroom on the second floor. Under crown molding, the colonial blue walls contrasted with the regal-red carpet. Luxurious surroundings or not, getting his analysis up and running was priority one.
“Chris, you and Hannah can stay in the Jack-and-Jill bedrooms,” Trinity said. “The agent in the hall will work in shifts, so someone will be up here around the clock. We’ll have a team of agents downstairs. There’s a sophisticated alarm system surrounding the house, and we’re stationing a surveillance team across the street.”
“Thanks,” Chris said.
She nodded and headed downstairs, leaving them to settle in, Chris guessed. And he needed those few minutes alone. Even just washing his face and brushing his teeth made him feel refreshed.
He knocked on the bathroom door leading to Hannah’s room to see if she was okay. She opened the door, looking beautiful with her hair flowing to her shoulders like paint on a Renoir.
Her smile fired up his soul. “Come in,” she said.
Chris forgot his original purpose of checking on her.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
The fullness in her voice made his blood throb stronger and faster, and the fullness in her lips made him want to kiss them. There would be no sin in one kiss….
He closed the gap between them, tilted his head, and softly touched his lips to hers.
“That was a surprise,” she whispered. “This could complicate things.”
He kissed her again.
She laughed, and the sweet sound rang through him. “A reverend and an atheist. Hmm….”
“You’re preaching to the choir,” he said quietly.
She kissed him this time, and blasted through the lock on his warehouse of boxed-up emotions like an armor-piercing bullet. Everything he’d ever felt for her burst into the air.
She opened her lips slightly, allowing his tongue inside. She put her hand on his shoulder, and he caressed the silkiness of her cheek. Passion, fire, joy, tenderness, grief, worry, and a host of other emotions floated in the air, surrounding him.
When he broke the kiss, she took five steps back. He didn’t know if she was playing hard to get or pulling him in, but it didn’t matter. He took five steps into her room. Her bed looked feathery soft, covered by a fluffy comforter.
The feelings covered him, and he didn’t fight it. He put his hands on her hips and watched as she closed her eyes and leaned toward him. This time, when he touched her lips, he savored the taste of her. He closed his eyes and his heart thumped louder. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands eased around to the small of her back. Emotions swirled around them, pulling the oxygen out of the air. Breathe.
Her lips pressed against his harder, and her tongue dove deeper, so he gave it back to her harder and deeper. Hannah’s hands tightened, digging into his flesh. He pulled her in closer as his body pressed forward, and she lost her balance. He opened his eyes as the two of them fell and landed on the bed.
He wanted to explore her body with his hands, but he knew he couldn’t. This is going too far. His mind raced to the Bible for something to save him, anything, and he recalled Potiphar’s wife’s attempt to seduce Joseph, who resolved the problem by running away from her.
Not knowing what else to do, he got out of the bed and stood. “I’ve got to go.”
“Now you’re surprising me again, but I think I liked the first surprise better.”
“I vowed not to have premarital sex. I promised Reverend Luther and God.”
She just listened.
“You said this could complicate things.”
She eased out of the bed and stood in front of him. “Sometimes I like it complicated.”
He stepped back. “I’ll know. And God will know.”
“Is it a sin for you to kiss me?” she asked softly.
“No.”
She took a step forward. “Do you want to kiss me now?”
He nodded. “But I can’t do more than that.”
“I want what you want.” The warm breath of her words caressed his lips.
He leaned forward until their mouths touched, and they communicated without words and without time.
Eventually, the fatigue of the past few days caught up with them, and she pulled away. “Thank you. For putting the world on pause.”
“Thank you.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “We should probably get some rest.”
He smiled before kissing her once more on the lips. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
Chris returned to his room, his pulse still racing. He had remained true to his vow of chastity, but the battle wasn’t over. He tried to read his Bible, but he glanced at his door connected to the bathroom leading to her room. All he wanted to do was make passionate love to Hannah until they both passed out. His eyes returned to his Bible, but he couldn’t focus.
I need to sleep.
He tried taking a hot shower then soaking in a hot bath. It relaxed him, but he still wasn’t sleepy. Again, he looked at the door leading to her room. Then he knelt next to his bed and prayed. But when he opened his eyes, he couldn’t help glancing at the door once more.
He didn’t know how he was going to get any rest. Maybe a glass of milk would help. He walked out of his room, and the agent in the hall glanced at him but then looked away. Maybe he heard us kissing in her room. Heat rose to his cheeks as he headed downstairs. But on his way to the kitchen, he noticed a small bar up ahead, by the kitchen entrance. He walked down the hall, more surprised than he should’ve been to see another agent sitting on a stuffed sofa in the living room.
“Is everything okay, sir?” the agent asked politely.
Without thinking, Chris shook his head, but then he changed it to a nod. “Everything is fine,” he fibbed.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” he said with all the conviction he could muster.
The agent nodded with a puzzled look on his face.
He opened the cabinet and surveyed the stock. He’d known enough serious drinkers to know that the strongest liquor inside was probably the bottle of Wild Turkey 101. This will definitely help me sleep.
He removed the cap and sniffed. A mixture of caramel, vanilla, and gasoline wafted into his nostrils. Chris felt the weight of the possibility that this drink could be the first step to him becoming an alcoholic like his grandfather. He also felt the weight of his responsibility as an ambassador of the Lord. He’d been so successful as a teetotaler that it seemed a shame to throw it all away in this moment. Even so, a drink of alcohol was forgivable; premarital sex would cost him his ministry.
He selected a squat glass and filled it halfway. His throat burned as he drank the amber liquid, but he didn’t stop downing the alcohol. He wasn’t drinking for pleasure or camaraderie. The burning soon became numbness, and he quickly emptied the glass. Warmth spread from his chest to his belly and throughout his body as he set the glass down and closed the cabinet. On his way back to the stairs, past the living room, the agent wished him a good night.
“Good night,” Chris said, but his vocal cords were unsteady. He turned his head before he had to see the agent’s reaction to his odd behavior.
Back in his room, he lay down in the bed and turned on the TV to a televangelist, but he couldn’t focus on the words. Within fifteen minutes, he was nodding, so he turned off the TV and closed his eyes.
35
Chris woke up hungry for breakfast, despite the nausea he felt when he considered that today Professor Mordet would attack. They still didn’t know where or at what time, but no matter what, he’d need his energy. His movements were sluggish, which he attributed to the Wild Turkey, but he expected to be able to shake it off after eating. He’d just finished dressing when Hannah walked in through the bathroom door without knocking. Her hair was damp, and her skin glowed. She smelled like vanilla and oranges.