The Divine Temptation (18+) (Forbidden Priest Romance)

11. Self Pleasure

'Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.'

1 Corinthians 6:18 (NIV)

♱

Evangeline

♱

Sleep doesn't come easy as I lie tucked in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Could I even help Gabriel? Wouldn't the discussion of intimacy become something too intimate in itself? I toss to my left, facing my clock, seeing that it's now fifteen minutes past one in the morning. "Ugh, Evangeline, how do I always end up in these situations?" I mumble to myself. My heart tugs in my chest as I reflect on the past twenty-four hours. Bethany assaulted Gabriel, which he feels has left him a shell of what he thought he could be, and now that he has garnered the strength to reach out and ask for help, I have basically flat-out refused.

I groan into my pillow as I turn in the opposite direction and pat my bed for my phone, opening up the messages app. 

Evangeline: Are you awake? 

I type the message quickly and hit send before bringing the phone to my chest. He's probably asleep. About a minute passes before my phone vibrates. 

Gabriel ♱: yeah 

Gabriel ♱: Is everything okay? 

Evangeline: can I come to your room? 

Gabriel ♱: of course

I slide out of bed, tossing my phone into the covers as I tiptoe barefoot towards my door. I quietly pull the handle down and walk towards the spare bedroom where we put Gabriel for the week. With the layout of the house, I am lucky that his room is situated directly next to mine, while Gran's is at the far end of the hallway and wouldn't hear my presence in Gabriel's room.

I lightly knock on the door, and when I hear a muffled "come in," I continue my light-treaded steps into his room, making sure to shut the door quietly. I turn towards Gabriel, who's sitting upright in bed, the duvet pulled up to his waist, a Bible resting on his lap. His hair is a lot more free-flowing and tousled than earlier as if he's been constantly running his fingers through it. The room is dimly lit by a lone lampshade on his side of the bed, casting enough light for each of us to see each other.

Perched on his nose are a pair of dark brown, slightly thick-rimmed glasses. Glasses that, if anyone else wore them, would make them look like a 2010 geek, whereas on Gabriel's face, they bring out his strong facial structure and make the colour of his eyes warmer. The window beside his bed is open wide enough to allow a cool night's breeze to fill the room. His eyes hesitantly trail down my body before focusing on my bare legs. My neck begins to warm as I realise I've just walked into Gabriel's room wearing nothing but a long T-shirt. His eyes raise back to my own, his face almost expressionless as he tracks me walking towards him.

I walk to the other side of the bed, swinging the covers back before climbing on top of the bed, plopping myself next to him and covering my legs with the duvet, leaving a sufficient amount of space between us on the queen-sized bed. I let out a tight breath before talking.

"Right now, we are Gabriel and Evangeline, not Father Gabriel and one of your parishioners. Just us, Gabriel and Evangeline. Friends," I say. He nods, his head now turned towards me as he lifts the Bible off his lap and places it on the nightstand. I nod my own head in acknowledgement.