Page 41 of Hotter 'N Hell

“You know touching you isn’t something I don’t want to do. It’s something I am not supposed to do.”

I rolled my eyes and started to tell him just what I thought about that when the sound of a train stopped me. The rails that ran through this town weren’t that close to us.

“What is that?” I whispered as my eyes burned and fear gripped my windpipe, making it hard to breathe.

“I am going to slide down this wall to the ground and take you with me. Okay?” Jude’s deep voice helped a little. His breath smelled like mint.

I nodded.

He lowered us to the ground until my butt was on the concrete and I was sitting between his legs.

“Now, bend forward and tuck your head down,” he said.

The sound outside was louder, and bringing my knees up to curl into a ball sounded like an excellent idea. When I did, Jude tightened his legs around me and arched over the back of me until I was in a Father Jude cocoon.

I winced and whimpered as I heard things begin to hit the outside of the building. The sounds were so loud that I could no longer hear my heart pounding or our breathing.

“Shh.” Jude’s voice was in my ear. “I got you. It’s okay.”

I wanted to believe that. I really did. But with every loud bang outside, rattling the walls and vibrating the ground, I didn’t know if I could. My chest shuddered as I began to sob. We were going to die.

“It’s okay, baby. I swear I won’t let anything hurt you.” Jude’s words, along with his thumbs rubbing against my arms, where he held me, didn’t necessarily take away my fear, but I did feel a measure of reassurance. “It’s almost over. It’s moving away.”

I listened as the roar lessened. Another sob broke free, but this time, it was because we were alive. We’d made it.

“It’s going. Listen. You’re safe.”

I nodded, reaching up to wipe my tear-soaked face. His hold on me eased, but he didn’t let go of me. I wasn’t complaining because now that death was no longer at our door, his scent was all I could smell, along with his minty breath, and his muscles were all I could feel, bulging from his biceps that I didn’t need light to see. They were impressive enough that I could feel them. Then, there were his hard thighs, which were apparently equally as impressive as they encased me.

Why in God’s name did a priest need a body like that? He never showed it off. No one would ever see it. That was pointless. He spent a lot of time in a gym, but which one and when, I didn’t know. The man was always at the church, working.

The outside was silent. I thought perhaps we should move, but that would mean I’d no longer be held between his thighs, and…well, I wasn’t so keen to end that.

Another siren went off, and I stilled.

“I said there were two,” he reminded me, his voice calming. “The one that just came by went right over us, and we are alive. Not even a scratch. Very small chance this second one will take the same path. But if it does, we will be fine.”

I clung to that, let it sink in, and I willed myself to breathe deeply.

“Lean on me. Relax,” he said, nudging me back.

I sighed as I rested against his chest. I mean, this part of the tornado didn’t suck. If we could just have this and not the near-death experience, I would be all for it. I closed my eyes, enjoying how safe his hard chest felt behind me.

Then, I heard him inhale deeply through his nose, which felt like was pressed to the side of my head.

“Did you just smell me?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because the jacket you left at my house is starting to lose yourscent.”

I’d forgotten about the jacket. I’d run out of his house, hurt and rejected. And he hadn’t brought it back. He had been smelling it.

I wiggled because the floor was uncomfortable and because I was now thinking about Jude smelling my jacket.

“Be still.” His voice was hoarse.

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