Page 69 of Sin and Redemption

I kept watching Sara as I drank my coffee, deciding it gave me a sense of peace I really needed before a long day at work.

“Do you want to try it?”

Her question took me by surprise. Doing pottery hadn’t been on my bucket list. My expression made her laugh.

“Or is this too unmanly or uncool for you?” she teased with a pretty smile.

“I’m comfortable in my manliness.” I put the mug down and got up.

Sara rose from the small stool and motioned for me to take her place.

“I’ll be honest. That thing doesn’t look as if it can carry my weight,” I said as I stepped up to her side.

“That’s oak.”

I shrugged and folded myself onto the stool under Sara’s amused eyes.

She pressed against my back and bent over me until she reached my hands. She guided them toward the rotating piece of clay. It felt sticky and cold but soon became warmer under my touch. Sara moved my hands up and down until the thing resembled a massive dick again. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “This is by far the weirdest thing I’ve done in my life.”

Sara pursed her lips. “Really?”

“At least it confirms what I knew—I’m not into guys.”

Sara started laughing. “If you put your fingers into the top, it will open up to a vase.”

I closed my eyes. “Not sure you’re making it better with your instructions. This sounds like a kink that should be up on OnlyFans.”

When I opened my eyes again, I was met with her indignant expression. “Come on, don’t tell me you think a man doing pottery is sexy.”

“It’s craft. It doesn’t have to be sexy.”

“It looks sexy when you do it.”

Her pleased smile told me that was the right answer.

On the following weekend, Maximus and I visited his parents again. We now always tried to spend one day of the weekend with my family and one with his unless Maximus had to work. Sometimes he only had to disappear for a couple of hours if a job waited for him, and sometimes he was gone all day. If that was the case, I visited my family or spent the day with Isa. Going to his parents on my own wasn’t something I’d done yet.

“Maybe we can all do something together as a big family,” I suggested as I cleaned out dozens of dog bowls with a water hose. I wore knee-high winter boots, but part of my short skirt and wool tights had gotten wet by the time I’d figured out how to regulate the water jet. Next time I planned to help in the shelter, I’d have to wear more appropriate clothes.

Maximus put down the huge log and looked up. “They could come over next weekend, and we’ll have a barbecue and sit around the fire pit.”

I followed Maximus’s gaze toward the small but cozy firepit beside the house. “That sounds good. I’ll ask them.”

Maximus grabbed his axe and swung it over his head, splitting the wood.

Bacon perked up. He and the other dogs rested on the porch. They didn’t like water very much, so they’d run off the moment I’d started cleaning the bowls. I wasn’t as nervous around them anymore. Sometimes I was angry with myself for taking so long, over a year, to finally be a part of Maximus’s family and life. “I’m sorry it took me so long to come here with you.”

Maximus paused with a thoughtful look. He put the axe down and came over to me. He gently touched my cheek. “I don’t blame you, nor do my parents. It was understandable after what happened. And it’s not too late. We still have our whole life ahead of us.”

I nodded with a small smile, then gathered my courage and stood on my tiptoes. Maximus lowered his head so I could give him a peck on the lips. I took a step back, glancing at the porch to see if his parents had seen us.

Maximus chuckled and returned to his axe. Before he picked it up again, he removed his shirt. He definitely ran hotter than I did.

I cleared my throat. “I’ll warm up inside for a bit, but I’ll be back soon.”

What a stupid thing to say. I felt hot simply because of our shared moment of intimacy.

I couldn’t deny it. I wanted Maximus. My fertile days were over. There was absolutely no reason to be intimate with Maximus, but seeing him with his bare chest, sweaty and swinging an axe, and remembering how impossibly good he’d made me feel, my body screamed for his touch. I tingled and even felt hot and wet between my legs. The short peck had poured gasoline into my kindling desire.

---