Page 105 of At Her Will

Vera slid her arms around his broad chest and put her head there as he closed his own arms around her. “The faith of children.”

“Yeah. I don’t see she wrong, though. I think her momma saw that faith, and realized her daughter needed to have faith that her momma would take care of her, and she found the strength to do just that.”

He took a deep breath, easing back enough to give her a half smile, though she saw a lot of things moving behind his eyes. Not all of them were about bad things in the world. “So how many bodieshasNeil thrown out here for the gators?”

“None. But I routinely sacrifice Christians here to my pagan alligator gods.” She touched his curved lips. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

“I liked being with your family. They like all families. Some easier to get along with than others, but they love one another, and that all that matters.”

“Yes.” She saw the flash of unhappiness in his eyes and knew its source. “Witford’s still giving you crap, isn’t he?”

“He say I’m changing, and taking a path that’s not God’s will. He says I think I need to know all these new things, but those things may not be according to the plan God has for me. He say you not my path, that you’re not God’s will.”

Vera bit back ten things she’d be willing to fire at Witford for that bullshit, but he wasn’t here.

“I know he doing it because he’s confused and hurt and worried,” Rev added. “But it’s hard for me not to listen sometimes. Not because I agree,” he assured her. “What he thinks on that is wrong. But it make me think of things he’s done or said in the past that I let slide, because I know the struggle in his heart.”

He sighed and released her to cross his arms and frown out at the water, a man working a problem. “He’s battling what’s inside him, not me, so I don’t feel the need to lift a shield or weapon in defense. Yet lately…I feel under attack. Got something I want, and they telling me it’s wrong, people I care about and respect.It don’t change the love, but it hits that respect part hard. Makes it hard to be around them. After them showing up at your office, then what happened at the school…”

He gave her a bleak look. “Think I maybe need a break. Get some space from all of it.”

The question in his voice, a seeking, told her he was trusting her for guidance, just as she’d asked him to do. She would live up to that faith. “I just happen to have a free weekend, if you’d like me to share that space. And if you don’t, if you need time on your own, I’ll give that to you, too.”

He framed her face in his hands, a sudden fierce movement. “Let me do something for you, Mistress. Let me give you pleasure and joy, find it together. I don’t want to be further away from you than a breath. I want to steep myself in you. Spend the weekend serving you. May I do that for you, Mistress? My head gets clear when I do that.”

She tried to keep her voice steady. “Yes, you may. And when I let you up for air, I’m going to give you that driving lesson.”

He put his forehead on hers, held her. “All right,” he said. “Thank you.”

She offered him her hand and walked back up the dock with him toward the others. When she was close enough, she called out to Tiger.

“Do you mind if I bring Rev out to your place this weekend to give him some driving lessons?”

“You’re going to let him drive the Aston?” Tiger’s expression warred between doubt and shock. “I’ve changed my mind. You crazy kids are moving way too fast. How about you get married instead?”

Vera laughed as Rev’s brows rose. “Could we use one of your older shop trucks? That was part two of my request.”

“Sure. I’ll leave the keys in it, so if you come while I’m at work, you don’t have to wait on me.”

She smiled up at Rev. “Sounds like a plan.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Neil and Abby had offered all of them a place to sleep, but it was a small house, and Vera liked having her own space. Because it was late when they returned and they were both tired, Vera had invited Rev into her bed, him in his cotton boxers and her in a silky nightgown that clung to her curves and was translucent enough to kindle heat in his gaze. But as she rested in his arms, the two of them merely held one another, engaging in quiet pillow talk. Some topics were more serious than others.

“You don't seem to have hang-ups about me being Wiccan,” she noted, “even though I’m sure more people in your congregation than Witford or Tisha would find it objectionable.”

Her infuser lamp emitted a vanilla scent in the room and cast tiny dots of light along the wall. He gazed at them, one arm behind his head, one around her.

“Teena Joy told me that my heart was pure, and to trust my heart, that God would never lead me astray. He led me to you.”

“To convert me?” She’d never gotten that sense, but she would ask, to know what to expect if Witford or Tisha put that kind of pressure on him.

“No.” He looked down at her and touched her chin. “To serve you. Love you. Belong to you. Protect you.” She closed her eyes as his words sunk into her, took root. “I hear it in my head, another song ready to be sung, only a song with my whole body.”

He hummed it, what was in his heart. “Let me serve you. Give me a name to call you…”

“Mistress, Rev,” she whispered. “You can always call me Mistress.”

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