Page 56 of A Taste of Grace

“Yes,” she moaned, holding my shoulders to keep herself steady.

A loud knock interrupted us. When Grace jumped, I withdrew my fingers. As she pulled her dress down, I picked up her black thong off the floor and wiped my fingers clean with it before stuffing it in my pocket. She rushed to slip on her heels.

“Coming,” I shouted, realizing how ironic my greeting was.

Despite her scurrying, Grace snickered.

“We needed that disruption. I couldn’t have your pretty, sanctified self shouting in tongues in here when I murdered that cat.” I spoke softly so only she could hear me.

“You owe me a raincheck,” she said, adjusting her clothes and wiping the corners of her mouth with her fingers.

“I got you.” I kissed her a final time then walked to the door.

“Here.” She rushed to squirt hand sanitizer in my hand before she returned it to my desk.

She sat in the chair where I fingered her, legs crossed and her hands on her knees, peering toward the door as prim and proper as a queen.

I rubbed my hands together then blew her a kiss, which she caught and placed over her heart. I opened the door to greet more parishioners offering their well wishes.

Grace and I were going to get along well.

Wet Dreams

For the next week,Caleb and I worked nonstop to prepare for our wedding. He surprised me with an extra five thousand dollars once I signed our marriage contract. The girls bounced off the walls, asking questions about how their lives would change once I moved into their house.

Members of his church’s leadership team, along with several members of our extended family, including my Uncle Keith, gathered at Caleb’s home for a spring barbecue and engagement party. At each event, Caleb and I presented ourselves as the dutiful pastor and wife-to-be who fell in love at first sight and couldn’t wait to start our married life with Hannah and Esther.

My biggest task was preparing our honeymoon retreat. Given the quickness of our marriage and the events that were already planned, we decided to celebrate at my house.

Over the past few weeks, I connected with Stacey, a former college roommate from Atlanta who specialized in event planning and decorating. She drove down the night before the wedding to execute our vision.

As she pulled decorations and pillows from the oversized boxes I helped her bring in from her van, I laid everything on the couch and tables.

“This is so exciting. No disrespect, but your man is fine. I streamed last week’s sermon and his proposal. When y’all kissed, I saw fireworks.” She opened and closed her fingers, simulating explosions and making fireworks sounds with her mouth.

I laughed and nodded.

“He’s special. That’s why I want everything to be perfect for our first time.” I unwrapped candles and set them on the table with care.

“What? He a pastor, pastor? You haven’t tasted that chocolate log yet?”

I thought the escalating volume of Stacey’s questions would break my eardrum. I gestured to the space around us.

“This will be where we feast on each other for the first time.”

“In that case, I’m going to make it real special. That man will be stuck to you like glue.”

“I hope so.”

As Stacey continued setting up our romantic oasis, I packed everything I would need for tomorrow’s wedding and loaded it into my car.

That night, I stayed at the Embassy Suites. With my white noise machine pumping the soothing sounds of ocean waves, Isnuggled under the warm sheets earlier than normal and went to sleep.

Caleb’s face came to me as I lay naked on our king-sized bed. His firm body rested next to me as he spread my legs open with his hands. I rubbed his waves as his mouth assaulted mine. He tossed me onto my stomach then quickly mounted me from behind, lapping my neck and thrusting into me mercilessly until he pushed me over the edge several times.

“Caleb!” I shouted his name into the darkness and sat up, wet and sweaty.

The dream felt so real. The darkness met my eyes as I wiped my brow. Still aroused, I felt the area beneath the seat of my nightgown, rubbing my hands over the wetness beneath me.

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