Page 158 of Those Who Are Bound

She returned her attention to him to get his answer—although she could sort of feel his rather steely response. His concentration was solely on her; intent. Holy cow, he was going to do this for her—for them. A smile was just beginning to curve her lips when he grasped the back of her head, pulling her in for a kiss.

Wriggling against him in earnest—honestly, a version of dry humping, although they were both immersed—she started sliding a hand down to assist in the rearrangement of garments that would aid them on their way to mutual satisfaction.

“Hall-o! Pastor Jonah! Elliott!”

They froze. Elliott’s fingers were gripping the elastic waistband of his pants, ready to shove them down.

Instead,shewas shoved aside. Jonah’s hands went from grasping to pushing, urging her off him, as he turned toward the rapidly approaching canoers. Her displacement was so sudden, she almost lost her own footing in the rushing waters. Loathe as she was to grab on to him to save herself—betrayal washing over as cold as the river water—she grasped his arm.

Jonah steadied her, asking, “You good?”

Lucy and Greg were shouting greetings from the sandbar. And then the pair in the canoe were even with them: it was Justine and Shari, both with matching smirks as they shot by. They joked once more with Jonah as they did so, but the context was lost on Elliott; she was simmering.

Not because of the missed opportunity for sex.

Because he’d shoved her off him.

Once the women passed, Elliott delivered a glare that invited him to fuck way the hell off, and not with her, as she waded by him.

“Elliott? What’s wrong?”

He genuinely looked bewildered, so she enlightened him, “I’m getting as far away from you as quickly as possible so your pristine reputation isn’t ruined.” She threw out a hand to indicate the swiftly disappearing canoe.

“What the hell are you—?”

She heard him splashing after her. She tried to move faster; it was irritating, the force of the water preventing her from making a graceful and hasty retreat. But she finally gained momentum as the levels dropped and she hit the sandbar with indignation.

Jonah, however, was hot on her tail.

In the back of her mind, she had the annoying thought that he probably knew how to move through water better than she did—he’d probably miraculously parted it, like the Red Sea, being hooked up and all with the right parties for such a thing. He grabbed her elbow and ripped her around to face him. “We’ve been doing this too much today.”

“Then leave me alone,” she hissed. “Being seen with me like that is apparently distressful for you.”

He grasped her face, nose to nose with her. “What do you think just happened?”

“What? Give you my version so you can gaslight me?”

His jaw muscles worked as he clenched his teeth. His nostrils flared. “I fall so far into you, Elliott, that I was about to have sex with you in public. In the middle of a fucking river. That doesn’t happen to me. I don’t lose control like that. That wasn’t rejection of you, of us, that was me, shocked by my own behavior.”

“Then perhaps you should keep your distance,” she pressed.

He shook his head. “Stop doing this.”

“What?”

“Retreating. You’ve been finding excuses for a week.”

She scoffed. “That wasn’t me retreating, Jonah. You literally threw me off you.”

Okay, she wasn’t being fair; she knew it. Her depraved side was gleeful that she could entice him into almost doing something so—well, technically illegal—and out of control and character for him. Her practical side knew she couldn’t be mad at him for stopping. Well, she wasn’t—not for the stopping—but for the tossing aside. He hadn’t needed to distance himself from her so quickly.

“Ashamed of my own behavior, not you.” His voice was low with serious intent. “Elliott, I kissed you in my church. That’s not being ashamed of you.”

Fair point.

“Stop looking for excuses,” he pleaded.

Staring up at him, she pointed out, “Two seconds after you told me not to panic, to be with you,youpushedmeaway. Give my head a minute to catch up to the whiplash. And yes, I’m wondering if the response would have been so strong if it had been strangers instead of your… what are they?Flock?”

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