I paused and then looked over at him. “What now?” I asked.
“Now we wait,” he said.
Seven
Priest
She looked at the clock again.
“It’s two seventeen, Milan,” I said. “Approximately one minute has passed since you looked at the clock the last time.”
She froze, seeming startled, and then met my eyes. Something almost like a smile crossed her face. It made her pretty, prettier, as did the way her eyes shimmered in the shadowed darkness of the room. I had turned one small lamp on to its lowest setting, a concession to her, but there was no other light in the room.
“Sorry. I’m a little jumpy,” she said.
“Not how you usually spend your Saturdays?” I said.
“Not exactly,” she replied.
Then she offered a tentative smile, one I found myself returning without thought.
And as hard as I tried, I couldn’t ignore the bloom of warmth in my chest. It seemed simple, a smile, a joke, but my life so seldom—never—offered opportunities for such. But for some reason, with her, it felt natural.
“Do you want to sit?” she asked.
I shook my head.
I had found a corner of the room that gave me a view of the back of the house as well as the front door, and I had stayed there since we’d settled in the living room, ready and waiting.
“Really, you should. I’m in no position to insist, but you should,” she said.
I looked at Milan again, noticed something different about her. She had been holding up well, something I had noted several times before, but I could see she was starting to fray.
Then I realized something else I hadn’t noticed before. From the position where I stood, Milan was under my gaze as well, which probably made her feel conspicuous, exposed.
I hadn’t minded the view at all.
Milan was fascinating, and I could look at her all day, but I feared that if I did, she might lose some of the control she had managed to hold. So it was good, seeing her relax, even if just a little as I sat across from her.
I told myself it was because a panicked woman was much more difficult to deal with than a calm one, and I hoped that was it. But a voice in the back of my head whispered, told the tantalizing tale where I had sat only for the joy of seeing pleasure on her face. The voice also whispered that it wanted to see more.
I was grateful for the darkness. Without it, Milan would have seen the erection that tented my pants, hardness immediate, demanding, and there because of something as ordinary as a smile from her. There was no place for this, and I cursed myself for my weakness, for my desire for her. But it was undeniable.
I wouldn’t act on it, though I knew she would be receptive. I’d seen something in her eyes like what I now felt. She probably wasn’t even aware that her eyes had all but offered her body to me, the way she stood, close but still keeping herself at a distance as if doing so would protect her from the desire that arced between us.
She had been through enough today, was probably more confused and afraid than she had ever been in her life. So as much as I wanted to kiss her, stroke the soft skin that covered the bounty of her body, I wouldn’t.
“How long are you staying?”
Milan’s voice came out timid, low, and she kept her eyes low, heavy-lidded as she watched me.
I didn’t like this version of her, but her words were welcome, had the effect of taking my mind off my cock, where it had no business being in the first place.
“Just until morning. I need to stay until then, see how things are developing out there while I lie low,” I said.
Why was I giving her answers? Why was she asking?
“What are you asking? You don’t trust me?”
Her eyes widened, and then she lowered them. I could see her as she struggled to consider her answer. It was smart, her attempting to be wise, but it made me more than a little uncomfortable. Not that she was out of line to be worried, but for some reason, her opinion of me mattered, though there was no way it could be good.
“Believe it or not, this is not a situation I wanted to put either of us in,” I said.
“You could end it,” she replied.
She seemed to come back to herself and quickly snapped her mouth closed, her full lips thinning as she pressed them tight together.
“And I will. As soon as I can,” I said.
“So how did you end up in this? Wait, don’t answer that,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t want to know. I’m just going to keep my mouth closed and sit here. I’ll stay out of your hair. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Milan, I’m not worried. You’ve been doing wonderfully so far. Just do as you have been, and you’ll be okay. And you can do that,” I said.