Page 61 of Crossed

His body stiffens, most likely in surprise. I’ve never been the one to initiate closeness before.

“Can we talk in your office?” I glance at his personal assistant, then peer back at him through my lashes. “Or somewhere private?”

His eyes gleam, curiosity rimming the bright blue irises, and he nods, his hand pressing against the small of my back as he leads me through the doors.

Nausea cramps my stomach, slipping through the numbness, and I swallow around the sour tang in the back of my mouth.

His door is partially open, and it’s only once I’m fully inside his office that I stop short, realizing we aren’t alone.

Father Cade sits in a chair, his eyes blazing as they lock on to where Parker is touching me.

Of course he’s here.He seems to always be everywhere that I am.

His leg is crossed over the opposite knee, his stature completely relaxed. There’s a type of dominance he exudes simply bybeing, and I wonder if that’s something every priest has or if it’s uniquely him.

My heart— the traitorous bitch— flutters when our eyes lock.

I break our stare immediately, the reminder of him spitting harsh insults making mefeeltoo much. Right now, I need to be a blank slate. I’m not sure I’ll survive what I’m about to do otherwise.

Besides,fuckCade Frédéric. He’s a hypocrite. A bad priest and an even worse man.

And now I know better than to let him in.

But the way he’s looking at me right now makes it hard. His gaze reeks of concern. Of something dark and deep, like he’s tearing through my skin and staring directly into my soul. I wonder if he can tell my world has shifted like tectonic plates, leaving me hanging on a jagged cliff’s edge with no way out.

I wonder if he’d care.

“Is everything all right, Amaya?”

Cade’s voice skirts around me, tempting with its silky caress. I bat it away, my teeth clenching as I hold on to the flare of anger when I think of the things he said. The way he found out about my mother and then used her words against me, flinging them like a thousand blades into my heart.

“Father, you’ll have to forgive me for cutting this short,” Parker interrupts. “But when a beautiful woman shows up and wants some time, you always say yes. You know how it is.” He laughs. “Actually, maybe you don’t.”

I hold back a snort, and Cade’s brow quirks, like he finds this whole thingamusing. He chuckles low and dark, and the hurt morphs to rage, snapping like piranhas.

The audacity of this man. Of thisfakein a clerical collar, pretending to have a direct line to the deity.

Good with his fingers though.

A sharp shot of desire rips through me, and my nostrils flare.

Cade’s face changes as he watches me. And somehow, I just know thatheknows what’s going through my mind. His stare turns so intense it scorches up my side and melts into my skin.

There’s a few moments of silence, just long enough to be awkward, and then he smirks,the bastard, and stands up.

His every movement is smooth and controlled, and I ache to see what he’s like when he’s unrestrained. To see him unravel the way he made me, just so I can callously throw him in the dirt and stomp on his ego when it’s done.

“Of course, Parker. You can stop by the church. My doors are always open.”

I clench my jaw, not looking over, remembering how he’s said those words to me before.

Clearly, that’s another lie.

“I can come back,” I offer. But I know Parker won’t send me away. He never does, even when I would wish for him to.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Amaya,” Parker snips. “Father Cade was just trying to convince me that I should donate to the Festival of Fools instead of getting it shut down completely.”

Cade hums as he moves closer to where I am. I stiffen, his woodsy scent wafting through the air and little snaps of electricity sizzling off my skin.