Page 69 of Divine Temptations

“Because someone needed me. Maybe a lot of someones. I don’t know. But I felt that call—like the light was pushing me back into myself, like it was whispering not yet.”

Julian didn’t respond right away. He looked away, then down, then he finally stood. For a second I thought he was leaving.

But then he walked over and sat next to me. Not just beside me. Next to me. Close enough that his thigh brushed mine.

I felt that heat again. The gravity of him.

He didn’t look at me. Just stared at the fire, his voice quiet.

“I’ve never believed in anything like that,” he said. “Not the universe, or some silly spirit guides. Not light or destiny. I don’t think anyone’s watching over me.”

“I think someone is.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re still here.”

He let that sit. Then he turned his head.

Our faces were inches apart.

“And what if I don’t want to be saved?”

I smiled faintly. “Then I won’t try.”

“But you want to.”

His voice dropped. My heart stuttered.

“I want to know you,” I said honestly.

He shifted closer. “I’m not easy to know.”

“I don’t need easy.”

His hand brushed mine. Barely.

Then again, firmer. His fingers grazed my wrist.

And just like that, the space between us collapsed.

His lips hovered close to mine. Not touching. Just breathing the same air.

And for a moment, I forgot every rule I’d ever made for myself. To never mix the personal with the spiritual, and to protect my energy, my heart, my calling.

Because Julian was breaking through all of that with one look.

He didn’t kiss me. Not yet.

But he was inviting it.

Tempting me.

And God help me… I wanted to say yes.

The air between us was taut—alive with something unspoken but undeniable. But just as I leaned in, as the heat between us began to rise, the sound of laughter broke through the trees.

Not close. But loud enough.