Page 114 of The Love of Priest 2

Priest motioned his broad shoulders in a shrug as a response.

As she peered down at him from where she stood at the side of their bed, she could see the vexation and agitation masking his face.

His power move was successful, but as he put everything in perspective and thought about all he had to do to prove his point, it angered him.

In a sense, he felt like all the sacrifices he made, the blame that was put on him, and all the work he put in were completely overlooked and undervalued.

With him now living in Italy, it altered the respect everyone once had for him.

The decision to bring Jazzy into the business was by far the biggest slap in the face.

Then, to add insult to injury, J'Ru felt like it was okay to give him an ultimatum about an empire he started.

Agreed, the business wasn't a dictatorship, but from where Priest was positioned at the moment, he felt like he was being pushed out, and that would never be accepted or agreed upon by him.

When he left, he wanted it to be on his terms.

"Nothing I can't handle," he mumbled as he kept his orbs fixed on the ceiling.

Priest could hear Britain exhale a long sigh.

Shifting his eyes to the left of him, he noticed she stood at the side of the bed with her hands perched on her hips and a stressed look on her face.

This caused a sigh to drift out of him as well, projected from his agitation.

"What's up, Brit?" He raised a brow at her, waiting for her to voice her concerns.

Assuming that she was about to attempt to convince him to extend the olive branch to the guys and Jazzy, it struck a nerve in him.

He was already agitated, and his temper was fragile, so he was on edge.

She bit down on her bottom lip, silently condemning herself for upsetting him as he sat up in the bed to look directly at her.

"Gioia, just stop while you're ahead," he warned her while pinching the bridge of his nose.

At times, he enjoyed how well Britain was able to always find the silver lining in every situation; however, right now wasn't the time.

He didn't want to be encouraged to be the bigger person or to take action to have an understanding conversation with everyone.

He felt like he had done enough as it was.

He made his move with the money, made it clear that he was still all hands on deck, and now, it was up to Kaymen, J'Ru and Jazzy to simply get it through their thick skulls.

"You didn't even let me get it out, Kanaz." She threw her hands up.

Priest smacked his lips. "‘Cause I already know how you coming. I'm always the bad guy when it's all said and done," he scoffed.

A short breath aired out of Britain. She climbed onto the bed next to him, taking his hand into hers. "You're not always the bad guy," she asserted before applying light kisses onto his knuckles.

A bitter chuckle sounded from Priest as he shook his head.

"Nah, Brit. It's like I’m damned if I do, damned if I don't. I'm constantly overextending myself when it comes to everybody.

I take on everything just so everybody else can live life stress free.

You mean to tell me, the one time I decide to look out for myself, my situation becomes an inconvenience for everybody, even you?

" Priest was not only frustrated about the situation with Jazzy, but he was also putting everything in perspective about this move to Italy.

She pursed her lips, refraining from saying anything that would ignite him more.

Any other time, she would have responded wittily, which would have ensighted a quarrel between them, but right now, it was evident that he just needed to vent.

"Maybe I was just better off letting shit play out how it was supposed to.

" His chiseled jaw clenched as he stared aimlessly at the wall.

Britain let out a light sigh as she opened her arms, pulling him into an embrace.

For a moment, he had no intentions of returning the embrace due to him being so upset, but the tighter her arms grew around him, the more at ease he became.

He finally wrapped his arms around Britain, nestling his head in the crook of her neck.

"Anything you do for your own sake is not an inconvenience," she assured him with her soft voice as her hand caressed his back gently.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like that," she apologized.

"I just want you back to yourself. I understand we have a lot going on, but it's clear that you aren't at your best mentally, P, and that scares me.” Her comforting touch along his back never stopped as she spoke in her light and nurturing voice.

Priest kept his head nestled into the crook of her neck, taking in the soft notes of her floral perfume. "Me too," he agreed in his deep, rugged voice.

Hearing him admit that he was struggling mentally was a lot for Britain to digest. Priest was the man who always seemed so put together, composed, and balanced his life so well, despite how astray things may have gotten.

Right now, he was so fueled with anger and confusion.

As for his business, he remained two steps ahead and planned out his next move before he even needed to.

However, in his personal life, he had absolutely no clue of his next step or when exactly he needed to execute the next step.

For the first time ever in his life, Priest felt like he was in foreign territory when it came to his life, and that bothered him.

A deep breath exhaled out of her. In this moment, she had to be his light through the darkness. "We'll figure it out… together," she assured. "Just not right now. Right now, you need to decompress and just relax.” She lifted his head from her shoulder, cupping his face in her hands.

As she gazed into his eyes, she could see the defeat that webbed them. Priest was dealing with a lot, and his situation with the guys and Jazzy only made matters worse. "You're stronger thank you think. Y'know that?" She raised a brow at him before sitting a light kiss at the top of his nose.

A faint chuckle drifted out of Priest as he nodded his head. He could recall Britain saying the exact same thing around the time they first met. The same way it worked back then, it worked now. "‘Preciate you,Gioia," he expressed his gratitude as he planted a tender kiss onto her plump lips.

"I love you,P," she professed, a widespread smile canvassing her face.

"I love you too,G," Priest asserted, the same smile plastering his face.

As always, Britain was able to lift his spirits with just her presence alone.

He desperately needed someone like her. She could make him forget all his problems and all his stress.

She made everything make sense and made him feel like it was worth it, and for that he was grateful.

He pulled her close in his strong tattooed arms, finding comfort in their plush bed.

She rested her head on his chest, being captivated immediately by his strong and steady heartbeat.

"Priest," she called for his attention as she laid on his chest.

"What's up?" he asked as his hand gently cupped her rear.

In order to keep him at ease, the pads of her fingers lightly circled against his chest. "I think it's time to stop putting off your session with Havani. Business is handled. Now, you have to get back to focusing on yourself."

Over the course of the past few weeks, he had drifted away from his usual schedule with Havani, not because he didn't want or need a session, but because he had so much going on that he couldn't find time for it.

He didn't realize how quickly his mental and emotional health began to decline and revert back to his old habits until she pointed it out.

"Heard'ju," he agreed with a nod of his head.

Silence filled the bedroom as they both fell victim to their own thoughts.

Priest, who had been neglecting sleep for the past few days since J'Ru, Kaymen, and Jazzy made their way to Italy, found himself falling asleep in no time as he held Britain in his arms. Britain watched as his eyes shuttered closed, glad that he was able to find comfort and relax his mind with some sleep.

While he enjoyed his slumber, she battled the tormenting thoughts of keeping her arrangement with Jazzy from him.

One thing she and Priest vowed to do was to always be transparent with each other, and right now, she was going against that principle in their relationship.