Page 21 of The Love of Priest 2

Chapter Six

Britain felt her knees sink into the plush mattress of her bed.

Priest stood before her, stepping out of his sneakers and getting undressed for a shower.

She sighed lightly before taking on the task of aiding him out of his shirt.

Since the car ride, neither had said a word to the other.

There was no animosity or unspoken tension. They simply preferred silence.

They were at eye level with each other as Britain used her bed for extra height.

Her soft hands cupped his handsome face, brushing the pad of her thumb gently against his lips.

She pulled him closer, causing their lips to touch.

The subtle kiss progressed into a much deeper one.

His massive hands conformed to her mild curves that were accentuated by the Juicy Couture tracksuit she wore for leisure while in the Hamptons.

She had tossed the velour jacket that paired with the pants on the couch upon entrance into her apartment.

His cold hands rolled her tank-top up a bit, exposing the skin of her midriff.

He held her sides, ultimately causing her to melt into the kiss completely.

She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck as the kiss grew more passionate.

She felt his hand navigate down to the stings of her velour pants. Instantly, she pulled away from the kiss. If she allowed him to do as he pleased with her, she would never get the answers she was searching for. "Tell me, P." Her sweet voice drifted out of her in a low octave.

His dark orbs pierced into hers, never departing from them. It seemed as though the light she had grown used to being in his eyes had disappeared. He was back to being the same old guarded Priest she initially met. "I can't, Gioia," he told her with a shake of his head.

Britain released an exasperated sigh. "I tried settling, but I can't," she admitted as she retired from the position she was in and sat on the bed instead. Looking up at him, she could tell that this wasn't what he was expecting from her.

The conversation they had back in the car was just too good to be true for Priest. He knew Britain wasn't a woman who wouldn’t get her answers.

Whatever it was going to take to get him to crack, she was going to do it.

"Britain, I warned you about this," he reminded her as he walked away from the bed toward her dresser where he proceeded to take off his Audemars Piguet watch.

She watched as he unhooked his chains from his neck, laying them down on the dresser alongside the watch. "Okay. Come back," she called him back over to her.

Priest sighed as he shuffled back over to her.

He wasn't sporting his usual confident gait.

He seemed to drag, and she could tell he was exhausted.

She slipped her hands into his big ones, pulling him down to lie on top of her.

Usually, whenever he did this, she would complain about how heavy he was, but right now, she didn't care. She just wanted him close.

"Then tell me something else," she suggested, hoping that would alleviate the heavy feeling that weighed down on both of their hearts.

Priest stayed silent.

All that could be heard were the traces of their steady breathing and, of course, the traffic outside the apartment. Britain continued to stroke his low cut as he his soft fingertips rubbed against the smooth skin of her waist in circles.

"Kay and I talked J'Ru out of doing something I've always wanted to do," he opened up with a heavy sigh. "I know J'Ru will probably hold it over my head for the rest of my life, or even clown me about it, but I feel like I did the right thing."

Despite the fact that he and Kaymen were the sensible ones out of the three, it really took everything in him not to go along with J’Ru’s instinct and put Leonard and June down on the concrete.

"Can you disclose what it was?" Britain asked in her light voice.

Priest shook his head. He rose from his comfortable position on Britain's chest, once again heading to the bathroom to clean himself of the evidence from the traumatic day.

She sighed in defeat after hitting another dead end with him.

She couldn't even have a moment with him right now. He was out of it.

Before he could enter the bathroom to start his shower, he grabbed her television remote from her dresser, turning it on.

Britain's attention retracted from him and was set on her television mounted on the wall.

He flipped to the local news that would have usually been airing updates about his upcoming trial.

Instead, the broadcast was all about Leila's assassination.

"All you’re supposed to know is what they tell everyone else," he stated before shutting the bathroom door behind him so he could shower.

Britain sat up in bed, sitting Indian style.

Her eyes remained glued on the screen as she anxiously toyed with her fingers.

She was the public, despite sleeping next to the man who had paved Leila's way to success with nothing but his finances.

She knew what everyone else knew. She wasn't meant to know more things like the inside details, the secrets, or the plans. She was the public .

Britain rose from her bed, grabbing the television remote to turn the television off.

She shuffled into the bathroom, feeling the steam from his hot shower surround her body.

"Britain, could you fall back… just for tonight?

" Priest requested while in the shower. He assumed she came in to search for answers he wouldn't be giving her.

"I didn't come in here to badger you with questions, Priest," Britain said as she stepped out of her velour pants and shed her plain tank top.

"Then what are you in here for?" He pulled the sliding door back a bit to pop his head out to eye her. She was down to her panties and lace bralette. His dark orbs gazed at her as she stripped off her garments to join him in the shower.

Priest stepped aside, allowing her to step directly underneath the shower head. He watched as her hair melted down to the middle of her back as the water rained down on her tresses. He admired her natural beauty as her petite frame stood underneath his.

Craning down, he kissed her plump lips gently. As they parted from the kiss, Britain posed a question. “You want to know my earliest childhood memory?"

Priest felt his chest clench. He wasn’t sure he could handle another deep dive into her past at the moment.

Instead of shaking his head, he nodded, causing her to exhale a deep sigh.

"The earliest memory I can recall is of my grandmother constantly telling me that my mother was studying," Britain said.

"No matter what day it was or the time, she was always studying.

I barely saw her face most of the time. She locked herself in the basement and read every medical journal she could get her hands on. She was just always studying.

"Then Henderson came in, and all of a sudden, my mom had time for me.

She would dress me up, do my hair, take me out.

I was her little baby doll, as everyone else would say," she laughed as she thought back to how cute and dolled up Seven kept her.

"At one point, I forgot my mom was even studying to become a doctor.

She delegated her time so well. Between her internship and me and Henderson, she was being somebody for everyone.

"I remember moving into the brownstone with Henderson and my grandmother helping my mom settle in.

I recall her praising my mom for finding a man who brought the mother and the nature of a woman out of her.

It wasn't until I got older that I realized that my mom initially was never a mother to me.

She was more like an older sibling who prioritized me at the last minute when she had free time.

It took her getting with Henderson for her to realize that in order for him to accept her, he had to also accept me, which meant she had to prioritize me more.

He brought the mother out of her. He brought the woman out of her,"Britain went on.

Priest found it fascinating that Britain never found herself broken when she recounted her past. She seemed at peace with everything and told her story like she was telling someone else's.

"What are you saying,Gioia?" His low voice waved through her ears as he used his tender hand to caress her face.

"One, I used to have serious mommy issues," she stated in a joking manner, causing her and Priest to chuckle.

"And two, I'm aware of what you're doing.

You know what you're capable of bringing out of me, and you know the damage it would bring.

Instead of putting me through that, you protect me from anything that has the potential to dim my light," she explained as her deep brown orbs seared into his dark ones.

Priest nodded in confirmation. "You're too bright," he said to her as he nestled his head in the crook of her neck. "If you go dark, I have no way out.”

Britain relished the feeling of having him close again. She was no longer fighting him for an understanding. They had found at a common ground that was sufficient for both of them.

After getting cleaned up, they stepped out of the shower and dried themselves off.

Britain had wrapped her damp hair in a towel in hopes of getting most of the water out of it.

She stood in the mirror with her towel draped around her body.

A light smile graced her face as Priest stood close behind her.

They eyed each other through the mirror, a smile taking over his lips as well.