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Britain kept her feline-like eyes intertwined with Priest's dark and alluring ones. His bottom lip tucked between his perfectly aligned teeth motivated Britain more. He gave her all the control to distract her from overthinking about the possibility of one of the crew men walking in on them, and Britain picked up the pace, twisting her hips to ensure that with each stroke her spot could be reached.

Priest could see the tears forming in her eyes, an immediate sign that she was nearing her climax. Priest swirled his tongue at the crook of her neck. The slight touch caused Britain to go into overdrive. Exhilaration shot through her as her natural juices gushed all over Priest. A few rough yet pleasing strokes later, Priest found himself at his peak, right behind Britain. He sank his teeth into the smooth skin of Britain's shoulder to muffle the grunt he so badly wanted to let out as he released inside of her.

Breathlessly, they gazed into each other's eyes, light smirks etching their faces. After getting cleaned up thoroughly, Britain slipped her bottoms back on. Reaching steady waters, Priest and Britain were able to lounge on the afterdeck of the yacht.

“I enjoy hearing you much more," Priest's baritone drifted into Britain's ears.

Britain's face heated instantly as she felt Priest flutter light kisses along her jaw line. "You have no shame, do you?"

Priest shook his head. "Nah, not one ounce of it." He shrugged as they shared laughter.

With Britain's hands gripping the railing of the yacht while Priest wrapped his strong arms around her petite frame, they both gazed at the beauty of the deep blue waters that went on for miles and miles. The breeze swept over their skin as the sun embraced their shades of melanin with a gentle kiss.

"I have to take a picture of this." Britain snapped out of the beauty of the sight, rushing to retrieve her camera.

Priest chuckled, awaiting her return. He eyed her attentively as she fidgeted with the camera for a moment before holding it up to her eye. Priest studied her as she snapped a few photos of the sight before them. The water was gorgeous, giving Britain a beautiful sight for some scenic photos.

"You ever thought of being in front of the camera instead?" Priest randomly questioned, causing Britain to halt her actions.

Pulling the camera down from her face, she looked up at Priest. "What are you talking about?"

Priest bit down on his bottom lip gently before taking the camera from her hands and aiming the lens at her. Immediately, Britain shied away and set her sights elsewhere. With her face hidden from the aim of the camera, she avoided any pictures Priest could have potentially taken. "C'mon, give it a try,Gioia. You're an aesthetic," Priest eased out convincingly, causing Britain to laugh.

"The hell do you know about aesthetics?" she asked him with her hand planted on her hip and a smirk on her face. Her tresses were caught in the wind, causing them to flow gracefully in the breeze.

Priest took the opportunity to take a picture. She was distracted. He shrugged his shoulders. "I have no fucking clue what an aesthetic even looks like, but Jazzy says that shit a lot. Fashion school lingo, I guess," he laughed.

Once he stopped talking, Britain could hear the shutter of the camera just fine. Immediately, she began to shy up again. "Britain's shy, butGioiaain't," Priest encouraged her. She cut her eyes at him. She had to admit that was a little clever, and it may have worked in his favor.

"Who do you like more?Gioiaor Britain?" Britain grilled him while her eyes seared into his.

Standing only a few feet away with the camera still aimed at her, Priest took as many shots as he could. He kept her distracted from her attempts at hiding away and concealing herself and her personality by just keeping up conversation. One thing he knew about Britain was that she loved to talk. Conversation was her deepest form of intimacy, so he toyed with that a bit to get her to step out of her comfort zone.

"Britain is who I met. Who intrigued me at first glance. She is who I want to learn and understand, so I study her," Priest explained as he continued to snap photos of her. Britain listened to him as he spoke about her with so much conviction and passion in his voice. "Gioia, she's who I helped bring to life. She's who I want to teach and introduce to the joys of life."

A smile— a full one— graced Britain's face, allowing Priest to gawk at her raw beauty. She was embracing her distinctive smile, despite how many times she'd voiced she hated her gap. The sight was gorgeous to say the least.

As Priest continued to take photos of her, Britain grew more comfortable in front of the camera. In her mind, no one else would get the chance to see these photos of her, so she had nothing to worry about. Only Priest would see her in the state of relaxation, sporting her full smile, embracing her beauty.

"I think you should resign your spot behind the camera and get used to being in front of one." Priest smirked as he laid beside her, flipping through the photos he had taken of her.

Britain chuckled as her eyes scanned over one of the pictures. "I'm not sure about all that now." She shook her head, unconvinced.

As she flipped to the next photo that Priest stamped as his favorite, his eyes widened slightly. "You shittin' me right now,Gioia?" He sighed at the fact that she was still selling herself short after seeing all the proof she needed. "You don’t see what I see?"

The way her hot pink bikini set contrasted her rich sepia skin was gorgeous. Her feline-like eyes were complimented by her gracious lashes gazing into the lens of the camera with the soft look Priest enjoyed so much. She did it so effortlessly, unaware of the type of effect she could have on him or anyone else for that matter.

After staring down at the photo long and hard, Britain aimed the camera at him. "What about you? You seem to love the camera." She flipped the subject matter to Priest.

He waved her off. " The New York Times got that covered." Priest shrugged before Britain snapped a photo of him. Looking at the recently taken picture in the display, Britain sighed in defeat at how effortlessly photogenic Priest was. He was just so handsome, and what made it even better was the fact that he was aware of his good looks, but he was so humble with it.

Britain straddled his waist as he laid on his back, letting the sun bathe his skin. His tattoos coursed over his body like butter. His fully ink-decorated arms secured her petite frame as he gazed at her. "You believe in life outside New York?" Priest spontaneously asked her.

Britain sat her camera down beside them and nodded. "I do, but for some reason, I don't feel like there's much out there for me." She shrugged and motioned her hand around, alluding to her current state in life. "It feels like this is it for me."

Confused, Priest furrowed his brows. "Why?"

"I've grown comfortable, I guess," she admitted with slight disappointment weighing down her tone. "The whole reason I came back to New York was to be closer to family, and now that I have that, I'm stuck in that ‘what else can I possibly ask for’ state of mind."

"There's so much shit the world can offer you, G. You just have to put yourself out there. Life don't stop giving until you in the grave." Priest was living up to his name as he preached to Britain. She liked to sell herself short a lot, only because she feared the possibility of falling on her ass. She was safe in every decision she made.

Britain let out a sigh. "I don't know, Priest."

Priest intertwined his fingers with hers. They were hand in hand as she gazed down at him. Everything with Britain just felt so organic and right. Priest felt compelled to give her whatever she wanted, even though she didn’t ask for anything.

"Tell me somewhere you've always wanted to go." Priest smiled up at her lightly.

Britain couldn't contain the smile that broke out on her face. "I've had some inspiration, but definitely Italy," She let out a light laugh.

Priest nodded, satisfied with her choice. It was evident that her inspiration came from him enlightening her about his vacation to Italy that turned into a six-month long stay. Those six months were when Priest felt the most carefree. He was content with the fact that no one knew who he was, and all intentions were pure. "Great choice.” He nodded.

"Priest, what is this all about? Really?" Britain skeptically asked.

"I'll send you to Italy for as long as you want. Bring a friend." He shrugged as if his offer was something so minuscule.

Britain raised a questioning brow. "Bring a friend? Why can't you come with me?" She pouted her plump lips.

Priest let out a drained sigh. "I'm tied up in all this court shit." He ran a hand down his face. "They labeled me as a flight risk, so I gotta stay in The States."

"Well, Italy can wait then." Britain shrugged, not dwelling on the thought.

Priest shook his head. A part of him wasn't sure how he should tell Britain that there may be no chance for him to visit Italy with her in the future. He was confident in himself and his legal team, but life had a funny way of working. Shit could be in his favor one minute, and the next, his entire world could be crashing down. It was his reality. Priest had faced it already, but he wasn't sure if Britain could. They both were already attached.

"C'mon. You and Kaymen's girl, Jadey, take the trip, my treat," Priest continued to offer. "I'll have you guys on a jet as soon as we get back to Harlem."

Britain squinted her already slanted cat-like eyes. She was mentally questioning herself before she began questioning him. "You don't want me to be in New York during your trial. Is that it?" She planted both of her hands on her hips.

Another sigh slipped from between Priest's lips as he sat up on his elbows. "Britain?—"

"First, you make it clear that you don't want me present, which I completely understand, but now you're trying to fly me off to Italy," Britain highlighted to him. "Priest, what are you hiding?" Her eyes seared into his. Priest wasn't a liar, and he wasn't about to become one today.

"I'm not hiding anything. Shit is just complicated." Priest shrugged, hoping Britain would bring an end to this discussion.

Britain rose from his lap and took a seat beside him. "Priest, did you do it?"

"Do what, Britain?"

"What they are accusing you of," she clarified. "Priest, let me know what I'm getting myself into." Her eyes seemed to be imploring some sort of honesty from him.

Priest sat up, facing Britain. "What I do or what people think I did has nothing to do with you. I wouldn't put someone I care about in the line of scrutiny or danger," Priest assured Britain. "You're gonna hear a lot of different shit about me; however, if it didn't come from me, it's not true."

Britain pursed her lips before offering him a nod of her head. Priest was an honest guy. If she wanted to know something, all she really had to do was ask.

"You're not getting rid of me during your trial," Britain gave him a fair warning with a side eye.

Priest chuckled with a nod of his head. "Heard’ju."

"Promise me you'll go to Italy with me once the time is right." Britain outstretched her pinky, hoping Priest would interlock it with his.

She grew confused once Priest let out a sigh, a heavy one at that. "What's wrong?" she asked, reaching over to caress his face like she always did.

"I don't make broken promises. I only promise shit I can commit to," Priest explained with a shrug, hoping he didn't have to go into great detail about why he couldn't fulfill his half of the promise.

"I've seen you commit to a lot of things. I'm sure you can commit to joining me in Italy," Britain asserted with a wave of her hand.

"It's not that I don’t want to commit to it," Priest clarified for her. "It's my presence I can't commit to. Truth is, my life is a gamble. I don't know if things will play out in my favor or not," he admitted.

Britain knew he was alluding to the fact that he could possibly be convicted. It was everywhere in the press and media that the prosecutor was pushing for a life sentence for Priest. Britain thought it was inhumane that they were striving to put this man behind bars for the rest of his life. However, the allegations that were being held against Priest were just as inhumane.

"Promise me that even if you can't promise me your presence, you’ll allow me to promise mine in your life." Britain held her pinky out with a sense of sincerity in her words.

Priest hooked his pinky with hers before he leaned in, locking his soft lips with Britain's plump ones. "I got you." Priest pulled his lips from Britain's and graced them along her neck. A soft laugh flowed from Britain at the feeling of Priest’s fluttered kisses along her smooth skin.

Priest flipped them over so he could hover over her small frame. "Priest, what are you doing?" She laughed a little louder while his kisses trailed down her chest.

Priest intertwined their hands together, holding them above her head as he lowered his lips below her waistline. He smirked before circling his tongue in the inner portion of her thigh. "Just vibe,Gioia," he told her before taking her breath away.