Sainted

by Slade, Heather

  “You have no idea,” I said when her dimples appeared with her grin. “Or do you?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  As I leaned further into her, Harper’s quick intake of breath had my cock springing to full attention. God, how I’d love to taste those bee-stung lips. But if I did, I’d hardly be able to stop myself from whisking her to the flat, stripping us out of our clothes, and spending the next several hours—days—ravishing one another’s bodies. While other women failed to hold my interest for more than a few rounds, somehow, I knew Harper would have it indefinitely.

  I took a measured step back. “Shall we soldier on, as they say?”

  Hurt radiated from her expressive eyes. I’d vowed to not let anyone cause her pain. Yet, in this case, I knew I was choosing the lesser level of it.

  “Time for a bite to eat,” I stated rather than asked. I took her hand and led her out of the gardens and across the way to one of my favorite spots.

  While Harper had said she wasn’t hungry before we were escorted to a table, when the restaurant’s staff began bringing their Lebanese specialties without my having to order, she dove in with gusto. Once again, delighting me.

  “I was intrigued by your interest in a vicarage,” I said between bites of tabbouleh and baba ghanouj.

  She smiled, perhaps for the first time since I’d summarily led her out of the palace gardens, warming me all over.

  “While I would be interested in a vicarage if I were to become a vicar, I would have to complete my masters of theology degree before I was made the offer of a home.” When I cocked my head, she continued. “A vicarage is a house, typically on church grounds, where the vicar resides.”

  “Ah. I see. I learned something new today. Although I would venture I will learn a great deal from you, Miss Godfrey. Would that I could keep you in London indefinitely.”

  When her cheeks flushed red rather than the pink I adored, I realized something must’ve occurred I wasn’t aware of. Perhaps whatever it was, was the reason she’d asked me about the legality of her seeking employment.

  “You can confide in me, Harper.”

  She turned her head when her eyes filled with tears.

  “What’s happened?”

  “My dad…”

  I leaned forward and covered her hand with mine. “What has he done?”

  “It’s more what he won’t do.”

  “I see.”

  “You don’t need to worry. You aren’t stuck with me. I’ll figure something out.”

  “I’ll repeat. I’d keep you in London indefinitely if I could.”

  Harper rolled her eyes.

  “Very well, to be more specific, there is nothing to ‘figure out.’ You are my guest, and you will remain such for as long as you’ll allow me the pleasure of your company.”

  She shook her head. “You’ve been so kind. I can’t take advantage of you any longer.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve a confession.”

  “What?”

  “I meant everything I’ve said about you staying on, Harper. The idea of you leaving fills me with inexplicable sadness.”

  She studied me like she had earlier.

  “I’m being honest.”

  “I know,” she murmured, nodding.

  “You do?” I found her immediate acceptance flattering. “You have no idea the comfort you bring my soul.” My words rang true as soon as I said them. “I do believe a role in the ministry is what you’re meant to do with your life, Harper. I mean that sincerely.”

  Her cheeks flushed pink, but her gaze remained on mine. “Thank you, Saint. What about you? What is it you’re meant to do with the rest of your life? Do you truly want to return to MI6?”

  It came as no surprise that Harper would ask such a direct question. However, my lack of an immediate response stunned me. I put off answering by making sure my mouth was full of the delicious food that continually arrived at our table.

  Finally, I sat back, toying with my napkin. “That you asked that particular question gave me pause. Do I truly want to return to MI6? I’m not certain. I suppose lacking any other direction in my professional life, yes.”

  “You said a botched mission resulted in losing your job.”

  “If only it were that simple. I suppose that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as they say.”

  “What happened?” She placed her fork down and leaned forward, giving me all her attention.

  “I was tasked with providing detail for a man who was a known British diplomat. Not as well known was his status as an MI6 asset with strong ties to Hong Kong.”

  “How fascinating!”

  I smiled at her sincere enthusiasm and lowered my voice. If we were going to continue this conversation, it would need to take place at my flat. “I don’t know how much you pay attention to world politics, but anyone with ties to Hong Kong is either the sworn enemy of mainland China or they’ve figured out a way to use the takeover to their financial benefit.” I looked at the rapidly filling tables around us. “What do you say we head out?”

  Harper looked down at the food remaining on her plate and nodded. “I’m so full, I don’t think I could eat another bite.”

  I motioned for the waiter, thanked him for taking such good care of us, and requested the bill. Moments later, the owner came to the table, and I stood. “Ahmad, it is so nice to see you. May I introduce my friend, Harper Godfrey?”

  Rather than shake her extended hand, Ahmad kissed the back of it. “Welcome to my family’s restaurant.”

  Harper complimented the food, and soon the two were in a lively conversation as she shared which were her favorites. I put my hand on his arm when he called for his son to bring more dishes to the table for her to try.

  “While we appreciate your continued generosity, we will not be able to manage our way home if either of us eats another bite.”

  Both Harper and I thanked him when he insisted on packing up everything on our table for us to take with us, and on our way out, we promised to come back in a few days’ time.

  “What a nice man,” she commented on our return walk to the flat.

  “What a nice woman,” I said, winking when she turned to look at me.

  “I’m not sure how to say this.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “You have a very nice life, Saint. I mean, I know nothing of what it’s like to work for MI6, but I would assume it isn’t all pleasant. The rest of it, though, seems…”

  I waited with bated breath, anxious to hear what she said next. I could almost assure her that whatever word or words she chose, she’d be wrong. Perfect, ideal, charmed, or even nice like she’d already said, would be so far from the actuality.

  “Tranquil.”

  “Hmm.”

  “No?”

  I draped an arm around Harper’s shoulders, about to say one of the most honest things I ever had. “Lonely. At least until I met you.”

  11

  Harper

  The funny thing was, I could say the same. I’d never realized how lonely I felt before meeting him until he said the words.

  I had friends in Nashville and at home in DC. Wait. Did I? Mouse, for sure, but was there anyone else I really considered a friend, or were they more acquaintances? None of my housemates even came to my non-wedding. That had been a relief, actually. It was bad enough to know I still had to tell everyone the wedding never took place. The humiliation I felt thinking about the people who’d sat in the pews, wondering what was going on, made me feel sick to my stomach.

  Wait. Who had been sitting in the pews? I’d never looked. Had Dave’s family and friends known and not shown up? I could ask Mouse or my mom, but I didn’t want to know. If his side of the church had been empty, the only thing knowing would do would be make me feel worse.

  I looked up at Saint, who was studying me.

  “I’m sorry. I was just thinking how often I felt that way too.”

  “Lonely?”r />
  “I heard a quote from a celebrity who said he’d once believed the worst thing in the world was to end up alone. He went on to say it wasn’t. The worst thing was being with people who made him feel alone.”

  “And, as is said, money cannot buy happiness.”

  “It can only buy a plane ticket home,” I said with a combination of regret and ambivalence. Was it wrong that as much as he said he wished I could stay, I wanted to equally?

  “And that would not result in happiness for me.”

  “I wonder if it would for me, either,” I responded, admitting the thoughts I’d just had.

  Saint squeezed my shoulder with the arm that had been around me most of the walk back to his flat. “I suppose it makes me a right wanker if I attempt to assure you it wouldn’t.”

  I shrugged. “Or, it makes you nice enough to care whether it would or not.”

  He rubbed his chest with his free hand.

  “What?”

  “There you go again, soothing my soul.”

  We got on the lift, as Saint called it, and he pressed his palm against the flat panel as he’d done every other time. “I’ve never seen anyone else on this elevator, or in this building. Other than Miss Bardwell, but that was in your flat.”

  “Not seeing anyone in the lift is easily enough explained, given it only goes one place. As far as not seeing anyone in the building, I can’t comment, given I’m rarely here enough to notice.”

  Two things stunned me. He had an elevator all his own? Wow. As far as not being here, that made me understand his loneliness better.

  Once inside the apartment, Saint put the food in the kitchen while I went to freshen up. There were things he and I needed to talk about, and I hoped we’d have the chance to. Mainly, I needed to tell him about my father’s email.

  I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when I opened it and read that he had no intention of giving me the money to purchase a ticket home. Nor would he consider lending it to me. He’d gone on to say I’d proven my untrustworthiness through my actions.

  At the time, I was too angry and hurt to think about much other than what I saw as my own father’s betrayal. Now, though, I couldn’t help but draw the correlation between my situation and Saint’s.

  Other than getting on the plane and traveling to London, the circumstances related to my inability to get home weren’t of my own making. The fact that Dave stole my money and canceled my flight seemed to be lost on my dad.

  “I can hear you growling from the other room,” I heard Saint say from the direction of the bedroom door.

  “Sorry. Just thinking about what my ex did.” When I came out of the bathroom and saw him standing in the doorway, I nearly gasped. The man was almost too handsome. Like a movie star. His hair, which had been slicked back when we left earlier in the day, had fallen forward. His eyes, always shockingly blue, sparkled when the afternoon sun streaming through the window shone on them. And his body? The man could’ve been a model with the way his clothes fit him as though they’d been custom made.

  Maybe they were. Earlier, he’d said money couldn’t buy happiness. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were wildly wealthy. Only someone with a lot of money didn’t appear to ever think about it.

  “Still thinking about the ex?” he asked, jarring me out of my thoughts.

  “Um. No.”

  “Glad to hear it, given the way your eyes have traversed down my body and back up again.” He winked.

  “You’re very easy to look at.”

  “As are you.”

  I looked down at my sensible-for-travel clothes and rolled my eyes. “I’m a vision. That’s for sure.”

  He strode in my direction, every step deliberate, until he stood close enough that I could feel his breath. I loved it when he did that. Even more so now since I didn’t catch any scent of liquor.

  “You are enchanting, Harper. That you are so unaware of it, only adds to the attraction.”

  When I felt my cheeks flush and cast my gaze downward, I heard Saint’s quick intake of breath. I looked into his heated eyes and removed my glasses, wishing he’d act on whatever it was that affected him so.

  “What does that make you want to do, Saint?”

  “Do not further tempt me, Harper.” He took a step back, and I took one forward. “I mean it. The rein I hold on my passions is tenuous.”

  “Let it go.”

  “You’ve no idea what you’re saying.”

  “Then, show me.”

  Before I had a chance to even blink, Saint’s mouth crushed against mine. His hand fisted my hair, and he angled his head to deepen his tongue’s thrust into my mouth. Bone-melting heat spread throughout my body, and I leaned against him for support. The contact resulted in a moan that emanated from his chest and vibrated to the yearning between my legs.

  I’d felt desire before, but nothing like this. The intense pressure made me want to grind myself against him, if only there was a place easily accessed enough for me to do it.

  As if he’d sensed my building need, Saint backed me up against the wall and slid his muscular thigh between my legs. His hands cupped my bottom, and he tugged me against him.

  My hands clung to his shoulders as I felt the intensity of where my clit ground against his thigh, building to the point where I was close to coming apart. I’d never felt something this strong. I wanted to climb his body and wrap myself around him.

  “Harper.” He said my name but nothing else, moving his mouth and lips fast, fierce, and oh, so demanding.

  When I trailed one hand down his chest, he grabbed my wrist before my fingers reached his belt. I drew back and looked into his eyes.

  “I’ll let you take what you need, Harper, but I cannot give it to you.”

  “Why not?”

  He released his grip on my butt and slid his thigh from between my legs. Whereas our bodies were plastered against each other’s moments ago, now the only part of him touching me was his hands resting on my waist. “I will not—I cannot—take advantage of you.”

  “No matter how much I want you to?”

  “Bloody hell,” he whispered, bringing his forehead to mine. His lips trailed from my temple down my cheek. He nuzzled my ear, sending a new current of desire surging through my bloodstream. He lifted my sweater, pulled the cup of my bra out of his way, and circled my nipple with his fingertip.

  “Oh, God,” I groaned as my thighs clenched, desperate to feel his leg between them again.

  “Hold on,” he said. When his lips replaced his fingertips, my knees buckled.

  “Please,” I begged without knowing what for.

  He moved his hand between my legs, cupping me in a way that felt so much better than his leg had. I held my breath as the base of his palm pressed hard against me. I gasped for air when a feeling like none I’d ever known ripped through my body. I cried out and buried my face against his chest as pleasure continued to course through me.

  He withdrew his hand, brought his fingers to his nose, and inhaled. “God Almighty, you needed that.”

  I dropped my arms to my sides when I felt steady enough on my feet. “What about you? Don’t you need something?” I stammered.

  “Seeing you fall apart in my arms was all I needed, Harper. You’ve no idea the gift you’ve given me.”

  When he walked out of the room, the temperature seemed to drop by several degrees. I wanted to call after him, beg him to stay, beg him for more, but didn’t, especially when I saw his shoulders droop slightly forward.

  12

  Saint

  Never in my life had I wanted a woman more than Harper Godfrey. If I hadn’t left her room, I would’ve lifted her into my arms, deposited her on the bed, torn the clothes from her body, spread her legs, and fastened my mouth to her slick, wet clit. I would’ve wrung climax after climax from her young, innocent body in ways I innately knew she’d never dreamed existed.

  Her orgasm had shocked her enough that whatever suspicions I’d been harboring about her lack
of experience were immediately confirmed. Harper had never climaxed from another’s hand and likely hadn’t from her own.

  I walked over to the table where I kept the forever-full, thanks to Miss Bardwell, decanter of scotch and poured myself two fingers. I downed those and was about to pour another when I saw Harper out of the corner of my eye. “Fancy a glass?” I asked, picking up an empty tumbler.

  “No, thank you. I’m really not much of a drinker.” She walked over and sat in a chair near the fireplace. Her measured look had me setting the decanter down as well as my glass.

  “I drink far too much.” When she didn’t say anything, my tentative smile laced with shame.

  “Tell me more about the mission. I gathered it wasn’t something we should talk about at the restaurant.”

  I was struck by her demeanor. It was as if my hand hadn’t just cupped her pussy through her trousers, my lips hadn’t just ravished hers. Rather than experience even more sexual frustration, I sat in the chair closest to her. “You were right. I shouldn’t have said as much as I did.”

  She folded her hands on her lap.

  “Where was I?” I said absentmindedly. “Dr. Adam Benjamin, I feel certain I didn’t mention his name previously…”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Good. Right. Anyway, being assigned to him was definitely considered a slap on the wrist for me. The danger level, as well as the desired outcome, would typically mean a lower-level agent would be on the man’s detail. However, since I was being given a second chance as it were, the duty fell on my shoulders.” I wondered if Harper would ask what I’d done to garner the second chance. She didn’t, but if she had, I’m not sure I would’ve been able to answer.

  “Back to Benjamin. I traveled to the States with him for meetings he had scheduled with another expert on China policy, a woman named Dr. Emerson Charles. At the time, she was the leading authority on the subject at MIT’s International think tank.”