Lust Is the Thorn Read Online Free PDF Page B

said. “Father Thorn.”
    “Stop trying to act as if we haven’t known each other our whole lives. I met you when you were just a kid with a bad attitude and stained Keds.” I glanced down her slim form, trying to ignore my body’s response to all her soft curves. “Then again, you haven’t changed much. You’ve still got a bad attitude and stained sneakers.”
    She self-consciously tucked her feet under her seat. “Do not.”
    “Do so.” Reaching down, I closed my fingers around her slim ankle and tugged. She gasped and let me pull her leg straight. She was so tiny that I was actually able to do so, even in my small BMW. “And I can prove it.”
    We both glanced down at her Keds—which she still rocked. They were stained with mud and God only knows what else. Her cheeks flushed bright pink and she stuck her middle finger right under my nose.
    “Thorn…” She ripped her ankle free and adjusted herself in her seat. It put her face closer to mine, and I turned toward her slowly, my blood rushing through my veins at warp speed. “Thank you. I know I play a good game and act like I never need help, and most of the time I don’t. But this…just, thank you.”
    She was so gorgeous, sitting in the daylight, with mere inches separating our faces. Bruised? Tired? Sure. But that didn’t detract from her beauty. And when she leaned in, brushing my hair off my forehead with a barely-there touch, my heart pounded against my ribs in a desperate attempt to escape. I wanted to move closer so badly I could taste the forbidden desire on the tip of my tongue. I ached to close the distance between us and finally find out what she tasted like, screw the consequences. More than that, I longed to run my tongue over that cold steel lip ring and suck it into my mouth as I plunged deep inside her. For a second, I wanted her more than I wanted
anything
else in the world.
    And in the end, that’s what made me pull away.
    “Anytime, Rose. I would do anything for you. You know that.”
    “Anything?” she whispered, her attention locked on my mouth. She pressed her tongue against her lip ring, moving it. “Anything at all?”
    “Well…” I hesitated, because she was looking at me as if she wanted me to do the very thing I’d just been thinking of. “Almost anything.”
    A small laugh escaped her. I loved her laugh. It was musical. Soft. The opposite of
her
. She was so tough, so strong. It was one of the things I admired most about her. She took everything in stride. Never stressed, or cried, or spent time wondering what might have been, or should have been.
    She just went on with her life.
    I wished I could do that. Ignore all the what-could-be and what-could-have-been moments of my life, take my vows, and become a priest like I’d been planning on doing since the night when I’d almost ended it all out of grief and guilt. But something held me back from taking my vows, and I couldn’t figure out what that something was.
    Until I did…I couldn’t fully commit.
    As she smoothed her long, wavy hair behind her ear, her hand trembled. “Know what I really want?”
    I settled back into my seat. “What?”
    “To go in there, take off all my clothes…” Her voice trailed off and she licked her lips. “And have a smoke in a bath. But since I can’t, I’ll still take a nice, long, steaming hot bath, just without the cigarette.”
    I tried not to think of her naked and wet in the tub. I tried every single distraction method I’d come up with over the years in order to remain celibate. Nothing worked except Mikey’s face.
    If he knew what I was thinking about Rose right now…
    And the worst—or best—thing was, she had no idea how badly I wanted her. How hard it was to keep my hands to myself when it came to her. Any other woman, any other day, and I wasn’t tempted. But the second Rose walked into the room I was a goner. “How’s the withdrawal going?” I finally asked.
    “I’m a little shaky.” She held her