The Drazen World: LUST (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Lola Darling

Barely a shadow of a whisper.
    “To where?” I cry, unable to help myself. Panic clouds my vision, makes my heart race. No. No no no. I can’t handle this without him. He’s the only person I can talk to about Gabby, the only reason I’ve been able to claw my way back to some semblance of a normal life now that she’s gone. His presence, his mind, his body—the way he fucks me—he’s the only one who knows how to pull me out of this shitty world and transport me into a better one. A place where I can think about something besides this constant heartbreak.
    “Kentucky.” He’s shaking his head, and the unshed tears finally spill over to slink down his cheeks. “I don’t know what to do. There’s still A Safe Place to think about, too. I’m the only one from the Diocese involved there, I’ve been able to convince them to keep funding the house, to keep all those children safe and off the streets. Without me, that whole place falls apart. And there’s my life here, there’s . . .” His eyes dart to mine, and I know I’m looking into a mirror of my own pain. “There’s you. We’ve only just found one another. I don’t . . . I can’t leave you, not now. Not when there’s so many places this could still go, not when we have so much to give one another.”
    “So what are you going to do?” I whisper, unable to bring myself to speak any louder. I know, of course what I want. I want him to stay. Selfishly, I want him to say that he’ll do whatever it takes to be with me, no matter the cost.
    But I know I can’t ask that. Not when our relationship is so new, and not when I know what the church helped him recover from. Would he go into a downward spiral again, the way he did right after his ex-lover’s death, if he lost the church’s support? It’s entirely possible. I, of all people, understand that.
    “I don’t know, Darren. I need the church. I love the priesthood. My parishioners, my community, my place in the world, giving up my own life for God’s. I can’t lose that.” His eyes lock onto mine, his brow drawn in desperation. “But I can’t lose you either.”
    I take a tentative step closer. Reach for his hand, and this time, he lets me curl my fingers around his. Intertwine them, the way we did last night, when things were still so simple and easy to solve. “What do we do now?”
    THE END
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