SIX 

KAIN

"Alright, I think you've had enough." 

"What? Nooo..." 

Maggie giggled, her eyes mischievous and her cheeks flushed with pink. She threw back four shots in the last hour and I almost regretted getting a vodka that went down so easily. She was definitely feeling it and at the tipping point between just the right amount and too much. 

We chit-chatted for the past hour, slowly unwinding and loosening up. Seriousness turned to jokes and awkward questions turned to flirty banter. Still, I made no move to touch her and she kept a safe distance as well. 

In the time that Maggie had four shots, Angie only had two at Maggie's insistence. While Maggie and I talked, she remained silent and glued to her phone until she finally let her guard down and began snoozing on my couch. 

"How rude," Maggie slurred, swaying slightly on her feet. "She's a guest here." 

"It's alright," I assured her. "She's welcome to crash on the couch. I have blankets. You're welcome to stay too." 

She gazed up at me, moving in closer with a slight stumble and I reached out to catch her. 

"You really are a lightweight," I chuckled, feeling her heat radiating through my fingers on her waist. 

"You're really handsome," she murmured, running her fingertips along my arms. 

My cock stiffened and throbbed with a pulsing ache. Our watchdog had just fallen asleep and we were already skirting along the boundaries of where we shouldn't go. 

"And you're beautiful," I heard my mouth say. 

Her pink blush grew redder and she made no move to leave my embrace. Instead, she smoothed a hand along the side of my ribs, reaching for the vodka bottle behind me on the kitchen counter. 

"I said no more." I smacked her hand playfully and her bratty little pout made my cock twitch even more desperately.

"But I'm feeling gooooood," she whined. 

"And that's where you know you should stop." 

"You're not my dad," she shot back with a naughty bite of her plump lower lip.

"No, just your personal bartender that's cutting you off," I grinned. 

"Ugh, so mean. No tip for you." 

Good lord almighty. 

Girls like this were the reason for sin. Pleasure and torture wrapped up in such a pretty package and being offered for free. How could any man refuse?

"Tell you what," I said, taking her hand and moving it away from the bottle. "Drink some water for me. I'll let you have a glass of vodka with ice and lemon juice." 

Maggie intertwined her fingers with mine but wrinkled her nose at my suggestion. 

"Just vodka on ice? Like for sipping?"

"Yes, Tito's is smooth enough to drink straight. The ice will rehydrate you as you drink and the lemon juice will give you nutrients so your hangover isn't so nasty." 

"Whatever you say, Kaine." 

In a matter of seconds, she stood on tiptoe to kiss my cheek and released my hand. Without a second glance, she poured herself a glass of water from my tap and skipped off to the couch to check on Angie. 

A new feeling filled me up from my groin to my stomach as I prepared our drinks. While intelligent and mature for her age, she was still wholly unprepared for adulthood. Her parents seemed essentially worthless and it sounded like she raised herself for the most part. But the world out there would swallow that sweet, curious girl whole and spit her back out in pieces if she didn't have someone looking out for her.

And are you looking to be that someone, Pastor Cross?

I shook my head in an attempt to clear those thoughts out as I brought our drinks out to her. It had to be the alcohol leading me down that trail of thinking. I barely knew this girl. And with the thoughts I'd been having about her all night, she'd be better off staying far away from me after this little adventure. 

"Thank you, Kaine." 

Her fingers brushed mine as I handed her the drink.

"You're welcome, Magdalene." 

Angie was still passed out cold on the loveseat across from us. Maggie sat on the long sectional with her back against the armrest and her legs stretched out on the couch. She'd kicked off her shoes and her slender, bare feet crossed at the ankles. 

I took my seat at the opposite end, struggling to maintain the distance between us. But I sat just inches away from her pretty toes that were painted a dark, midnight blue. 

I ached to press my thumb into the arch of her foot and see how she responded. What if I ran my fingers along those shapely ankles and calves? Would she like it if I kissed her feet and worshiped her like a goddess, denouncing my own God for her? 

I’d never even been a guy with a foot fetish but I adored hers right then and there because they were part of her. And they were the part closest to me. But I willed my hands to remain wrapped around my drink. 

Across the couch, Maggie sipped her drink tentatively.

“Mmm, this actually is really good!” She took a second, longer drink and smacked her lips. “Refreshing.”

“Take it easy, now.”

Before I could stop myself, I dragged one finger along the bottom of her foot. Even her sole was soft and flawless. The world hadn’t given her callouses and scars yet like it did to me.

She giggled and kicked her foot playfully. The movement scooted her close enough that her toes brushed against my thigh. 

Again, I occupied my hands with my drink. 

“Why did you get divorced, Kaine?”

She propped her elbow on the armrest and rested her chin in her hand, looking absolutely relaxed and melting into the soft cushions. 

I smirked as my hand inched toward her foot again. Her skin was positively intoxicating to touch. 

“Drunk or not, you really have no filter on that mouth, do you?” 

“Nope.” She wiggled her toes against my knee before pulling back slightly. “If it’s an inappropriate question, I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer everything that I word-vomit.”

My hand returned to her foot, just gently grazing over the top. 

“She cheated on me. Multiple times.” 

For once, Maggie’s mouth was silent but her body spoke volumes. She scooted closer to me until her foot draped over the inside of my knee. If she wanted, she could have pressed that beautiful foot against the concrete bulge in my pants.

“I’m sorry that happened,” she said quietly. “I don’t understand how people who are supposed to be in love can do that to each other.” 

There’s a lot you don’t understand, young one. 

“Like I said, it needed to happen,” I answered tersely. “For once I needed to put my own happiness first.” 

“That explains a lot about you,” she said, scooting closer still until her knee overlapped mine and her foot dangled between my shins. My whole body itched with the need to touch her thigh. Just to rest my hand on her knee. Nothing sexual. Just simple and affectionate. 

“How do you mean?”

I kept my eyes trained on her face, not allowing them to drop down and see how much of each other we were touching.

“Your face is young but your soul is old and bitter,” she told me very matter-of-factly. “You’re jaded and closed-off, although you’ve loosened up tonight. It’s like you’ve forgotten how to enjoy life.”

I laughed a barking, bitter laugh and allowed my hand to drop to her knee. Her flesh was warm and perfectly smooth. That warmth traveled up my fingertips in a direct line to my cock. If I had one more sip of alcohol, there would be no stopping the moment I buried myself between those beautiful thighs.   

“Oh Magdalene,” I breathed as I set my glass down on the end table. “You’re so young, you really have no idea what adult life has in store for you. I always thought if I lost everything that mattered, I’d at least still have my faith. And now that’s been shaken.” 

My fingers tightened ever so slightly around her knee as I swallowed the dry lump in my throat. She was the only person I told so far about feeling lost within my faith. I had planned to speak with the Deacon about it this week and no one else. Already I was on thin ice with my congregation since becoming officially divorced. They didn’t need any more ammo against me. 

Slender fingers wrapped around my shoulders and stroked the back of my neck as Maggie climbed even more fully into my lap. 

“I think you underestimate me, Pastor Kaine,” she whispered mere inches away from my lips. “I know more about the world than you think. Don’t patronize me.” Her hands connected around the back of my neck. “And don’t think there’s nothing worth being happy about. You’ll find your solid ground again.” 

Her plump red lips filled my vision and hypnotized me as they moved. I thought she would surely inch closer for a kiss and I would have returned it with everything in my body. But when I flicked my eyes up, her lashes fluttered over her eyes like butterfly wings.

Gravity and fatigue pulled her eyelids down, along with the rest of her body. Her inhibitions completely gone, she encircled her arms around my neck and leaned her full weight against me as she rested her head down on my shoulder. 

It was the first full-on affectionate touch I received in over a year. Not only was I rock hard and nearly bursting out of my pants, my whole body wanted to mold to hers. I yearned to explore every curve and feel the warmth of her back under my palm. Our hearts almost pressed directly against each other and pounded in time as if they were communicating in a language without words.

I may have fallen from the grace of God and began a flirtatious dance with the devil just by having her at my place, but even I wasn’t evil enough to take advantage of a girl who was falling unconscious. 

“Maggie.”

My lips brushed her forehead as I tried to gently rouse her enough to stand up. She let out a small moan and just shifted in my lap. Her leg definitely brushed against my cock. I allowed my fingers to gently run across her back. 

“Maggie, you can sleep in my bed,” I murmured.

“Wanna stay with you,” she mumbled back, tightening her grip around my neck.

“I’ll be on the couch if you need me.”

“No.”

She lifted her head and trailed her lips a bit clumsily across my neck, but it still set my blood on fire. My fingers tensed on her back, fighting the urge to grip her clothes in my fist as I bit down hard inside my cheek. I was trying so hard to keep a clear, level head but this girl was drowning me in the sweet sensations of her. 

“I told you I’d sleep with you,” she whispered. “I want to.” 

“That’s not going to happen.” 

My voice was firm. I couldn’t live with myself if I took advantage of a girl in this state.

“Okay but… I don’t want to sleep alone.”

Her voice took on a higher pitch like that of a vulnerable little girl who was afraid of the dark. 

As she should be. 

“Alright, I’ll lay down with you,” I conceded. 

With two small pats on her back, I finally coaxed her into sliding off my lap. Taking her small, girlish hands, I helped her to her feet as I stood. She leaned against me like a tree falling in a forest. 

“How are you feeling?” I asked as I half dragged, half led her to my bedroom. “Do you feel sick at all?”

“No, just sleepy.” 

Her eyes appeared closed on the entire journey to my room, where I flicked on the light. My king-sized bed would allow us plenty of room to sleep without touching, although I planned to move to the couch once she was knocked out. 

Gently, I led her by the hand around to the side closest to the bathroom. 

“That door is the bathroom if you need to get up quickly,” I said. “I’ll get you a glass of water.” 

“Thank you, Kaine. Goodnight.” 

Without warning, she pulled her top over her head. 

Before I could say anything, she began taking the rest of her clothes off.