Father Jean Paul Eden walked silently down the hallway toward his bedroom on the second floor. The others were downstairs, directly below him in the large kitchen, making more bread. He could hear their chatter welling up the staircase behind him. He begged off from the nightly get-together, saying he was worn out from working on the pavilion and the long hours with the refugees, and felt he should turn in early. It was the first evening he had to himself, but he wasn’t alone.
The section of the Citadel that the orphanage occupied was built as a barracks, but the old wood floor wasn’t made of planking; it was made out of massive rough-sawn timbers that could take a load without protest. That way, cannons could be positioned at the second floor windows if need be. Eden didn’t know that, but he was thankful that the timbers didn’t deflect one iota with a person’s weight, which was good because there was a person following him who shouldn’t be anywhere near a priest’s bedroom.
Thalia Rose was a close step behind, watching him walk and smiling in anticipation. Men were delicious, and she was going to have a feast.
Eden stopped at his door and looked both ways down the hall, and then down at her lovely face. She had the most enchanting eyes. He closed his own and took a breath, still not quite believing what he was about to do.
He opened his eyes, and found hers. “You can only stay a little while,” he told her.
As if that would make any difference, he thought. His sin had already begun. In truth, it started the moment he first saw her in the marketplace, and it had not stopped since.
She must have read his mind, because her smile only grew wider. “Jean Paul...” she began, but he held up a finger to silence her.
“Please!” he whispered. “Even this is too much. I’m a priest.” “You are more than that,” she whispered, glancing below his waist-line. “So much more than that.”
His lust was growing. She peeked back up at him, amused, and waited for him to catch up to himself. It didn’t take long. He finally sighed and opened his door.