THE TEMPTATION GROWS

The morning broke heavy with storm clouds, the air thick and restless. I sat at the breakfast table, my spoon idle in the porridge bowl, while Clarissa and Isabel whispered and laughed like they carried secrets only meant to cut me open.

“Did you see her?” Isabel murmured, eyes darting toward me. “Still flushed from yesterday. Bet the pastor gave her a private blessing.”

Clarissa smirked. “Blessing? Please. She probably begged him for forgiveness on her knees.”

Their giggles stung, but before I could speak, Nathaniel’s voice cut across the table, sharp and commanding. “Enough.”

Silence dropped. Clarissa pressed her lips shut. Isabel looked down, muttering. My heart raced, not from relief but from the way his eyes lingered on me after—dark, heated, full of something no one else at that table could name.

---

Church came, and I dreaded it. The air in the pews was suffocating. Pastor Gabriel’s sermon rolled like thunder. He spoke of wolves in sheep’s clothing, of temptations that disguised themselves as beauty. And yet, when his eyes lifted, they pinned me. He spoke of danger, but his stare was fire.

I shifted, thighs pressing together. My chest rose and fell too fast.

After service, as people spilled out into the courtyard, Gabriel’s voice cut through the crowd. “Stay after.” His gaze never left mine.

Clarissa snickered. “Oh, here we go again.”

Isabel leaned close. “Try not to enjoy it too much.”

Mother’s nails dug into my arm. “Do as he says. Don’t embarrass me.”

---

In his office, the silence was a weight. Gabriel’s hands gripped the desk, his knuckles white. His eyes raked over me like he was fighting himself.

“You tempt me,” he said hoarsely.

I froze. “I… I don’t mean to.”

“Do you know how dangerous you are?” His voice cracked. “Every time I see you, I think of the devil’s work.”

My lips parted. “Then why do you keep looking?”

His breath shuddered. His hand lifted, trembling, before he pulled it back as if scorched. “Because God is testing me.” His eyes flicked over my body again. “And I’m failing.”

My chest ached, heat rushing through me. His words were confession, accusation, desire—all tangled together.

“Go,” he rasped, his jaw clenched. “Leave before I damn us both.”

I fled, shaken, my body trembling from what almost happened.

---

At home, Clarissa and Isabel cornered me in the hallway. Their eyes gleamed with triumph.

“He kept you long again,” Clarissa said, tilting her head. “What does he do? Tell you how wicked you are?”

“Or maybe he shows you,” Isabel added with a cruel smile. “You love it, don’t you?”

“Shut up,” I whispered, my voice shaking.

“Hit a nerve,” Clarissa sang. “She’s blushing again.”

Their laughter chased me into my room. I slammed the door, locked it, and collapsed against it, breath ragged. My body burned with shame, but underneath it, hunger stirred. Gabriel’s words haunted me, but so did Nathaniel’s: You’re mine.

--

That night, the storm broke. Rain lashed the windows, thunder rolling deep across the sky. I tossed in bed, restless, my body alive with thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking.

A knock came at my door. Soft, then harder.

“Open.” Nathaniel’s voice—low, commanding.

I opened it before I could think. He stepped inside, rain dripping from his hair, his shirt damp and clinging to his chest. His eyes burned into me.

“You didn’t stay away from him,” he said roughly. “I can smell him on you.”

My voice broke. “He didn’t touch me.”

His jaw tightened. He closed the distance, towering over me. “But you wanted him to.”

I swallowed hard. “I don’t know what I want.”

“Yes, you do.” His hand caught my chin, tilting my face up. “You want him. And me. You can’t even deny it.”

My lips trembled. “Then ruin me.”

The silence that followed was electric. His mouth crashed against mine, brutal, hungry, stealing my breath. I clutched at his shirt, pulling him closer. He shoved me back against the bed, his weight pressing me down, his hands roaming possessively.

“Say it,” he growled against my mouth. “Say you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” I gasped, arching into him.

His eyes darkened, his thumb brushing my lower lip before pressing another bruising kiss to my mouth. “Good girl. You’ll say it again before the night is over.”

He pinned my wrists above my head, leaning down so close his breath tickled my ear. “Do you know what you do to me? Every glance, every blush—you drive me mad.”

My body writhed beneath him, heat pooling low in my belly. “Then take me,” I whispered. “Stop fighting it.”

Nathaniel’s jaw clenched. His forehead rested against mine. “Once I start, I won’t stop.”

“I don’t want you to stop.”

He groaned low in his throat, his restraint snapping as his hands roamed down my sides, gripping my hips possessively. His voice was rough, filled with hunger. “You’ll beg for me before I’m done with you.”

His lips press down on my with power.

I trembled violenty, my body flashed hot all over. His show of dominance made me weak in the knees.

He slipped his sopping tongue into my mouth and took charge sucking incessantly on my tongue. Our teeth gnashing together, tongues mingling in hot exchange.

It felt like heaven.

Still kissing me, his hands moved between my my thighs caressing me there.

I ripped my mouth away from him, moaning like the whore they called me .

My cheeks flushed with heat.

Nathaniel moved with control and dominance. His hands moved to my panties that were already soaked and pushed them aside exposing my cunt to the air.

“Fuck, fuccccck......" I wailed.

His fingers moved to my cunt , expert fingers rubbing my juices all over my pussy, pressing insistently on my clit that had a life all on its own.

“God, you're soaking wet, you are a a slut, look at you soaking up my fingers."

I couldn't breathe. His fingers were insistent rubbing all over my clit with purpose, I leaked more.

His big body pressed against mine. I could feel his hard throbbing length in his trousers and it was huge, my mouth watered.

I felt the the edges of my vision whitening, and I knew I was about to cum.

My legs quaked.

“I'm cummmming!".

He rubbed me all through my orgasm , when I came down from my high he gave my clit one sharp flick and I trembled.

When it was over, I lay trembling beneath him, lips swollen, body marked by his hands. Shame pressed heavy, but deeper still was the dark thrill I couldn’t deny.

He pressed his forehead to mine, breath ragged. “You belong to me. Not him. Not anyone. Me.”

And God help me—I wanted it to be true.