#romancestories

[zhoufeis]

#the TENDERNESS #the fact that he is absolutely open to her about his thoughts and feelings #admitting that he’s happy to be rid off the lies that made him feel lonely for all these years #however also admitting that he feels weak and powerless now #bai fengxi listening to him and reassuring him that he’s neither weak nor alone in this #that he’s still the person he's always been to her #and him just being so focused on her while she talks to him and plays with his hair and with tears in her eyes #despite of it all #they’re still them and neither of them in this moment is quite capable of articulating the importance it has to them that they share this with each other

[frogfishwastaken]

Weirdly specific science-y settings for romance stories i wish people would use more often

1. Old timey research boat

Reasoning: The ANGST POTENTIAL JUST THINK ABOUT IT LIKE THE OCEAN??? Very dangerous, cramped cabins, emotional/actual storm potential, PLUS YOU GET TO USE SEA CREATURES AS METAPHORS?? HELLO?? BONDING OVER NEW SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES?

2. Abandoned research outpost with only the necessary personnel left to shut it down

Reasoning: could be AMAZING for enemies to lovers, abandoned by institutions that they sold their lives to and finding solace and empathy in each other, also good potential for a tragic kind of story, like trying to force something because you love it, you love them, but it will never really work, and again the METAPHORS

3. Caribou trapper and ecologist cross paths in the Arctic tundra

Reasoning: similar vein as the abandoned research outpost, understanding each others worlds etc etc. SO much angst potential like just imagine the kind of shenanigans they could get up to with almost-frozen ponds and dark middays and deep snow banks. (Also I want to write a book and name it “where the ice sings and the sky dances” because of reasons)

4. Stuck in the middle generation of a generation ship

Reasoning: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHUUGHUGHHUH

6. Paleontology dig on another planet

Reasoning: VENUS/PLANET OF LOVE/WAS DESTROYED BY GLOBAL WARMING/DID ITS PEOPLE WANT TOO MUCH TOO/DID ITS PEOPLE WANT TOO MUCH

7. Rural cyberpunk

Reasoning: gonna be honest I don’t know what rural cyberpunk would look like but it would be really interesting I think. You get the rural kind of loneliness and tractors and cold winters and strange animals in the night but you also get the cyberpunk aspect and how it pushes the boundaries of death, life, and humanity, the weird lights and cybernetics, and you can see the ways in which these two worlds could collide AND ONE PERSON COUKD BE LIKE A RUNAWAY FROM A CYBERPUNK CITY HIDING OUT IN THE COUNTRY AAAA

[to-feelalive]

The Bad Guy - I: Highschool Sweethearts (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1437881430-the-bad-guy-i-highschool-sweethearts?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=overlordfp Diana is 21 year old baker at a cupcake shop. She is also a freelance artist, living in a two bedroom apartment with her roommate, Diana has three different romantic partners across the span of three years. Each partner teaches her something different about relationships. Why don't any of Diana's relationships work out well? How do the inherent problems with the men and the problems within herself interact? Who is really at fault? Are there bad people? Or just hurt people? And who decides that?

[poppysmic000-blog]

Brown Eyed Girl - The First "I love You" (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1427708077-brown-eyed-girl-the-first-quot-i-love-you-quot?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=poppysmicswonder - Hey - I heard someone shouting from the other end of the parking lot - Are you ok? - I tried to look up, but I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough. Raindrops felt like a massive load that was knocking my eyelashes down. I gave a thumbs up as a sign that everything was fine and shouted back - thanks. After a few moments, I heard footsteps approaching. - You know it's raining, right? - He said with a soft laugh at the end of the question. - It'd be hard not to notice that it's raining... - I grabbed his hand to get up and then looked at his face. It was him. The guy with an overwhelming gaze. - ... Cats and dogs - I barely finished the sentence. His eyes were a marvelous mixture of blue and green shades and were even brighter due to this storm. His shirt was soaked wet and accentuated the perfect shape of his body. I was stunned.

[random-gurl-universe]

Aching for Yesterday - Chapter Four (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1419879013-aching-for-yesterday-chapter-four?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=the_wannabe_romantic Follow Maddison Jacobs through her boring and unfulfilling relationship with Stephen Brunner. She just can't quite get her high school sweetheart Matthew Galea out of her brain. He was her everything until he moved half way across the country and left her heart in pieces aching for yesterday.

[theeroticahub]

A Picture With Sis

Hey

The short text message had popped onto my phone screen unexpectedly. It was from my baby sister, Noah. I had recently had to move back in with our parents after a few personal disasters in my own life, so I was suddenly seeing a lot more of her. Which was very strange, as I had left home for school and then work on the opposite side of the country when she was all of twelve. Now she was nineteen and...honestly still as much of a brat as when I left. While she had grown, she remained short and flat as a washboard. The real draw--not for me, her older brother, of course--was her ass. Noah ran track in high school and still found time to jog almost every morning. This gave her a bubble butt that she constantly kept in shape and loved to show off.

What's up I texted back

I waited as those three unholy "still typing dots" danced on screen.

R u gonna be home tonight?

Yeah, probably.

Do u want to watch a movie or something.

Now, this was very odd. As long as I had been back, Noah had wanted nothing to do with me. Like I said, she was still a bit of a brat, even as an adult. I didn't take it too personally. Honestly, before I was forced to come home, I never made much of an effort to visit. I talked to my parents on the phone, but Noah always seemed busy with her own life and her own friends. I was far away and she was busy growing up. Maybe that's all it was: a little sister wanting to reconnect with a sibling she hadn't seen hide or tail in seven years.

I'd be down for a movie.

She "heart" reacted and texted back: ok, what should we watch?

Hey, isn't this your idea???

I know, but I never know what to pick :( That's why I never watch movies alone.

You're on Netflix all the time?

Uh, watching tv? like a normal person???

Okay, I'll pick something out that we'll both like.

She heart reacted again and replied: it's a date.

The conversation wrapped up after that, but it was still all so strange. It's a date. That seemed so out of character for Noah to say, especially to me of all people.

I decided I was overthinking it and got back to my day. After all, part of me was looking forward to getting a chance to just hang out with my sister. The only hurdle now was picking a good movie.

(- - -)

Evening rolled around and I made my way to the living room. I had to pass by the kitchen to get there and found Noah by the oven.

"Are you cooking something?" I asked her.

Noah turned to me and for a second, I was struck by how much she'd grown up while I was gone. I gave her a hard time, but she really had become a beautiful woman. She had on a blue dress that complimented the runner's body she had given herself. After wearing her hair short for years, she had grown out her dark curls to perfectly frame her face. When her eyes caught mine, I froze in place.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm making us some pizza for our movie."

"You didn't want to just

order out?"

Noah made a mock offended expression, "Are you scared to try my cooking?"

I laughed and replied, "No, I'm sure it'll be great. I guess I'm just used to movie nights being low threshold events. Order out, stream something, pass out on a couch..."

"Oh, like all your movie nights end on a couch," she said, rolling her eyes. Again, it was a strange comment. I was talking about watching movies in general, and suddenly she's accusing me of Netflix and Chilling...not that she was off base. Don't get me wrong, I was definitely one of those kids who used "cinephile" as a personality description for a couple years, but I wasn't above using the storied medium of film as a pretense to invite a girl over and hopefully get a piece of ass.

Which made the whole situation stranger because Noah was obviously not a piece of ass. I wouldn't deny that I thought she was very attractive, but that was an objective aesthetic response. I already had no idea where this night was going.

(- - -)

Noah pulled her pizza out of the oven --- diced chicken, banana peppers, black olives, and a creamy alfredo sauce for toppings--- and we settled on our parents' couch to stuff our faces and watch something.

"Are Mom and Dad going to join us?" I asked.

Noah gave me a funny look and then said, "Nah, they've got a thing?"

"A thing?"

"Yeah," she said, and I didn't press further. Like I said, this night was getting weird.

I clicked through the myriad of apps on our parents' smart tv to my desired choice. It was a sort of fantasy-western mash-up movie that was a few decades old but I had been wanting to see for a long time. I was about to hit play when Noah stopped me.

"So, I was thinking..." she started to say.

"Yeah?"

"Did you maybe wanna drink while we're watching?"

Alcohol. In my experience, alcohol was not a good way to make it through the full runtime of a movie, especially when a cute girl was involved. What was going on? What was Noah thinking?

Of course, I had an obvious justification: she still couldn't buy alcohol herself. Our parents weren't super-conservative, but I imagine Noah wasn't getting quite as much booze in her living in their house as she had been during the school year.

"Sure, I could use a drink," I said, deciding not to argue the point, "I hope vodka's okay?"

"Vodka's my favorite!" Noah practically shouted. It was almost cute, "What do you have for mixers?"

"Uh, I don't know, check the kitchen."

"What you don't mix your drinks?"

"Straight vodka, baby," I told her, "I'm sure we can find you something. Maybe a screwdriver?"

"No," she said, her hand grabbing at my wrist, "I'll drink it straight."

The touch was unexpected. It rattled me a little. The whole night already had an off vibe and now this. Should I really be drinking with

my little sister? She was family.

It would be fine.

"Okay, I'll be right back," I said. Noah squealed in delight and gave me a peck on the cheek. I just smiled and averted my eyes, quickly making my way to my room for my secret stash. While Noah had only asked for vodka, I had paraphernalia for a few "other things" we could do, but I didn't want to push it. The last thing I needed was my kid sister trying to press me for weed and Adderall at odd hours of the night.

I made my way back to the kitchen with the bottle. Noah had already put out some glasses with ice.

"Oh, you used coasters, even," I said as I poured us each a drink.

"Well, of course," she said, "I'm not an animal."

We laughed and settled in to finally start the movie.

(- - -)

An hour later, I was seriously questioning my thought process over the course of the day.

We still had an hour of the film to go and had put a serious dent in the vodka. I was feeling pretty loose, so I could only imagine how Noah was holding up. Even after I had stopped pouring drinks for her, she just started to help herself. Tiny as the girl was, she drank like a monster.

None of this was the upsetting part, but it definitely enabled it: Noah and I were cuddled up like horny freshmen on a first date. We had been sitting close together at the beginning, but by this point in the movie she was basically on top of me. My little sister was sitting in my lap in a dress that I was suddenly very aware of being much, much too short. It had all happened pretty imperceptibly. It seem like she shifted herself a little closer to me every few minutes, but the more we drank, the less I thought of it. It was only in a brief moment of clarity that I realized we looked like that couple at a house show whose age difference you cringe at a little but don't say anything about. Sure, I lusted after eighteen year-olds the same as anyone, but once I left college and hit the real world, I gave up on hitting the high of that brand of fresh, young...you get the idea.

So that it was happening now, with my little sister of all people, was a little upsetting. Not that she seemed to mind: she was the one who had devoted the past hour to slowly planting herself in my lap. The weight of her ass pressed down on my crotch and it was honestly driving me insane.

At this point, I still had no idea what her game was, and I was so inebriated I couldn't think straight enough to make sense of what was going on, much less stop it.

In this haze of alcoholic and sexual confusion, I was ill prepared for Noah to turn to me with half-lidded eyes and a little smile on her face.

"This is a really, really good movie," she said, her words slurring a little, "You always pick such good movies."

She gave me a kiss on the lips and then added, "I love you."

"I love you too," I said back. It was all I could think to say. Events and feelings were piling up that I suddenly had no tools to make sense of. I was completely ill-equipped to understand what was going on.

"Really?" she asked, "because I love you lots and lots."

Noah had turned around and was now straddling my hips with her bare legs. Her hands found my shoulders and then the back of my neck. This was completely out of control. Her eyes still had that sexy half-lidded look. What was happening?

"Do you love me, lots and lots?" she asked.

This was when I started to lose control. My hands found Noah's hips and grasped them firmly, trying to hold her in place, afraid whatever illusion we were indulging in might collapse. I stared at her face. She really did have a beautiful face.

"Do I need to show you how much love you?" I asked her. I had no idea what I was doing. I was putting the moves on my sister, feeding her the kind of line I would feed some indie bimbo I met at a party or on tinder.

But Noah just bit her lip and nodded her head.

So I kissed her.

This wasn't a quick kiss like the last couple she had given me. We were making out. Her little pink tongue wrestling with mine. I started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" she asked, laughing too but also a bit indignant.

"You taste like pizza," I said. She started laughing harder and started kissing me again. We went at it like that for a while until I realized we had missed a sizable chunk of the movie and I had no idea what was happening. Noah noticed me glancing at the screen.

"I'm sorry," she said, between planting little kisses all over my face, "I know you were excited to watch that."

"I'll finish it another night," I told her.

"I'm tired," she said, suddenly pouty.

"You want me to take you to bed?" I asked and she nodded, "Ok, let's go."

Her dreamy little smile came back and we went back to making out. Without any warning, I moved my hands from her hips to the bottoms of her thighs and stood, lifting us both up. Noah yelped, but kept kissing me.

"Your room or mine?" I asked.

"Your room," she said, "I used to sleep in there all the time after you left."

"Because it's bigger?"

"Because it was yours."

Again, I was struck by confusion. I hadn't realized Noah had missed me at all, much less this much. She had been a pretty quiet kid and I had left, a surly preteen with a chip on her shoulder about her goofy parents. Then her big brother ran off to college on the opposite side of the country and left her alone. Was that why all of this was happening right now?

"My room it is," I said. Noah squealed and hugged herself close to me as I made our way through the house and up to my room. When we got there, we fell back onto my bed, Noah's body pressed between me and my mattress. This was out of control. I knew I should stop, but in the vodka haze, it just made sense to keep going.

"We need to get ready for bed," I told you, breaking the kiss again, "Unless you want us to wear our clothes to bed."

She nodded no this time and I got off her. I took off my pants on reflex, since I usually just slept in my t-shirt and underwear, but Isuddenly felt embarrassed at being exposed like this in front of my little sister. I shouldn't have been, as when I turned around, Noah had stripped off her dress to reveal she was almost completely naked underneath except for ankle socks and a flimsy pair of tiny panties that barely hid the dark happy trail that descended from her navel to the waistband and inevitably to a hairy little teen pussy I was suddenly in very close proximity to.

Part of me was screaming that I shouldn't be ogling my little sister, but another part of me was completely lost in what was happening. Her tits were a couple of perfect handfuls of female flesh. She was the most perfect girl I had ever seen. Better than any of my exes. Better than classic artwork. Better than porn.

Noah extended her arms out to me like a child demanding affection.

"Love me."

(- - -)

The rising sun and a ding from my phone woke me up in my now empty room. I rubbed my head, suffering from an intense vodka hangover, and took stock of the state of myself and my room. I had apparently fallen asleep naked and my bed was in total disarray: sheets on the floor, pillows thrown around, and blue dress and a pair of panties in a pile in the corner.

"So that did happen," I said to myself, "Why did she leave her clothes?"

I had to search around for my phone, which I finally found on the floor on the other side of the room, a message from Noah waiting for me

Hey Perv ;P

Where'd u go?

Miss me already?

I started to type out my reply when another message pinged on the screen:

Here's something to tide u over followed by a little heart.

The message came attached with a series of images. The first couple were just nudes of Noah--not distasteful, but a little weird for a brother to have--but the next few got increasingly obscene, ending in my little sister covered in cum.

wtf??

Instead of replying, she sent me a video, this time of her on her knees, sucking a cock I soon recognized as my own. From the angle of the shot, it was clear I had taken the video myself, and presumably the other pics Noah sent me.

Fuck, how drunk was I last night?

lol was all she said in reply.

This can't happen again, I told her. She went quiet after that. For the rest of the day, I wandered around and tried to process what had happened. I could recall almost all of the night before and while Noah certainly hadn't raped me, I blacked out right before the actual sex, which made my stomach turn. Had she just sucked me off and had me video it for her, or had we gone further? Why would my sister even want to get me drunk and have me violate her? My head was spinning and none of this made any sense to me. I was totally twisted up over it all.

Curiosity finally got the better of me and I made my way to Noah's room. Knocking on her door, part of me was hoping she wouldn't answer, that I could go on ignoring this whole bizarre situationInstead, the door slowly cracked open, revealing Noah standing there in an old t-shirt of mine and some pajama pants.

"Why didn't you text me?" Noah asked, clinging to the door, "I don't look cute, I don't even have make-up on."

"I just wanted to talk," I told her. Noah pulled me into her room and shut the door behind her. Without so much as another word, she pulled me into a sloppy kiss, her arms around my neck.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, planting little kisses all over my face and neck as I just stood there, completely perplexed, my hands instinctively moving to hold her hips. Even with all the feelings boiling in me, I couldn't ignore how sexy Noah actually was.

"I'm not mad," I told her, "I'm just confused. Why are you doing all of this? We weren't that close when I left."

Noah just bit her lip and cuddled up close to me.

"I'll explain, but can we move to the bed first?"

A little suspicious, I agreed anyway and crawled into my sister's bed with me. She stripped off her pajama pants to reveal her bare ass and pussy and cuddled up with me again. I almost said something, but I just sighed and put my arm around her.

"It started after you left," she started to explain, "I didn't realize how much I was going to miss you until you were gone, but then something happened. All the guys I tried to date, everyone who was interested in me, I always found myself comparing them to you. For whatever reason, you were my measure for what a boy should be. You were my high watermark. When I started to get good at masturbating, it was your face I saw when I came for the first and every time after. I've been sexually obsessed with you the entire time you were gone."

I just looked at her silently as she told me all of this, unsure how to even begin to respond.

"When you came back, I just completely lost it. I didn't want to hang out with my friends, I didn't want to go to work or do my school work, all I could think about was fucking you. I was up in this room rubbing out orgasm after orgasm the entire time you've been back and you didn't even know. It was so frustrating I thought I'd go crazy. You were my brother and I knew you'd never touch me or even make a pass at me, so I hatched a plan."

"To get me drunk and record it?"

"Yeah," she said, pulling out of my embrace to take her shirt off. She settled back into my arm completely naked except for a little gold Star of David necklace, her pale, little face framed by her long black hair the way her black pubic hair framed her perfect young pussy.

"I definitely would have never thought to do any of this on my own," I told her, moving my hand to her tit, "but the blackmail was a nice touch."

Noah moaned as I groped her, "Blackmail? Those were for me. The only thing that gets me off more than thinking about fucking you is watching myself get fucked by you."

"I didn't realized I had such a pervert little sister," I said as I moved to cup her mons, penetrating her pussy lips with my middle finger. She gasped at the feeling of my hands inside her.

"Keeping doing that," she said, "Your pervert little sister loves when her big brother touches her."

I kept working her clit. Surprisingly, it wasn't long until she was moaning and shaking, the throes of orgasm taking over her body. She really must havebeen wound up. Leaving her splayed across the sheets as she hit her come down, I quickly shucked off my clothes, my cock standing at ready to penetrate her once again. It seemed as if she had only just caught her breath as I mounted her. She let out another cute little moan as my cockhead penetrated her body. Hearing her squeak and moan in surprise at the intensity of the sensations sent me flying over the edge. I drove my cock home.

Balls deep in my little sister's pussy, I just lost all control. I'd been with a fair share of partners, but this was different. This was absolute, raw animal fucking. I wanted to possess her body and make my sister into my personal human sex toy. The intensity was unlike anything I had ever experience before.

Of course, with all that build up--and her hands clawing at my neck and back, thrashing under me in pleasure--it wasn't long until I felt the semen churning inside of me, read to burst.

"I'm gonna..." I started to say. Noah interrupted by pulling me into a kiss, locking her legs around me at the same time, so I had no escape. I shot my full load up into her waiting, cum-hungry womb. I was...in heaven.

"Fuck," Noah whimpered under me, "It feels so hot inside me. It feels so good."

"I love you," I told her, surprisingly myself.

She just smiled and kissed me again, "I love you too, big brother."

I collapsed onto the bed as Noah bounced up and ran off to use the bathroom. It was only then, when it was too late to do anything, that the immensity of what we had done really hit me. We had committed a crime. We had committed a sin. We were no longer sibling but lovers.

[ronaldomore23445]

Check out the Wattpad book I wrote, and don't forget to vote and comment. Thanks 

Heart Of Darkness (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/story/320538549-heart-of-darkness?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_myworks&wp_uname=BlushBollywood07&wp_originator=YfNUyIVGOwEQSKGx5DN1yJY9cyyCiPKB0vpZg95faYDT3L%2FOESfJUIamqQD6cA%2BietyfZxG0xrLIet%2FAJopgbGnR6JSSEi2haYsNNQq4R611PRKQzZfX3wYJWbTB9hl%2B They whispered in town about him. They called him a beast. They called him cruel. They called him ugly. People were repulsed by his face. They treated him like a deadly disease, avoiding him like the plague. They didn't dare talk to or in front of him, but behind closed doors, they would tell scary tales about him; some would send chills down your spine, and others were just outrageous and couldn't be true. Parents would use stories about him to scare their children into doing what they wanted. "Don't make me call the beast," they would threaten. But the children didn't call him a beast. They called him 'monster face'.

[the-black-rose-witch]

Hunger (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/story/328664646-hunger?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_myworks&wp_uname=BoredwithoutBooks&wp_originator=Wh2iyEbJsyPT%2B52lhd908QobvGvfjLmtaBGhS%2BkisV7O9ab0KdjgZSeSnarbrSpCWyz93tXXdLOhSmA7XK1g06JFnBp1XvQapj%2FEOLcrUF278raMZAkqV3eKfIPMVawL

[seduc3rr]

Burning Desire | 18+ (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/story/366862783-burning-desire-18%2B?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_myworks&wp_uname=flirtyfoxx Ever heard of the saying "Moth to a Flame?" it's a dangerous, desirable love craving a bittersweet heat. I am the moth, and Carmen is my flame.

[mikeewrites]

One Day Millionaire (Childhood Sweetheart Series #1) - Chapter 2 (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1436514987-one-day-millionaire-childhood-sweetheart-series-1?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=MikeePalmones Vera won a lottery and got betrayed by her boyfriend who ran away and took away her price money. She then seeks for a legal help so she could sue her boyfriend. Unfortunately, her lawyer is going to be her old crush Declan who broke her heart before. Now, she is thorned between continue filing a case or turning back and just forget about her money.

[clearwritings]

second chances. { animal crossing fanfic } - five (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1385721099-second-chances-animal-crossing-fanfic-five?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=clearwritings I have been having animal crossing on my mind because I don't have a switch to play the new game and that was all I wanted to do around this time of year and now I can't because there's a switch shortage. so I decided to write about it. update: I got a switch and have been playing but I still wanted to write this story. ---------------- the animals I decided to include in my fanfiction does not belong to me, only the original characters I decide to include in this story belong to me.

[angelicakatebooks]

🌵📚 Saddle up for love! 📚🌵 Dive into the wild world of the Old West with our upcoming cowboy romance anthology! Preorder now!https://www.amazon.com/Love-Range-Romance-Anthology-Collection-ebook/dp/B0CP25J549

[lasagnadenoodles]

Aaaaaa new chapter AND new cover

Chapter 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~

No matter how fast he ran, those bare trees seemed so far away from Zion. The air was so cold, he could taste blood in his mouth as his heart worked overtime. But he had to keep going. He had to keep running. Run until he could hide in those trees and hope the snow falling from the sky now would eventually bury him in the cold, dark earth. 

The tears in his eyes felt like they were freezing as soon as they spilled out, shaking his head while he muttered in heavy and quick breaths: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

It was too late for sorry now, little lamb. 

His little world was only a murky beige and grey as he kept running, hardly able to feel his feet now. But those damn trees were too far for him to catch. He realized that when he heard his name being called it was getting closer. 

Now the blood on his back felt hot. 

Zion awoke with a jolt, his breath caught in his throat as his eyes snapped open. He stared at the ceiling for a while as he shifted his breath to a normal tempo, his eyes flickering as he studied every crack and spot. 

As he sat up in his bed, he realized it had been a while since he had had a nightmare like that. He could have sworn he left all that behind in New York. He let out a hoarse sigh, pushing inky strands of hair back; the kind of hair he just could never get to cooperate, and got out of bed. 

It was Sunday, after all. But there was no rest for him. 

He hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was hoping Rosemary would be at his sermon. Even after the sun came up, bringing the unforgiving heat with it, his parishioners rolled up the gravel road leading up to the white chapel. He stood in the shade on the porch, greeting those who came in and watching the children in their Sunday best chase each other under the massive willow tree right by the holy building. Even once they all came and sat on the old, wooden pews, he kept his eyes out for a head full of wild red curls. But disappointment was all he found. 

He should have known she wouldn't come, the witch she was. He wondered what she even did with the bible he gave her. Probably chucked it the second he was out of view, or maybe drew satanic ruins on it all in spite of him. Wicked lamb she was. He only grew more frustrated thinking about her and was losing his focus on the sermon. He would deal with her later. 

The air was thick and humid by the time the sermon was over and everyone had left the chapel. Zion went back to the podium to collect his notes and bible, letting out a heave of a sigh as he rested his forehead against it.

"Lord, I'm not gonna make it..." He muttered to himself, feeling the sweat on his back trickle down. 

"Hello?" called out the smallest voice. Zion's head snapped up, his pear-green eyes wide hearing the sudden voice. There stood Rosemary, closing the wooden doors behind her as a small smile crept over her lips "I'm a bit late, huh?"

A scowl stretched over his face, slowly shaking his head. He knew better, she wasn't really here for church. There was something written across her face that screamed otherwise. But he decided to play her games. "And why are you late?"

"Well..." she shrugged sheepishly as she walked down the aisle. Zion's harsh gaze roamed her up and down. If she was here to attend a sermon, her attire was much too inappropriate. Her tiny black dress showed too much leg and cleavage. He took notice how...round her features were. Every nook and cranky on her was a soft and pale curve. Even her nose and eyes held no straight lines, no harshness to her. He blinked when he realized he hadn't heard a word she had just told him. 

"What was that?" he asked with a quick shake of his head.

"I said everyone in this town looks at me as if I've killed their firstborn son?" she repeated with an arch of her brow "It's why I didn't come to your sermon. I didn't think anyone would be comfortable with me sitting in these here pews."

"They would have been happy to have you here."

"You don't know them the way I do." She said as she approached the podium, getting up on her tiptoes. She crossed her arms and rested them on the edge of the podium, her chin nestled on top. "I did you a favor, Father. But I'm here now, aren't I?"

Zion didn't like how close she was to him like this. How comfortable she was lounging on his podium. His scowl only deepened, then he noticed something tucked in her elbow. 

"What is that?"  

"I made you some bread." She smiled up at him "I thought maybe it would make up for being late."

"You made bread instead of coming to my sermon, I assume?" he asked in a deadpan tone. 

"Hey, it's better than out sinning, Father." 

"You're still sinning as long as you're not accepting Christ and continuing your witchcraft. Being endearing like this isn't making up for any of it."

"You think I'm cute?" Rosemary grinned widely up at him. The priest's face flushed at the implication that he thought she was cute. He felt she was far from that. 

"I did not say such a thing." He replied defensively. 

She only kept up that shit-eating grin, her head slightly tilting to the side. 

"Well, I think you're cute." she added cheerfully. "Anyway, you hungry? I worked up my appetite walking all the way here." 

Zion's face reddened even further, unable to fully admit to himself how much her playful teasing made him squirm. 

"I..." he trailed off, trying to piece himself back together after being caught in her flirty trap. 

"Come on now, I want you to try this bread I made you. Let's eat outside, it's stuffy in here. I may burst into flames if I stand in here any longer." She said with a playful smirk, pushing herself off the podium and headed for the doors. Zion felt like he couldn't say no to this. He began to wonder if he kept up this friendly little act, she would start to submit. It wasn't his usual forte, but whatever got her to admit her soul was spoiled. 

They went outside together, the sun peeking through the clouds as the cicadas sounded like white noise to Zion. Rosemary found herself a seat under the willow tree, sitting right down and began to take the tea towel off the basket that held the loaf of bread. Zion stared down at her for a moment, not truly liking the idea of sitting in the grass. Yet he did as she did, keeping some distance between them as he folded his legs. 

"It's honey-lavender bread. I hope you like it." she said as she took a butter knife out of the basket and sliced him a piece. He took the piece of bread from the witch and took the smallest of bites. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the bread in his hands, Rosemary happily eating her own slice. 

"This is...divine. Truly divine." He admitted, taking a second bite to taste it in full "You made this all by yourself?"

"Yes sir, I did." She boasted with pride, taking another bite of her slice "I like to bake when I get the chance. I usually don't when it's this hot out, but I made an exception for you, Father." 

Zion glared at her from the side of his eyes, indulging in another bite of her bread. He swallowed, taking a breath to speak but she beat him to it. 

"You got any hobbies? You know I like gardening and baking. Now you tell me what you do." She insisted on him telling her, licking off some crumbs on her bottom lip. "Besides praying and reading the bible."

Zion brushed the crumbs off his black trousers, thinking for a moment if he should answer her question. 

"Well, my religion and priesthood is something I consider a hobby as well." he answered in all seriousness, his thin lips pressing together as if to hold back any more words. But when those cobalt blue eyes of hers laid on him, he felt a weakness he had never known before "...when I was younger, I drew a lot. Lately I find myself writing a bit more though." 

"You're an artist?" she gasped as her eyes grew wide with excitement "Oh, tell me more! What did you draw? Do you still draw?"

Zion's pale cheeks heated up with embarrassment, pretending there was an interesting shaped cloud up in the sky to hide his face. "Like I said, it was only when I was younger. I don't really remember what I drew, it was so long ago." 

"Well, what do you write now?" she leaned forward, her fingers slowly raking through the grass. 

"All sorts of things, I guess." he shrugged "I usually just keep a journal of my theological studies. Sometimes I just...write whatever comes to mind. About how I feel, what I felt the Lord had told me. Sometimes my dreams, too."

"Oh, you'll have to read it to me sometime. Especially about the dreams, I love hearing people's dreams." she gushed "So much symbolism behind them, or they're even prophetic."

"I'm not reading you anything I've written." he snorted, turning his head back to her "If anything, I'd like to know if you read that bible I gave you."

"I did." she answered with a nod. Zion opened his mouth to give her another lecture at how uncooperative she was, until he realized that she said she did. 

"...you did now?"

"Mhm," she nodded again "Funny stuff, I gotta say."

"It's not a comedy." his eyes shot daggers at her "What on earth did you find so humorous about it?" 

"Well, I just find the whole thing...hypocritical." 

"How? How is any of it hypocritical?" 

"Well, to be fair I just kinda skimmed over a few pages. But Jesus walked on water? He turned water into wine? Broke a piece of fish and bread and was able to feed hundreds of people? Now that's witchcraft, Father." she pointed to him as she leaned to the side, propping her elbow into the grass and rested her head on her hand. 

  Zion felt his already short fuse with sinners like her nearing its end. He took a breath, trying to have some sort of patience with her. 

"It wasn't witchcraft. He was performing miracles." 

"With magic." 

"Miracles are not magic. Magic is evil, all magic is evil!" he snapped, waving his hand.

"Who's to say I'm not performing miracles?" she asked, pointing to herself as a grin slowly melted over her lips. 

"Do not flatter yourself, devil woman." 

"So what, only Jesus and priests like you can be the only ones here doing what is technically witchcraft, but you get off Scot-free if you call it a miracle?" 

"Miracles are made from the Lord. Magic is made from the devil. You're making it much more complicated than it is." 

"But I told you, I don't worship the devil." She reminded him. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. 

"You are truly the worst sinner I have ever met. You know that?" He opened his eyes once more. Rosemary just looked back at him like he had complimented her. 

"So why are you sitting here with me eating bread I made you instead of ridding me of this town?" she asked, though there was a sense of a challenge laced in her voice. He looked at her through his brows, not enjoying just how much she did challenge him and his words. He wanted to cleanse this town of her, surrender her to the devil if she keeps putting up a fight. And yet...she made him bread. 

"It is a....temporary break from my duties." his gaze softened as he mumbled the words "I will not hesitate to take action against you if you do something.... unholy." 

"Well, I suppose Sunday is the day of rest." She smirked, as if she should be the one letting him off the hook "I'll be waiting for the day you force me into holy waters or chase me out of this godforsaken town with your torch and pitchfork, Father" 

"I shall be awaiting the day with a steady heart and strong resolve, witch." Zion couldn't stop the grin tugging at the corners of his lips when he said this. He truly meant this; he will cleanse that depraved soul of her whether she liked it or not. But he liked the way the light shining through the willow tree danced on her. 

Rosemary pushed herself off the ground, now resting her back against the bark of the tree, her eyes locked onto him the whole time "So Father, where did you say you were from again?" 

"I never said."

"So tell me." 

"What I did tell you was that it doesn't matter to you."

"It does if I'm asking."

"Do you ever know when to quit?"

"Obviously not." 

Zion let out a sharp breath and crossed his arms. "I'm from New York."

"You got any family back up in New York that would miss you? Parents? Maybe an ex-girlfriend who's heart you broke when you decided to become a priest?"

His face dusted pink when she said this. He had noticed she was rather perceptive, but now it was like she was trying to tap into his deepest insecurities.

"I did have a girlfriend before I became a priest...a long time ago now." he admitted, trying to keep his tone firm and unfeeling as he spoke. 

"You did?" she gasped, seeming surprised with herself that she was right "Oh, now I gotta hear everything about your old beau. What was she like?"

Zion was caught off guard by how pushy she was being. But he was too tired and hot to put up much of a fight. 

"It was a long time ago now. I hardly remember." he answered shortly. "She was nice to be around. She was a devoted catholic too. But I felt the calling to be a priest sometime after high school, so I broke up with her. It wasn't an easy time for either one of us. But it was the right thing for me." 

"Oh, I can imagine." She nodded, sounding surprisingly compassionate towards this "Shame priest can't be with a woman. Not even for a good time."

A sense of uncomfort stirred in Zion's belly when Rosemary sounded so sympathetic about the situation. He was beginning to wonder how much she actually cared for him. Was she really so interested about his history? Or was it another attempt to get under his skin? 

"I must uphold my duty of celibacy for the sake of the church. My duties to God come all above else, and God knows it was not an easy choice to make."

"Hm, God truly knows how to take the fun out of everything," She sighed solemnly "All just to show that you're a loyal servant."

"I would much rather be a loyal servant to Him than be some sinful, pleasure-obsessed man. But of course, you do not seem to have the same mindset..." he narrowed his eyes on her. 

"I enjoy life's pleasures and everything it has to offer." she said simply as she looked up at the swaying branches above her "I love good food, good sex, and the freedom I have to choose who I want to be in this lifetime."

The priest felt his mouth twitch into a half smile. It was ironic, the witch's definition of a perfect world was utterly opposite to his. A world of pleasure, a world free of morality and responsibility. But to him, that was a perfect image of hell.

"As I said, our lifestyles are completely different. You live for pleasure, and I live for virtue. Pleasure and virtue do not mix."

"Maybe not. But they make good company." she smiled softly at him. His eyes bore into her, her cheeks red and glossy with sweat as she turned her head and looked at him. She gave him a smile, and he did not return one to her. She didn't seem too bothered by this. 

"Well, I best get back now. I heard on the radio this morning that there's a storm coming this afternoon." she said as she stood up and stretched her long legs. "You keep the bread, I'll come back for the pan later. Or you can come drop by with it, whichever you'd like." 

As she stood and got ready to leave, Zion let out a soft sigh, feeling relieved and disappointed simultaneously as the witch's presence was no longer pressing down on him. 

"You go on ahead then. I should be going as well." he said as he stood up as well, brushing the dirt off his bottom. Rosemary gave him one last big smile as she waved, turning to the grey and gravel road.

"Bye now, Father. Stay outta trouble, you hear?" she called out to him. He gave her a single wave and watched her until she was just a small figure in the distance. The strange sensation he felt in his chest remained as he watched her leave. Was he feeling loneliness? Or something else? It was something he couldn't put his finger on...

Zion needed to go pray before he lost his mind.

[random-gurl-universe]

Aching for Yesterday - Chapter Three (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1418791150-aching-for-yesterday-chapter-three?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=the_wannabe_romantic Follow Maddison Jacobs through her boring and unfulfilling relationship with Stephen Brunner. She just can't quite get her high school sweetheart Matthew Galea out of her brain. He was her everything until he moved half way across the country and left her heart in pieces aching for yesterday.

[authorrachelroy]

Frosted Kisses - Episode 3 (on Wattpad) https://www.wattpad.com/1412021018-frosted-kisses-episode-3?utm_source=web&utm_medium=tumblr&utm_content=share_reading&wp_uname=AuthorRachelRoy&wp_originator=IKIWrKt48S5NPG3%2FzjBOMGXrBRlprKNAjCohz2WRqZVh7xxhjSvLCdHhBP7Hq5eG5rGaAv8KgzVZsqsZ6c5IRR%2B0TQm4EnIUFBC3iwod%2BiFCueQ9L75MI56U1wo33eYE Jessica is just out of a relationship, and wants nothing to do with men for a while. A four day escape skiing with her best friend is the perfect getaway...until she learns Mellie's little brother, Griffin, will be there, too. Stuck in a tiny cabin in Vermont is ok, until it's just the two of them alone in front of a crackling fire with no escape until the plows come through.

[jolenes-book-journey]

FCRW Author Marie Morton and her Story Jordyns Christmas Gift - Jordyn Billings, a busy marketing executive, is gifted a holiday getaway to Chateau D'Or by her family, where she discovers an unforgettable and life-changing Christmas gift. Inside the For the Love of Winter FCRW Anthology.