Chapter ELEVEN
Sister Mary Agnes heart skipped a beat at seeing her blood covered hand. She scrubbed her hand on her skirt, and then gently rolled him onto his back. EJ still had his suit coat on, but underneath the dark material Sister Mary Agnes could see a bloody patch developing on his white shirt. "Oh no," she whispered, guilt ridden. Please God, don't let dis be serious. Sister Mary Agnes pulled the bottom of EJ's shirt from his pants, checking on his injuries. She shot him a worried look as he gave a little snort, and was relieved to see him still fast asleep. Sister Mary Agnes pulled up his shirt to reveal a jagged piece of glass sticking out of EJ's left side. She groaned at seeing the foreign object.
EJ's eyes flickered open, blinking up at her. "Schister, how de-de-de-nice to schee you."
"Mr. DiMera, are ya alright?"
"Yesh, thank you," said EJ with great politeness even as his head rolled around a little, "and yourself, Schister?"
"Um, I'm alright." She pulled a regretful face. "I'm very sorry, Mr. DiMera."
"For what?"
Sister Mary Agnes pointed to his side. "For dat."
EJ closed one eye as he stared uncomprehendingly at the bit of glass protruding from his side. "Schould that be there?" he asked in genuine confusion.
"Not really, no." Sister Mary Agnes bit her bottom lip. "Does it hurt Mr. DiMera?"
"Doesh what hurt?"
"Da glass."
"What glash?"
Sister Mary Agnes rolled her eyes. "Dat would be a no den. Looks like all dat liquor did ya some good afta all." She took a deep breath. "I have ta take da glass out, Mr. DiMera."
"Okay," said EJ with a happy sigh, closing his eyes.
Taking a deep breath she gripped the exposed piece of glass between her thumb and forefinger, giving the blood slicked glass, a hard yank. EJ gave a strangled cry as the glass was abruptly torn from his body. Sister Mary Agnes winced in sympathy with him as she tossed aside the glass, and immediately pressed the hem of her habit to his wound which was now bleeding freely. "I'm sorry Mr. DiMera." Her uneven apology did little to assuage the guilt she was feeling right then however. She pressed hard on his wound to stem the bleeding. "I never meant fa any of dis ta happen."
The sharp pain from the removal of the glass seemed to have focused EJ briefly as he stared back at her, their faces very close. "God, but you're beautiful."
The ragged observation caught Sister Mary Agnes off guard. "I-I... no I'm not, don't be talkin' such nonsense now." Her hasty words of denial did nothing to stop her heart skipping a beat. Just for some kind of distraction she lifted her hand from his wound to check on the bleeding. Relief flooded through her to see the bleeding had stopped. Obviously the wound could start again at any time from such a nasty gash and Sister Mary Agnes knew she had to stop more blood loss from happening if she could. Happy to have something to do and trying to ignore the way EJ was staring at her Sister Mary Agnes began to tear at her underskirt so she could make a bandage for his side.
"From the first moment I saw you've I've not been able to think about anything else," EJ confessed to her, eyes still not leaving her for a moment.
Sister Mary Agnes looked at him in surprise. "You-you haven't?" This man seemed so worldly and confident to Sister Mary Agnes and was nothing but a vague annoyance more than anything else. It still puzzled her why he insisted on tagging along as he did.
"Why is that do you think, Sister?"
The soft question left her floundering. "Ya very drunk Mr. DiMera. Ya don't know what ya sayin'. It's best if ya just stop talkin' now."
"I think you're a witch," EJ continued on as though she hadn't spoken, his warm if unfocused eyes sweeping over every line and curve of her face, "A witch in nun's clothing and you've be-bewitched me."
Sister Mary Agnes tried to put a stop to his ramblings. "Now ya just talkin' crazy ya idjit," she chastised him but her voice lacked real conviction. No man had ever said such words to her.
"Hold still while I do dis," she ordered him, beginning to wrap the strip of torn undergarment around his waist several times to keep pressure on his wound.
"Do you think of me, Sister?" EJ asked her with quiet imploration.
"Of course," said Sister Mary Agnes, not meeting his unblinking gaze. "Ya been a true friend ta me, Mr.-"
"I don't want to be your friend," EJ interrupted her, his voice now hoarse.
Sister Mary Agnes bit her bottom lip and concentrated on her task, trying to ignore him.
"I want to know why you're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the mornings, and the last thing I think of when I close my eyes at night."
"We've just met," said Sister Mary Agnes with a shake of her head, "and a lot has happened Mr. DiMera, it's only natural." Even though Sister Mary Agnes had been steadfast in refusing to look at EJ her bandaging of his side meant she was still in close proximity and as she tied off her handiwork their faces were scant inches apart. Sister Mary Agnes saw her hands were shaking a little as she tied the last knot in the bandage to keep the makeshift first aid in place, and wished she knew what to do right now. The sensible thing would be to climb back down off the truck, and put some much needed distance between them but Sister Mary Agnes made the mistake of meeting EJ's unblinking gaze with those chocolate brown depths. All of a sudden she was frozen to the spot, unable to move a muscle.
"Say my name," he begged her.
The shaky request held such longing in its rich tones, and forcing Sister Mary Agnes to swallow hard.
"I can't." Sister Mary Agnes grimaced internally at how breathlessly uncertain her assertion had been.
"Sister," EJ groaned, pressing his forehead against hers. "Sister."
"Ya don't know what ya doin', Mr. DiMera," Sister Mary Agnes implored him to put a halt to this because she seemed unable to. "Ya have ta stop dis."
"I want to taste my name on your lips."
EJ's hoarse admission sent a little shudder through her body. "I'm a nun, I can't," Sister Mary Agnes tried to make him understand, but she didn't move away. "Ya know I can't."
"Don't," EJ groaned at being denied, their foreheads still pressed together, "please don't say that."
The anguish in his voice broke her heart. Sister Mary Agnes had never heard such need, such desperate want before in a person's voice and her head began to spin. "Dis wasn't part of da plan," said Sister Mary Agnes hopelessly.
"I know," was EJ's shaky reply. "Say my name."
Sister Mary Agnes shook her head even as she gave in from the proximity of this overwhelming man, and the way he was looking at her. "EJ."
The name was breathed into EJ's mouth as he closed the tiny distance between them and suddenly his lips were pressed against hers. Sister Mary Agnes had never kissed a man before, and her senses were assaulted by a series of sensations. EJ smelt of smoke with a faint whiff of aftershave applied many hours ago. The stubble from his day old beard scrapped along her skin in a scratchy yet delicate caress, catching her off guard. Barely comprehending all this EJ's lips were on hers, soft and teasing as they rubbed against her own.
She hadn't expected a kiss to feel this way. Even though only their lips were touching her whole body was experiencing this first from the way her stomach contracted in delicious anticipation and the blood roaring in her ears. The taste of the liquor EJ had been drinking was still on his lips but a more delicious flavour coloured his kisses which Sister Mary Agnes could only assume to be EJ himself. The teasing back and forth of his lips on hers lulled her into complete and utter acceptance as Sister Mary Agnes felt herself falling into his kisses.
This simple pleasure soon became not enough though and Sister Mary Agnes could feel her frustration growing from EJ's gentle caress of his lips on hers but not knowing exactly what more she wanted. EJ had no such uncertainty it seemed however as one of his hands came up cupped the back of her head before deepening the kiss. Sister Mary Agnes gave a shocked gasp as EJ's tongue found its way into her mouth, never having dreamed a kiss could be like this. She clutched at the material of his suit coat even as EJ plundered her depths.
The taste of him was fully in her mouth now and her heart was beating so fast Sister Mary Agnes was frightened the wayward thing would pound its way right out of her chest. His tongue found hers and rubbed against its mate, causing her to give a jerk of surprise at how the action felt as she'd never experienced anything quite like this before.
"No," EJ moaned into their kiss. He tightened his hold on her head and as he did managed to dislodge part of her headpiece. A section of her shoulder length straight, blonde hair escaped its confines and fell around her face, framing her flushed countenance perfectly. "Spun gold," EJ muttered in wonder as his fingers immediately became tangled in the silky blond lengths, "I knew it." He tugged gently on the captured strands to draw their mouths back together and this time there was no delicate hesitation. EJ's tongue confidently thrust into her mouth, seeking out the taste of her.
A new sensation burst into life low down in Sister Mary Agnes' body, a strange fire ignited by the growing hunger of his kisses. This painfully good ache made her want more of his maddening kisses, causing her to groan in complaint when he abruptly broke the kiss.
"Kiss me," EJ demanded of her, his voice strained.
EJ was looking at her with such wild need, like his gaze was another caress. Sister Mary Agnes knew she should say no but instead she shyly pressed her lips against his, feeling a great shudder run through his body as she initiated their kisses for the first time. EJ's mouth parted, encouraging her to taste him properly and Sister Mary Agnes couldn't stop herself from doing just that. She flicked her tongue into his mouth, not daring to stay any longer but the taste of him still exploded on her tongue and made breathing difficult. EJ was making little moaning noises of approval at her tentative forays which only made her bolder. Sister Mary Agnes didn't know what she was doing; only repeating what EJ had done with her and the way his breathing was becoming increasingly forced told her he approved. EJ's tongue wrapped around hers drawing the shy creature more fully into his mouth as he pulled her closer to him. Sister Mary Agnes had nothing to compare EJ to but she knew innately he was a good kisser, seeming to know the right thing to do at the right moment to make his kisses even more intoxicating.
"God but I've never wanted a woman like I want you," EJ groaned in desperate horror as he finally broke the kiss, both of them panting for their next breath.
"It-it's because I'm a nun." Her breathless response was a moment of clarity for Sister Mary Agnes, something sorely missing up until now. "Ya want what ya can't have," she accused him with an unfortunate unsteadiness in her voice. "It's da forbiddenness of my robes makin' ya want me."
"I want the woman under those robes," EJ denied her claim with almost angry vehemence. "I want her fire, her passion, her sheer bloody mindedness and spirit – I don't care one whit about your vocation, Sister, I just want you."
"Ya should care," said Sister Mary Agnes, trying to muster up some outrage but finding the emotion in short supply. Her body was screaming at her to stop talking and resume kissing this impossible man, and Sister Mary Agnes was so confused right then she couldn't think straight. "Dis has to stop," she tried to warn him but EJ wasn't listening.
"No," he said before grabbing her by the arms and pushing her downwards onto the stacked bags of corn all around them. EJ gave a small pain filled grunt as the abrupt action must have hurt his wounded side but then he was covering her body with his and seeking out her mouth again.
The weight of such a big man pressing in on her made Sister Mary Agnes catch her breath as the hard angles of his body found their place against her softer ones. His body felt amazing and made her own ache even more, as though her body knew what this desire inside of her truly needed to be satisfied. The thought scared Sister Mary Agnes about where this was all going. EJ, no matter how lucid he seemed right then, was very drunk but she had no such excuse. Reckless was a word Sister Mary Agnes was used to hearing when people described her but so much was at stake she knew she couldn't afford such a luxury right now. "Please stop," she moaned. Sister Mary Agnes feared such a feat would require EJ coming to his senses because her traitorous body continued to betray her. She wasn't frightened of EJ but rather of her wayward self.
"I can't," EJ confessed with a groan, seemingly just as helpless, before crushing her lips under his once more.
Sister Mary Agnes hesitated for the briefest of seconds before returning his kisses wholeheartedly. How could she have gone from never having kissed a man before in her life to wondering if she'd ever be able to exist if he stopped in the space of a few short moments? The whole thing was impossible, but such a realisation didn't stop Sister Mary Agnes from wrapping her arms around EJ's neck and surrendering to everything happening to her body.
EJ's tongue began to rhythmically push its way into her mouth and the new pace caused a surprising response in the rest of her body. Sister Mary Agnes could feel her hips wanting to move with the tempo EJ was setting, some deep instinct within her body springing into life. EJ's hips began to press against hers in time to his kisses and Sister Mary Agnes couldn't stop herself from instinctively raising to meet him. Her lower body burst into flames and she had to break the kiss to give a loud groan, uncaring of who might hear them. EJ buried his head in her neck as Sister Mary Agnes struggled to contain or even understand the sensations running rampant through her. "Wh-what are ya doin' to me?" she panted in dismay at this new experience. She'd never been so scared yet exhilarated at the same time and just desperate for more and some unknown thing she knew intuitively would give her relief her body was seeking. EJ however didn't answer and Sister Mary Agnes realised he'd gone very still.
"E-Mr. DiMera?" she asked with a note of uncertainty to her voice.
When EJ didn't reply or even stir Sister Mary Agnes grabbed the back of his head, and tugged on the short dark hair there she could lift his head up. A huge range of emotions flooded her body all at once to see all of Tabib's alcohol had finally caught up with him and EJ had passed out. There was annoyance, frustration, relief, embarrassment, anger and so many other things Sister Mary Agnes couldn't begin to unravel them. Pushing against EJ's shoulder with all of her might she managed to roll him over onto his back and escape out from under him. EJ lay unmoving on his bed of corn bags; his shallow breathing telling her he was indeed fast asleep. Sister Mary Agnes drew in an anguished and unsteady breath. "Mother Mary preserve me. What have I done?"