Brooke let herself be guided by Lucas who took her to a discreet place where they could eat peacefully. A discreet place where no one would judge the fact that a priest eats with a woman outside of any supervisory mission ... A private refuge where a priest would perhaps have the right to also allow himself the possibility of being a man ... A man inexorably attracted to a spontaneous woman but a little hung up and mistreated by life. A woman who also felt this paradoxical attraction towards this man as benevolent as he was mysterious ... For the first time, Brooke felt listened to and important. For the first time, Lucas felt revived and a little dizzy.
LUCAS : We're almost there.
Between them, the sexual tension, still latent, had subtly mixed with tenderness and sweetness.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : What am I doing? I'm taking her under the pretext of being able to eat with her, as if I were hiding her... And my soul and conscience, I agree to dig my own grave because I won't be able to resist if she tries something...
LUCAS : It's here, Brooke.
Brooke followed him because this urgent and mutual need for intimacy carried them away and surpassed all the dangers yet incurred... Lucas quickly looked around him, and let her in before furtively closing the door behind them.
BROOKE : Wow! I didn't expect that...
LUCAS : I know! It's basic and spartan to say the least... But, admit it's peaceful!
BROOKE : Yes , and it's mostly completely abandoned!
LUCAS : It's not completely abandoned ... I would say rather that it's under renovation. Well, at the very beginning of renovation ...
BROOKE : Something tells me that you are linked to this work in some way ...
LUCAS : Something!? The fact that I have the key to the house is a relatively good clue too ... In fact, we have a project to create a solidarity grocery store and also to highlight products from the abbey ... You see have these pretty columns inlaid in relief in the walls and this original ceiling ... It's grandiose, right!?
BROOKE : Yes it's true that the place has a certain charm. It's a beautiful project!
As Brooke looked around at the still unwelcoming place, Lucas noticed that something was bothering her...
LUCAS : What's wrong?
BROOKE : As beautiful as it is, I was wondering if you wanted us to lie down on the floor and admire the ceiling while eating? Unless you'd prefer that we sit in the dust and rubble or on the concrete steps?
LUCAS : Ah! You're not the one talking anymore... I get it! It's your stomach! So like that, you're not tough enough to eat on the floor... Are you afraid of getting dirty?
BROOKE : Know that nothing scares me!
LUCAS : Oh no!?
They just assessed each other for a few seconds until Lucas launched himself. A few seconds passed with a look that spoke volumes about their intentions and their still latent ulterior motives.
LUCAS : Follow me, I have something a little more comfortable than concrete to offer you ...
Lucas preceded Brooke to the garden whose tall grass gave it a wild but rather welcoming appearance.
BROOKE : I prefer that a thousand times over!
Lucas immediately imitated her when Brooke sat cross-legged on the lawn. He took out their food one by one. Brooke was already salivating at all the cheeses and tore off two pieces of bread. She handed one to Lucas.
BROOKE : For the healthy side, we'll come back though! We didn't take any vegetables or fruit!
LUCAS : Oh... Right! I guess I must have forgotten with Debie's arrival and...
BROOKE : And no worries, really! And then, we have our cider donuts... It's like having apples, you see!
LUCAS : Exactly no and it's also much better than real apples, I hate them... Brrr!
BROOKE : What!? Wait... Are you really telling me what I think you just told me!?
Lucas remained silent but his mischievous look, his smirk and his nod answered his question.
BROOKE : And to think that I was embarrassed not to like coriander... But you, my poor thing!
LUCAS : Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about and I can confirm that it's a real ordeal on a daily basis...
Incredulous, Brooke shook her head from right to left as if she still couldn't believe it.
BROOKE : It's really the height of irony for a Norman... Well, even if you're Corsican, but you live in Normandy!
LUCAS : I can't tell you how many times I've found myself in embarrassing situations because of that! To the point of having to politely refuse tarts! Even apple juice doesn't go down well at all!
BROOKE : Calvados, either?!
LUCAS : No! But I make up for it quite well by compensating with milk, butter and cream, don't worry!
BROOKE : I'm not sure that's really going to reassure me but I see that you're keeping a perfect figure, despite everything!
Lucas just looked down in reaction to Brooke's well-placed compliment. She laughed again at her discovery.
BROOKE : Come on, on that note, let's taste Cathy's famous cheeses!
LUCAS : Quinn...
BROOKE : Oh... Quinn, then. Hey, I was wondering, she seems young to be a cheesemaker, right?
LUCAS : Yes. Quinn took over her father's business a few years ago... She puts all her energy into her passion.
Although irritated, Brooke could only concede this observation of courage and determination, she was even a little envious.
BROOKE : It's a damn good thing that the path her parents laid out for her suited her...
LUCAS : Certainly. Unfortunately, that's not the case for everyone, is it? What was it, you?
BROOKE : My father is a reporter... He always hoped that I would follow in his footsteps into journalism!
LUCAS : But you didn't like it, is that it?
BROOKE : At first, quite well... I even brilliantly passed my baccalaureate after a preparatory year and the entrance exam.
Lucas frowned, he seemed puzzled and admiring but he waited for her to continue her explanations.
BROOKE : But it was only once I graduated that I really became aware of all this conditioning ... He had spent years convincing me that it was also my choice and I had achieved my goal, finally his. But on graduation day ... He wasn't even there. It was brutal, like a slap in the face ... I think that's when I finally realized that he wasn't going to come back to me, to us for that matter.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : She takes out all her emotions in anger, in rage when in fact it is sadness, disappointment, bitterness.
BROOKE : I had done four years of study to make him proud and what's more in his chosen field... It wasn't enough.
LUCAS : It wasn't enough to make him proud... Or something deeper that you aspired to through this?
Brooke looked at him with interest, perceiving that his question hid a deeper introspection than his words suggested.
BROOKE : That's not what I needed. I didn't give a damn about his pride at that moment. Well, I think I did. I realized that I was running after something I would never have, his involvement, his presence with his family. In reality, the people who gravitate around my father must always conform to his expectations and his needs... Except that he doesn't apply this charming requirement to himself! He's a selfish man!
LUCAS : I understand better. But despite that or thanks to that, you got a degree that guarantees you a peaceful and solid future... Believe me, I know how much deciding to follow your own path takes courage... You know, before theology and my seminary, I didn't have the chance to study. So I look at all that a little differently. But the most important thing now is... What is your path?
Brooke tried to pierce him with her eyes, he who found so well the words to make her speak subtly ...
BROOKE : I understand what you are doing, my father ... You are trying to psychoanalyze me! No ... As a good philanthropic confidant, you insidiously lead me on the saving path of confession, rather.
LUCAS : I only ask to understand you better and to understand where this rage in you comes from ... I wish to help you, sincerely. It seems to be the cause of a lot of suffering for you ... Torments that I have known, too. I am also part of those who have been molded to meet the demands and demands of an imposed model ... Like you, I was not able to take control of my destiny, nor make my own decisions before, before being here.
Brooke tried to read him to feel if she could try to find out more... She knows he was slightly tense.
BROOKE : Tell me, you too...
At the same time, Lucas's face closed and his gaze darkened at this simple and spontaneous request.
LUCAS : As strange as it may seem, I'm not in the habit of confiding. And then, there's not much to say. Let's just say that I'm an example among others of a person who was slow to listen to his own stories...
BROOKE : By becoming a priest?
LUCAS : Yes, Brooke. God's call is what nourished me, educated me, soothed me... Repaired me perhaps too. Finding your way allows you to fulfill yourself and achieve your goals, regardless of whether it is accepted by society or those close to you.
BROOKE : Mhh. I guess you're implying, in my case, that it's better late than never... And being aware of what works for us or not should be the basis of all our decisions... I still have a little trouble knowing what works for me... I'll have to work on that.
Inside, Brooke had to admit that her current life choices were far from bringing her peace. They were just a bandage on wounds, scars that were still gaping... Even if it was too hard to admit it to herself.
BROOKE : And you, do you feel like you've succeeded? Are you suffering less today?
LUCAS : It's not me we're talking about. But I think that our parents, as failing as they are, educate us... Only sometimes, they also inspire us with dreams, influence our choices, consciously or not. Despite their mistakes, they have the merit of sometimes being real sources of inspiration... You know, I too first followed the path traced by my father out of an obligation that I fully assumed. In our country, there was also a cultural dimension... Family ties are very strong in Corsican culture. Children are raised with the goal of achieving this or that pre-established model, no matter what the key is. They naturally think that it is their duty to hold the key to their child's happiness and to lead them there.
BROOKE : Yes. But it's up to us to decide what to do with it, otherwise we'll inevitably go down the wrong path.
Determined to explore the darkest and most mysterious parts of her priest, Brooke felt something.
BROOKE : What was their choice for you?
From the way he looked away, Brooke expected him to close up and avoid her question again.
LUCAS : It was only my father's choice. That's how it is at home ... Even if my mother tried to listen to me ...
Brooke felt him fighting with his inner demons and avoiding by steering the conversation towards his mother. She decided to opt for a slightly roundabout strategy by putting him at ease with a less direct approach.
BROOKE : You're lucky in your bad luck because me, my mother is the one who suffered the most... From this absence. My father was always traveling... From festivals to sporting events and political topics.
Without realizing it and trying to get information from him, Brooke spontaneously confided in Lucas.
BROOKE : Despite her many requests, he wouldn't listen. Until the day the depressive phases began. She offered him on a platter a second reason to run away, it was no longer simply professional ... My mother fell into alcoholism ... Then into repeated stays in rehab ...
LUCAS : Although caring, my mother was also an unhappy and hurt woman. But she chose to stay... Of course, it's easier to think that you can always escape a situation that doesn't suit you. But it's far from being so easy when you're faced with it. Especially when there are children who didn't ask for anything... You know the other time when we were at the bar, I wasn't completely honest. My father was not a good person. He would never have accepted the path I took, that of the priesthood. I made that choice after his death... And even if he's no longer here and I owe him the respect he deserves for having done what he thought he had to do... It's his deep and cultural values that I disapprove of even if he always tried to be a good father.
From Brooke's perplexed and curious pout, Lucas understood that he wasn't the most explicit. He swallowed and smiled at her.
LUCAS : His codes and values weren't the right ones. Without denying them, I decided that they wouldn't be mine, that's all.
Without wanting to, the turn of the conversation and the subject of questionable moral values made Brooke think back to Owen... Owen had sent her to find him a hideout and she knew that Lucas was the only option to get there. Feeling anyway that he wasn't ready to tell her more, and already relieved to have poured out her heart so easily...
BROOKE : Enough melodrama, the atmosphere is starting to get a little heavy, don't you think?
In response, Lucas simply smiled at her while keeping his eyes on hers.
BROOKE : His cheeses are delicious, indeed! All the producers at this morning's market are from the region?
LUCAS : Yes! They come from nearby or a little further away. But they all pamper their products with love and respect. What I like about local markets is this accent of authenticity and this less industrial approach too...
BROOKE : You also grow vegetables and fruits in the vegetable garden, right? Do you also have fields?
LUCAS : Yes! I'll show you sometime if you like. I'm sure you'll like working on a tractor!
Brooke continued to look at him, amused at the mere thought of finding herself on this big agricultural machine.
BROOKE : With pleasure! Speaking of farms, I found an abandoned one behind the abbey...
Too focused on hiding her own embarrassment, Brooke didn't notice Lucas's face change expression. Uncomfortable and annoyed at using him like that, Brooke looked away after his prolonged silence.
LUCAS : Ah... Yes... That one.
BROOKE : Do you know who it belongs to?
Sensing the danger surrounding his secret, Lucas was still looking for something to answer her.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : If she went there, she must have seen the padlock on the barn door...
LUCAS : No, no idea, she's been like this since I got here... Why this question? Did I give you a taste and fascination for deserted and abandoned places?
Taking advantage of his joke, Brooke decided to play the seduction card to coax him and dispel any possible suspicion.
BROOKE : No, well maybe... I asked that because... I thought it would be nice if we found time to see each other... You know, both of us, with no one around.
Brooke wasn't proud of herself, especially since she clearly noticed the effect her words had on Lucas.
LUCAS : Isn't that exactly what we're doing right now?
BROOKE : Yes. But I was wondering if you wanted to... You know... Just to continue what we started...
At that very moment, his emotion, which had until now been hidden as best he could, was transformed into an almost assumed fever. Lucas remained calm in appearance but fainted and liquefied internally.
LUCAS : Tonight?
The immediacy of his proposal surprised Brooke as much as it delighted her. Lucas realized what he had just said.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : Did I really say that out loud? I don't even pretend to resist anymore...
BROOKE : Go for tonight!
Faced with Brooke's response just as quick as his own, Lucas no longer tried to hide his confusion.
LUCAS : You must think of me as a poor teacher incapable of following the path he has chosen for himself...
BROOKE : I mostly think that you are a priest who is much too attractive and that is more than enough reason... Don't ever think that I will judge you, I would be in no position to do that. I just know that I want you. I like the way you make me feel. I like the way you look at me and see the effect I have on you...
At the same time, Brooke placed her hand on his thigh. Lucas knew that the slightest breeze would throw him overboard. After his imagination, it was now his skin that ignited like fuel at the caress of Brooke's daring hand. She returned his smile that he gave her. Lucas continued to confide in Brooke about his inner struggle.
LUCAS : You drive me crazy. As soon as you're near me, it's like I'm on fire, but I feel like I'm betraying your trust. The slightest hint from you triggers a flood of erotic images in me that sully my vocation... I'm here to give you advice, but it's as if God created you for the sole purpose of diverting me. You are my test. But you are an insurmountable test... I no longer have self-control with you.
As he got closer to Brooke, Lucas gave her the bottom of his thoughts with sincerity. Brooke's senses went wild.
LUCAS : If you knew how much I want to possess you, caress you, and even take you again and again... Without stopping. It's like a visceral need, Brooke.
After panting silently throughout her confession, Brooke took another breath. It was jerky and fast.
LUCAS : The worst part of all this is that I feel no guilt.
Brooke's eyes still locked with Lucas's, she caressed his thigh more and more firmly and more and more feverishly.
BROOKE : I have no idea what I want to do with my life, Lucas. All I know is that I want you.
LUCAS : Yet my mission is to help you find this path. I wish so much that I could give you that... But with you, it's as if all wisdom had deserted me. I betray you with my thoughts and my actions.
BROOKE : I don't need your wisdom or your advice. I don't need the priest... But the man. I want to feel your hands all over me, inside me... I know, I'm not a proper girl...
LUCAS : You're a more than proper girl, Brooke, certainly injured but terribly intelligent, sensitive and spontaneous. But you're also a dangerous call to depravity. I'm so hard that I can't even think lucidly anymore.
Lucas took Brooke's hand to position it directly on his crotch. Brooke felt his swollen sex quiver under his hand.
LUCAS : That's the effect you have on me. I would like to concentrate on your feelings but I only dream of making you scream with pleasure... I would like to soothe you when I only fantasize about biting your flesh and getting drunk on you. It's oppressive, violent.
BROOKE : Lucas, stop thinking of me as a penitent, or a child of God. I'm not a lost sheep looking for a shepherd. I want the man behind the uniform.
Brooke stroked the fabric of his cassock that separated her from direct contact with her soft and sensitive skin of his member ... Lucas' erect cock continued to swell and tense under Brooke's increasingly enterprising caresses.
BROOKE : All I want and need is to still feel alive, you understand? And I want it with you!
Lucas then hurried to push the food spread out on the grass. He stretched Brooke out to come and tower over her. He first looked her straight in the eyes before his face slowly descended closer to hers. Lucas pressed his aching cock against Brooke's lower abdomen but still prevented himself from taking possession of her mouth. His breathing was strangled and jerky at the same time, like a dark threat, an imminent threat.
BROOKE : I like making you hard.
As if struck by lightning, Lucas grabbed Brooke's face with both hands and tilted her head towards him. While tilting Brooke's throat back, it was the desire for her whole body to arch for him that assailed him at the same time. He took Brooke's mouth with force and passion. His teeth were sharp and his tongue was precise. Brooke shivered. While moaning into Brooke's mouth, Lucas moved one hand down to caress her crotch directly.
BROOKE : Mmmmh!
LUCAS : Oh fuck, Brooke.
BROOKE : Make me cum like that.
More than a request, it was an order. Lucas could no longer control himself and complied. His hand and his cock were rubbing hard. Brooke and Lucas swayed under the jolts of electricity that shook their hungry pelvises and cocks. Brooke imagined his penis tight and swollen in his underwear. Her clitoris was deliciously stimulated by the friction. Lucas, exhilarated, had to make superhuman efforts to stop himself from repressing his desire to penetrate Brooke immediately. The caresses were energetic, the need for contact was urgent and throbbing. The orgasm was already so close...
Lucas, his eyes fixed on Brooke, imagined penetrating her and possessing her... It was so good. Brooke's hot sex against his erection made him dizzy. He buried his head in her neck. This decadence fueled his wild urges. He nibbled the skin of Brooke's throat while pressing himself against her clitoris. He then took her breasts in his hands and felt them without restraint. His animal fever was back. Lucas undulated on Brooke, panting, moaning as if he was trying to punish her with pleasure... Punishing her had succeeded in annihilating his convictions and destroying so easily everything he had spent so many years building. He lost himself in his desire to possess her; inflamed by a burning desire and a hunger reinforced by the moral taboo... Each of Brooke's moans and spasms made him want to devour her more. He sank his teeth into her flesh. Suddenly, Brooke arched her pelvis with fury and decadence, seeking orgasm in the last few thrusts.
BROOKE : I'm gonna cum soon, Lucas. Cum too, I need it!
Lucas felt himself faint under her words and her little cries, feeling that his orgasm was also imminent. His jaw was too clenched to answer him but Brooke could feel that he was pressing harder against her.
BROOKE : Oohhh yesss!
LUCAS : Ohhh, fuck, again!
In a burning eroticism, an intense force formed at the bottom of their loins and began to spread through their bodies. Moving faster and faster, the orgasm that seized Brooke was powerful. It burned her, filling her whole being. Lucas' jerky movements on her body hit her as she imagined his sperm spreading under her cassock. Lucas and Brooke moaned for a few more seconds and savored the last moments of their shared pleasure. Slowly, the movement of their hands and bodies slowed to the same rhythm as their breathing. The intensity of their orgasm slowly subsided but their breaths were still short and their minds were dazed...
As their bodies finally stilled, reality took over in a gentle, delicate way.
LUCAS' THOUGHT : Tonight. Tonight, I'm just going to taste it once. Again. God won't punish me for it.