The Hands Of The Priest. The Cloistered Shadow, #1

The gray stone of the Convent of the Perpetual Heart was supposed to be a sanctuary for Father Thomas McMahon. Instead, it has become a cage where the silence only amplifies the screaming of his own needs. Sent away by his Bishop to recover from a scandalous porn addiction, Thomas expects a season of quiet penance. What he finds is Sister Elaine, a woman whose eyes hold secrets from a life of silk and power far removed from the black wool of her habit.
As Thomas attempts to purify his soul through fasting and prayer, he discovers that the hunger of the body is a weapon easily turned against the spirit. Elaine knows every crack in his armor. She whispers of a life beyond the vows, a world where nature is not suppressed but celebrated. In the stagnant air of the confessional and the damp earth of the convent garden, a slow burn psychological siege begins.
God feels distant in this place of holy women, and the digital ghosts of his past still haunt his nights. Thomas must decide if he is a guardian of the faith or merely a man hollowed out by desire. Every touch at the altar rail and every shared glance in the chapel pushes him closer to an irrevocable choice. In the heart of the fortress, the greatest enemy is the one he carries inside himself.