“One of them wants mine?” Noah flops onto his couch and lets out an uncomfortable grunt as he reaches for his remote. Felix, his orange tabby, climbs into his lap and starts a loud purr.

“He’s a mayor from Bay Minette. Small potatoes, but he comes from money, and has an eye for your girl.” I kick my aching feet up onto his ottoman. “All day talking to these fucking perverts, and then Dad chimes in and reminds me he needs new stock for the Cathedral and the Chapel. There aren’t enough Maidens to go around.” I lean my head back. “How’s the farm stuff?”

He flicks on the TV, which defaults to the Heavenly Channel—the Prophet Leon Monroe yapping nonstop.

“Turn that shit off.” I feel around on his side table for the joint I saw when I walked in.

“Hang on.” He presses a few buttons and the Cloister training room flickers onto the screen. “Damn, strap-on day.”

I look for Delilah. She stands in the ring of Maidens, her eyes on the awkward ass-fucking the Spinner is directing.

“This should be hot.” Noah points. “But it’s the furthest thing from it.”

I light up the joint and take a drag, then lean over and pass it to him. “Farm?” I remind him.

“Oh, yeah. Nothing I can do in the middle of winter except have the guys start clearing the trees and grinding the stumps.” He pulls a puff of smoke into his mouth, then inhales. Felix’s eyes begin to droop, already sleepy in his master’s lap.

I don’t particularly want to talk about farming or suitors, but that’s what my father will be listening for. “There were actually two who wanted your girl, but the mayor has more cash, so he gets dibs. The other guy—owns some tractor place in Huntsville—can pick from the others.”

“Dad change his mind about letting them go early?”

“No.” I take the joint and inhale deeply before stubbing it out. “But he’s happy to take deposits on them.”

“What about yours?”

I blow the smoke out of my lungs and return my gaze to the screen. To her. “She’s about to be bought and paid for.” Forcing the next words from my lips is difficult, but necessary. “Which is good news for me, at least. I’ll be rid of my Maiden duties. It’s not like they’re any fun since I can’t mark her, can’t even bruise her. So good riddance.”

Noah raises an eyebrow but plays along. “You know, you could actually talk to her. She’s more than just a sex—”

“No, that’s all she is.” Lies roll off my tongue, each one more bitter than the last. “A good ass-fuck, but I can’t even get that going with her goddamn suitor breathing down my neck.”

“Sorry, man.” He shrugs and pets the dozing Felix.

I would ask about Gregory the lizard, but since he’s supposed to be nothing more than ashes, I don’t say a word. We’ve done our duty—made it look like we’re carrying on with the Prophet’s agenda as usual. The real conversation will take place outside, away from the microphones tucked away in our houses.

We’ll plan our father’s death under the cold stars that pay no mind to our machinations.

* * *

Delilah kneels as I enter her room. She’s already nude, her pale skin almost glowing under the soft light from overhead. Her obedience sends a jolt of heat straight to my cock. I don’t know if I would have been like this if it weren’t for my upbringing, but I can’t help the thrill her submission gives me.

I sit in front of her, and she moves closer without me even asking, her gray eyes focused on mine. “Hi.”

I run my fingers through her hair, sifting the impossibly soft strands. She calms the storm that constantly rages inside me with nothing more than her presence and a softly whispered “hi.”

“How do you do that?” I trace along her jaw with my fingertips.

“What?”

“Nothing.” I let my fingers dance lower, grazing her collar bones and then venturing farther to the swells of her breasts.

Her lips part, a soft sigh on her breath as I stroke her hard nipple, the peak begging for my mouth.

“What did you learn today, little lamb?” I alternate between breasts, teasing one bud and then the next.

“I, um…” She makes an mmm noise and bites her lip.

“I didn’t quite get that.”

“We did this thing where, oh—”

I pinch her nipple. “Go on.”

She shakes her head a tiny bit, as if trying to clear it. “It was these strap-ons.”

“Did you wear one?” I slide my other hand down to her breasts, kneading each one, teasing the tips. They fill my palms perfectly, and the need to leave my bite marks on her skin roars up from my black depths.

“No, I just watched.”

“Did you like it?”

That question snaps her head up. “Not in the least.”

“Why not?” I squeeze her breasts to the point where she moans.

“Because they didn’t want it. It wasn’t um—”

“Consensual?”

“Right.” She arches her back and I rub my palms up and down against her nipples.

“Is this?” I smirk as she wrinkles her nose.

“Depends on how you look at it.” She presses her thighs together.

“And how do you look at it?”

“I’m trapped here, and you’re the only man that gets to touch me, so there’s coercion there.”

“You wouldn’t want me if it weren’t for this arrangement?” Playing with her like this makes my dick so hard it nearly hurts.

She bites her lip again, her even little teeth pressing into the pink flesh. “I don’t know.”

I grab her by the waist and lift her, tossing her onto the bed. “I do.”

She scrambles onto her back and stares at me wide-eyed as I yank my shirt over my head and reach for my belt.

“Spread your legs wide, little lamb.”

“Adam.”

I slide my belt from its loop and unbutton my pants, pushing them and my boxers to the floor.

She licks her lips as my cock pops free.

“Now!” I snap the belt into my palm.

Her legs slowly open, revealing the pink, wet perfection between her thighs. “What are you—” She cries out when the leather hits her sensitive skin.

“You think this is just coincidence?” I hit her again, the leather reddening her pussy with clear marks. “Wider!”

She grips the sheets, and her knees shake as she scoots her heels farther apart. I hit her again, this time with a little less force. Her squeal makes my balls ache, and I’m desperate to fuck her, to take what I can’t have again and again until it’s mine.

“Well?” I strike her again.

“No!” She shakes her head.

“Arch your back.” I toss the belt and climb on top of her, needing to do what I’ve been imaging to her milky-white tits. With a firm bite next to her nipple, I leave my mark as she squirms beneath me.

“Adam.” Her gasp urges me onward, and I bite her other breast as my cock presses against her hot pussy. Fuck, my head is so close. I could fuck her again. Could give us both what we need. I want it so bad that I have to back off.

She watches me with heavy-lidded eyes, and I know she’s desperate for the same thing I am. When she crawls onto her knees, then lowers her head and licks her own wetness from my tip, I can’t stop myself. I wrap my fingers in her hair and pull her forward. My cock slides into her throat. She grips my thighs, her nails digging in, but I don’t release her. I need this control, and I’ve never tasted anything sweeter than dominion over my little lamb.

When I finally push her back, she gasps for air, her eyes watering as she looks up at me.

“Again.” I pull her onto my cock, her throat taking me, squeezing me in her heat. Giving her some room to move, I back off. She wraps one small hand around the base of my cock and sucks me hard, her cheeks hollowing out as she bobs her head.

My balls draw up close to me as she sucks and strokes, her hand working in conjunction with her mouth. She gives me head with a recklessness that stirs every dark desire I’ve ever had for her. The slight graze of her teeth sends me higher, my body coiling like a snake.

“Stop.” I grab her hair and pull her off my cock, her lips swollen and wet. Lying on the bed, I pull her on top of me and move her up until her pussy hovers above my face. “Suck me.” I can barely understand my own voice, and I don’t give a shit. I just have to taste her. And I do. With one lick, I get the flavor of her needy cunt, and I need more.

Gripping her hips, I press her to my face as she takes my cock in her warm mouth. She moans around it, and I slap her ass, urging her onward as I suck and lick all of her wet flesh, then move to her asshole.

Her legs tremble as I lick her hole, taunting the ridged skin with the tip of my tongue before returning to her clit. She picks up her pace, her body rocking on top of mine as she takes my cock deeper into her throat with each stroke. I light up her ass with another slap and press my tongue into her tight pussy. It’s not allowed, but I’ve already broken the biggest rule. Feeling her from the inside with my tongue is just one of my many smaller transgressions.

She seizes on my head, sucking and probing with her velvet tongue. Fuck. I’ll be damned if I come before she does, no matter how hard she’s trying to get me there. I switch my focus to her clit, lashing it with my tongue as she moans and takes me deeper into her mouth. When her legs start to shake, I know I have her. Her mouth goes slack around my cock, and I press my teeth against her clit. Her body stills, and her moan comes from somewhere deep inside her. I jab my tongue inside her again and feel the waves of contractions from her hot pussy, then I move back to her clit, licking all the pleasure out of her and into my mouth.

When she quiets and returns to my cock, it doesn’t take long. I don’t give her any warning when my load surges up my shaft, and I thrust my hips up. She latches her lips around me, sucking as I empty into her mouth. The release is blinding, absolute. I groan and squeeze her ass, my face still buried in her cunt. She swallows and uses her tongue to scoop the last bit of come from the tip of my cock. After it’s over, she lays her head on my thigh, her body heaving as she gulps in air. I kiss her pussy, her ass, everywhere my lips can reach, then grab her and pull her around, laying her head on my chest.

Covered in sweat, we lie together, our heartbeats slowly settling down.

She says something, but her voice is too muffled for me to hear. I pull her up so her head rests in the crook of my neck.

“What, little lamb?”

“He’s coming for me on Wednesday. Less than a week. Is there a plan?”

“There is.” I stroke the strands of hair from her damp forehead and whisper in her ear. “Tuesday night at the Temple. Don’t drink the wine. Don’t eat the fruit.”

She nods. “Anything else?”

“Nothing you need to know. Just be ready.”

“Okay.” She relaxes on top of me, her body molding to mine with each passing moment. I wish I could stay, could hold her as she falls asleep. But that’s not possible, not here.

Snuggling even closer, she kisses my neck. “It’s not coincidence. You and me. We’re not…” She sighs against my ear, an angel’s breath warming her demon. “We’d be like this even if we weren’t here. I’d be yours no matter where we were.”

I kiss her forehead and let the emotion that I don’t dare name flow between us. It’s the one tie that no power on heaven or earth can sever, but it’s so fragile in this place that speaking it aloud will surely destroy it.