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9

Jolie

“Fifteen lashes will do.”

Father’s words echoed in my ears as Mason pulled me out of the Great Room and forced me through the winding maze of halls which led to the Penance Rooms. My pulse raced faster and faster with each step, and my whole body felt like jelly.

I couldn’t believe it. When I heard Mason was coming to live with us at New Eden, I stupidly expected some sort of change. I knew I deserved to be punished, and I desperately wanted it, but I honestly didn’t think it would happen this quickly. Not from him. When he visited a couple of months ago, he made himself seem like a nicer man than the others. A reprieve from the usual hardships.

But apparently he was just like the other men.

He was right about what I’d done, though. I did talk to him when he was still an outsider. I even initiated it by walking up to him and saying ‘It’s you’, and after he’d offered to walk away because of the rules, I said no and led him to the Museum of the Damned to continue the clandestine conversation.

Not only had I broken the rules, I’d also lied to my father about it when he saw us together. Lied by omission, that is. I let him listen to Mason and believe that we hadn’t done anything wrong, and the sinful secret had been burning a hole in my chest for weeks now.

“Thank you for telling the truth,” I murmured to Mason. “I was too weak to do it myself.”

He didn’t reply. He simply pulled me into the first Penance room and locked the door behind us. Then he turned and looked back at me. His hard hazel gaze locked on mine, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away as he towered over me. I could barely breathe. Though he was about to hurt me, he was still the most handsome man I had ever seen. The way that made me feel scared me more than any threat of pain.

I finally turned away and haltingly removed my dress and underwear. I was embarrassed to be naked around him, but it was necessary for the punishment. I only hoped that my nude body was pleasing enough for him to look at while he beat me.

“Jesus… what have they done to you?”

I turned my head over my shoulder. Mason wasn’t looking at me with the same gleaming, unashamed expression most of the men had in their eyes when they saw naked women. Instead, his gaze was traveling over the old pink and white stripes on my back, legs, and arms. He reached out and pulled me toward him, one finger rubbing the biggest scar on my shoulder.

“I have sinned many times in the past,” I murmured, turning back to face him. “My father says I take after my mother. I ask too many questions and conduct myself in a defiant manner far too often. But I have been trying very hard to be better this year.”

“I remember your mother,” Mason replied, eyes narrowed. “She was a good, smart woman. If she were here today, she’d never stand for this shit.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. I remembered my mother too, but my father was right about her. She wasn’t a good woman. She was like me. Naturally sinful.

I lay down on my stomach on the low wooden trestle table where Mason would lash me. He crouched down and placed his hands on my arms.

“No, Jolie,” he muttered. “Get up.”

With shaky legs, I got back to my feet. I understood. He wanted to whip me in a different position. I tried to move to the metal restraints hanging on the stone wall at the back of the room, but Mason prevented me again.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.

I nodded and smiled. “No man ever wants to hurt a woman. It’s just that they must, or else we would never learn.”

He ran a hand through his messy hair. “No. That’s not what I fucking meant,” he said. “This was just the only way.”

“Only way for what?”

“I needed to talk to you. And I needed to get you away from that fucking prick who was about to stick his cock down your throat.”

The way he was speaking made me wonder if it was possible for the Devil to possess a man’s tongue.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Please stop cursing.”

He lifted a hand, and I flinched. “Christ,” he growled. “Just look at the way you’re cowering. They’ve fucked you up so bad. I can’t stand it.”

I realized he’d merely lifted the hand as a conciliatory gesture, and I straightened up. “Why did you say you wanted to speak with me?” I asked, my mind mired in confusion. “You are part of the commune now, but still, I should not spend time with men I don’t know.”

His nostrils flared as he stared at me. “But we do know each other,” he said sharply. “I know I only just came back into your life, but still… doesn’t it feel like we’ve known each other forever? It’s not just me, right?”

I could feel something happening in the room, a sort of heat shuddering off Mason.

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