Page 30 of Sinful

“Yes, of course.”

“All right.” She rose to her feet and dipped her chin to the right. “Follow me.”

“Is it okay for us to leave right now?” I asked, brows lifting. I scanned the square as I spoke. I couldn’t see Augustus anywhere, but I knew he probably wouldn’t be too pleased about me slipping away from the feast with his daughter in tow.

Rose nodded. “It’s fine. People come and go all evening,” she said. “In fact, attendance at the feasts isn’t mandatory. It’s only the rituals that we must attend, and they don’t begin until the ninth hour of the evening.”

“All right. Lead the way.”

As we stepped away from the table, a tall young woman with a foxlike face stood and darted over to us. “Rose,” she said, offering her a tight smile. “Where are you going with the outsider?”

“Our guest needs to relieve himself, because he’s had a lot to drink,” Rose replied. “I’m taking him back to the tavern for a while.”

A thrill rushed through me. My little Rose wasn’t so perfectly pure and innocent after all, as evidenced by the lie she’d just told to cover the real reason we were leaving the feast together. I could only assume it was because she knew that being alone with me was wrong, but she wanted to do it anyway. Some tiny, secret part of her was tempted by the thought of rebellion. Aching for the excitement of danger.

That’s my girl.

What a tantalizing tease. I could train her, corrupt her, and defile her, and she’d probably let me do it without much of a fight, because the pious need to obey mixed with the conflicting desire to rebel against her background seemed to make up the very essence of her being.

The heady craving for her stirred in me all over again, sending a rush of blood straight to my cock. Christ, I was already sick of waiting to have her. I wanted to have her right fucking now. Wanted to press my hands into her soft skin, gripping her so hard it left marks. Wanted to bite those plush pink lips as I kissed her, make her scream into my mouth. Wanted to fuck her virginal pussy so hard she wouldn’t be able to walk for a week.

But I had to be patient. Had to play the good guy until she came willingly. Otherwise, I risked losing everything.

The fox-faced woman looked at me, eyes flickering with interest. ““I’m the same when I drink, rushing off constantly,” she said. “But for now, I’m avoiding wine, just in case the fertility ritual worked.”

“I hope it did, Anaïs. You’ll be a wonderful mother,” Rose said softly, polite smile faltering ever so slightly.

The woman smiled back at her again, but I detected a hint of smug superiority in it this time. “Thank you,” she said in a saccharine tone. “You’re so kind.”

It was amazing what you could figure out from a simple facial expression or tone. Clearly, this Anaïs woman knew it must bother Rose to know that she could never marry or have children like she could, and she enjoyed lording it over her to compensate for her obvious jealousy over Rose’s higher status in the community.

She turned her attention back to me and offered her right hand. “I’m Anaïs, by the way. I heard you’ll be staying with us for a while.”

“Sebastian,” I said, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. How long will you be with us?”

“I’m not sure yet. I suppose we’ll see.”

“Hm. All right.” She tilted her head. “Well, I just wanted to introduce myself and say that it’s nice to have a guest. But I suppose I should let you go now. I don’t want to cause your bladder to explode.”

She sashayed away without waiting for a response. I resumed the walk with Rose, rubbing my jaw. “That was interesting.”

“Anaïs is very friendly,” Rose murmured.

“You think so?” My forehead crinkled. “She seemed a little full of herself to me.”

“Full of herself? What does that mean?”

“Smug. Self-important. Kind of bitchy, to be frank.”

Rose’s eyes widened, and she clapped a hand over her mouth to smother the peal of laughter that was suddenly spilling out.

“You agree, right?” I asked, cocking a brow.

“Of course not!” she said in an indignant tone, dropping her hand.

“C’mon. You laughed for a reason.” I paused and flashed her a wicked grin. “You can admit it. I’m not going to get you in trouble. And who would ever believe an outsider over you, anyway?”

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