Page 111 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

So he knows I am the stronger of the two.

“I’ll be as gentle as I can,” I tell him. Though considering his deceit, I don’t knowhowgentle I can be.

“Lucky me,” he mutters under his breath.

We arrive at the barn and manage to sneak inside without anyone seeing us. The place is empty and quite large. It will be the perfect location to finally put this—whatever there is between us—to rest.

The wooden door creaks as it closes behind us and I take a few steps forward, assessing the angles of the barn and committing them to mind.

“All right, now—” I start, ready to set the rules.

But as I turn to face him, my mouth drops open in shock.

His coat is already on the floor and he’s now aggressively pulling at his shirt, all but ripping the buttons in his attempt to get it off.

“W-what are you doing?” I ask.

“What do you think I’m doing?” he counters, the same twitch in his jaw as before. His muscles cord and ripple with everymovement, his veins more prominent than before. Given his tense state, I can see them on his torso too. Running up his chest and neck and…

“You don’t need to take your clothes off for it,” I add weakly.

He glares at me.

“Is that how you’ve done it in the past? Clothed?” He pulls the white shirt off and throws it to the side.

“O-of course,” I mutter, taking a step back.

How are the roles reversed now andIam the one tense and afraid?

My eyes widen even more when he reaches for his belt. He undoes it, then pulls down the zipper of his pants and…

“Vitry!” I call out, incensed. “What the hell are you doing?”

“What you wanted me to do,” he replies through gritted teeth.

Pulling on the belt, he almost rips through the loops. He’s so angry, it’s like he’s an entirely different person.

He pulls his pants down and aggressively pushes them to the side with his feet. He’s now bare-chested and wearing only his briefs.

My breathing constricts, and I feel myself getting lightheaded.

“Your turn.” He motions to me.

“M-me?”

“Yes, you. Clothes off, Minerva,” he commands. It’s the first time he’s used my full name, and I’m not sure I like it. There’s so much aggression rolling off him, it’s as ifIdid something wrong, not him.

“I will only take my coat off,” I tell him and shrug it off. But unlike him, I place it carefully to the side.

He shrugs. “Suit yourself.”

Striding toward me, it takes me a moment to realize thatitis happening.

We’re doing this.

I take a deep breath and count the seconds until he’s close enough.

“After this, you will tell me the name of every single male that?—”

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