Page 86 of Pieces of Ash
I swallow again, my cheeks burning with shame and embarrassment and fear. “He intends to marry me. To have…children by me. He wants a lot of children…I mean…”
“He wants to…tobreedyou?”
My breath catches at the disgusted tone in his voice, and I wonder if I should pull my hand away, but before I can, he demands, “Is that whatyouwant?”
“No!” I cry. “Never! Not at all! That’s why I ran away! Why I came here!”
His fingers squeeze mine, and I squeeze his back, feeling unaccountably relieved.
“Did he…try to force you?” he asks me, his voice so sharp and menacing, it’s walking the edge of deadly.
“No,” I say. “I think he was going to, but I vomited on him.”
“Ha!” He laughs, but it’s not an amused sound, more just surprised.
“I couldn’t help it. He was making me so nervous, t-touching my thigh…and I was so, um, upset, I don’t know. I couldn’t help it. I threw up on him. The next day, he sent me back to school. He said I could graduate, and we’d get married right after.”
“Does he think you’re there now? At school?”
“Yes.” I tell him the plan. “Father Joseph is going to call him and talk to him this week. Mosier doesn’t know that Tig was my mother. Father Joseph believes that once Mosier knows, he won’t want me like that. It’s a mortal sin to marry your wife’s daughter. It’s incest.”
Julian scoffs. “Somehow your stepfather doesn’t sound like the type of guy who cares about his mortal soul.”
“He values religion. He cares about piety.”
“For himself? Or everyone else.”
Good point. “Everyone else.”
“And let me guess,” says Julian. “Especially you.”
“Yes.”
“He married your mother for you. For her little sister.”
“Yes.”
“And how old were you? When they got married?”
“Thirteen.”
“Sick fuck,” he mutters. His breathing is choppy and agitated. Then he growls, “I’ll kill him.”
I turn my back to the pond, facing my would-be protector.
“No, Julian.”
His eyes are wild when he looks down into mine. “Yes.”
Slowly I shake my head. “No. That’s not the way.”
“Then what?” he whispers. As he scans my face, he draws our bound hands to his mouth, pressing his lips to the back of mine.
I step closer to him, grinning at his lips against my skin. “You said you’d wait for my permission.”
“Then give it to me,” he murmurs, his breath hot on my hand.
“Kiss me,” I say, stepping closer and leaning my head back to offer my lips to him.
