Page 216 of Those Who Are Bound

Jonah admitted, “I’ve never called her that.”

“Well, I can’t call her by my own name. Although they named her Elliott, she went by Ellie growing up; only switched to Elliott in college.”

“Uncomfortable yelling your own name when you’re fucking her? Kinda thought you’d get off on that.”

Becks choked on his beer. “Shit, getting right to the point, aren’t you?”

“Isn’t that why I’m here? You said this is about her. So, tell me why you thought it was okay to have sex with your much younger… I’d say goddaughter, but her family wasn’t religious, so no formalization of the title.”

“Ididn’tthink it was okay. At the time, I justified it… Let’s back up a second. Did she tell you how it started?” Becks asked curiously.

“Does it matter?”

“I think it does.”

Jonah shifted in his seat, looking out over the other businesses. Then he shook his head. “No. She only said she seduced you.”

Becks nodded. “That happened, yeah. She tied herself to my bed, spread-eagle.”

Jonah just watched him.

“She has a… fascination with rope.”

Jonah scoffed. “So do I; I’m a climber. But, sexually… that’s just a preference. At most, a kink. Who cares? There’s an entire practice called Shibari, but you’re acting like it’s… unique. Taboo.”

“You’re referring to a culture that prides itself on itsrules. The woman she was wouldn’t adhere to that; their tenants. But no, this isn’t just a kink. The kink community would toss her ass right out because they’re strict about consent. That’s not the community she would have been embraced by, unfortunately. She was destructive… compelled. There was a narcissism about her then, a need to push men beyond their limits. And she did.”

Jonah glanced away; Becks could tell he either wasn’t listening or was too pissed to hear the words. “You aren’t telling me anything other than she likes to have sex with ropes, which isn’t unusual. I don’t know what the drama is about.” He reached for his beer. “She told me herself she had a complicated history with ropes. If someone shamed her about it, then fuck them.”

“No one shamed her.” Becks paused. “Well, no one who’s still around, butshetells you about Gage. I’m not telling you about that.” He received a hard glance as though to warn that he was already well past the level of propriety.

“I’m not wholly comfortable having this conversation with you about her.”

“I get it. Look at this as my confession. You’re a pastor, right? You hear people confess?”

Jonah shook his head. “I counsel. I’m not a priest.”

“But somewhere in there, you listen to people’s shit. Pretend you’re extending that courtesy to me.”

He looked away again, not buying it, but not making any more noise.

Becks persisted, “Normally, I wouldn’t give a fuck about you. I told you that. But,normally, neither would she. So that brings me back to my original question: what drew you to her? Why do you care about her?”

There was a softening of the other man’s expression. It thrilled Becks to see the genuine, involuntary reaction.

Jonah let out a small laugh. “She looked like she could kick my ass. Come to find out, she can. But there’s a vulnerable side to her, too.” He stroked his closely cropped beard. “She recycles. She’s adventurous. She’s passionate. She’s funny. Anything else isn’t any of your business.”

Becks nodded; he didn’t need to know anything else. The man was as in love with her as she was with him. Knuckleheads. Well, honestly, only one knucklehead, and that was Ellie; looked like Jonah had been persisting all along.

“You need to make a decision, Pastor.” He received a glare at the use of the title. “Because she’s never going to be a parishioner. And she’s never going to bend to your god.”

“I don’t need that from her.”

Becks nodded. “Well, let me tell you what she needs from you. What she never could—or would—get from me. I might have created her, but I’m not stronger than her. I could only keep up.”

Jonah frowned. “Created her?”

“In a sense.” Becks shifted. “Ellie’s life has been on a razor’s edge since before she was born. Her mother was in a car accident when she was pregnant with her. It’s how I came into the lives of the Rorks.”

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