Page 60 of Spark of Madness

She reaches up to touch the sleeves of her dress and nudges them down her shoulders. The ill-fitting gown slips too easily from her body, revealing the tempting silk chemise she wears beneath. I stifle a gasp at the sinful look of her nipples peeking through the thin fabric, at the truly indecent way one of the thin straps slips down her shoulder.

I should step away.

I should demand that she leave.

I should call upon my brothers to save me from this temptation, but instead, I inch closer.

“Tell me why. Is it because you think you’ll get what you want from me if I become a sinner like you?”

Her lips part as her eyes move around my face, searching for a place to land, the determination in her expression waning. “It’s because it feels so good to sin with you.” Her eyes finally land, fixing on my lips.

There’s no hint of deception or dishonesty in her words, nor in her expression. In fact, the honesty rings so true that it punches through my heart, delivering a lightning strike to the good and righteous part of me, forcing it into a shock that renders it temporarily useless. That moment of shock is all it takes for her demon claws to reach into my chest and sink into my heart, delivering a poison of lust straight from hell.

I clutch her face and I dip to kiss her, but then she speaks, halting me. “I want to endure Delle’s trials as her proxy.”

What?

I’m already gone, lost in sin, so I ignore her, pressing my lips to hers and forcing a kiss that she eventually succumbs to. A pleasure-fueled whimper vibrates through her as I push my tongue between her lips and taste her—taste every drop of sin from her soul.

We devour each other for moments before the need to taste her flesh consumes me, and I leave a trail of kisses across her cheek, along her jawline, to her neck.

“I mean it,” she whispers, her voice breathy and desperate as her body arches into mine. “She regrets the choice. I’ll endure my trials and hers if the Control will allow me.”

My hand trails down her body, moving from her shoulder over her chest, down the mound of her breast. Her hands touch my cheeks, and she lifts me away from her neck, pulling me into another shattering kiss. My palm squeezes her breast as her tongue dances with mine.

This is wrong.

This is sinful.

Yet it feels more divine than prayer, more righteous than atonement.

I let myself sink into the depravity. The weight of my desire for her is so heavy that there’s no sense in fighting it. Fighting it will only make me sink faster.

I comb my fingers through her starlight tresses. When they catch on a tangle, I wrap my fist around the length and jerk sharply to the side. She whimpers but lets me pull, exposing the bare expanse of her ivory neck. I lick from nape to ear, tasting her fully and filling up on her sin.

“Will you help me, Arlo?” she pleads softly as her hands brush down my neck, my chest, fingers grazing the lines of my stomach until they hit my belt.

My hips rock forward against her touch. “Help you?” I pant against her neck. “How?”

“Convince them to let me do each trial twice. Once for myself, and once for Delle.”

I stiffen at her words, confusion overtaking me. I lift my head to look at her. “What are you saying?”

“I want to win her a domestic life.” She tugs at my belt. “I’m damned, we both know that. I want to sacrifice for her. If I complete all my trials, and hers, would the Control consider giving her a domestic life for my sacrifice?”

I release her all at once and take a step back. “You aren’t making any sense.”

Her chest heaves with heavy panting, and I can hardly breathe, watching the swell of her breasts lifting and lowering.

“One of the ultimate acts of service is sacrifice, isn’t it?”

“It is...” I run a hand over my scruffy beard as my brow furrows, still trying to understand her through the pounding of my heart.

She pushes off the wall and steps toward me. “The Trials of Dissension are meant for the participant to perform grand acts of service. Sacrifice is a pinnacle act of service. I want to make a sacrifice to prove myself, and in honor of my sacrifice, I want the Control to spare Delle the fate she chose impulsively.”

Her fingers toy with my belt buckle, and I drop my chin to watch her hands as they work.

“She made a mistake one time,” Mercy continues. “She’s not like me, and I think you all know that.” She looks up at me and I meet her eyes. She unbuckles my belt as she speaks, holding my gaze. “I’m a rebel…always have been. My thoughts are blasphemous, and my actions are sinful. I understand why I have to participate in the trials, but Delle is different.” She unbuttons my pants. “She’s just a child who made a mistake…a misguided child who can find her way back to God.” She tugs down the zipper and slips her hand inside before I can protest, wrapping her small hand around my cock and making me gasp. “I’ve always been a sinner, Arlo. Let me suffer twice and spare her. Let me suffer twice and give her a peaceful life.”

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