Page 4 of Our Sins in Silver (Coven of Sin 3)

My brow contorted with annoyance, but she grabbed my hand, and my features smoothed out along with the stroke of her soft fingers over my knuckles. “Don’t be angry with him. I made him tell me. I told him I’d see to your wounds.”

When she held up my wounded hand to examine it in the light, my chest loosened as I realized she’d come to heal me. Nothing else.

“Do not fret, for those who share in the sufferings of Christ can be saved,” I said with a bitter smirk.

Her eyes narrowed as I recited Brother Peter’s words. “You don’t believe that. You don’t believe anyone should be made to suffer. It’s why you were beaten in the first place.”

Expelling a sigh, I pressed my mouth into a faint smile. “I wasn’t beaten, Catherine. I simply paid for my sins.”

She bristled at my explanation, and her brow contorted with anger. “What sins? You did nothing wrong.”

“I did in the eyes of our abbot, I’m afraid. Now, leave. Please. You’ll be punished if you’re seen here.”

Something I couldn’t discern flashed across the nun’s fair features. Then I recognized it.Defiance. Ignoring my protests, she took up the hem of her skirt and ripped a strip of cloth free. She rose to her feet, then lifted a bottle of wine she must have brought with her that sat beside her candleholder on my nightstand.

Lowering herself to the floor in a kneeling position once again, she doused my hand with alcohol. I hissed at the sting, but the pain was dwarfed by my surprise that Catherine was showing such gumption. The nun did nothing without permission, especially inviting herself into a man’s room in the middle of the night.

The moment she’d finished bandaging my hand, I opened my mouth to dismiss her. This time, though, the words wouldn’t come. The tears in her eyes held me captive.

“You must take better care of these wounds and future injuries, Brother Godfrey. You’ll take ill if you don’t. Abbot Lockheart doesn’t appreciate you. He may be fine if your fingers fall off, but I certainly won’t be.”

My expression softened. “How many times have I told you, Catherine? You need not call me Godfrey. You may use my first name.”

Her lashes fluttered, and her cheeks heated. “Oh, I couldn’t. Any man important enough to have a surname should be addressed as such.”

The nun had come to me in the middle of the night, dressed in hardly anything at all, yet she still insisted on such formalities. I ran my bandaged hand over my hair. “You should go.” I tried to stand, but she pushed me back into the bed.

“You need tending to, Brother.”

She climbed onto the bed with me, lifting her skirts as she moved to straddle my pelvis. A large portion of her milky thigh flashed in the moonlight that poured in through my window.

“Catherine!” I took her by the waist to push her off, but we both froze when she gasped at my touch. The unfamiliar feminine sound caused heat to coil in my groin. As we gaped at one another, my shock slowly twisted into something strange. Something hot and simmering.

I gritted my teeth. Even though I was a scribe who’d dedicated most of my life to scripture, I hardly ever recited it. But now, I said a silent prayer.

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Even as I repeated the words in my head a second time, I couldn’t look away from the woman who clung to me as if I were the oxygen in her lungs.

She was so slight that she barely weighed anything. Even in my weakened state, I could have easily carried her out of the room myself, forcing her to leave. But my loneliness, paired with my curiosity, was posing a formidable opponent against my will.

“It’s not right,” she whimpered, her voice so delicate as she spoke. Large tears whelmed in her eyes. “It’s not right that you were punished for opposing Brother Peter. He was the beast responsible for…” Her voice shook. “For us having to hurt ourselves. He should be locked up, not you. It’s absurd.”

“I appreciate your kindness, Catherine. But I am not as good as you may think,” I said, my words coming out hoarse.

“We are all sinners in the eyes of the Lord, Brother. I–I have thoughts. Sinful thoughts. But in your eyes, that doesn’t make me wicked, does it?”

I swallowed thickly, shaking my head. “No.”

She donned a tearful smile. “Exactly. That sets you apart from the other men, Brother Godfrey.” Her voice came out so thin that it was as if a gentle breeze would steal it. Then she let her gown slip from her shoulders, allowing it to pool around her waist where I held her.

She was a visage of purity. Her curves were like nothing I’d ever seen before. Her flesh was of the palest hue, like marble, flawless and unmarked by the cruelties of the outside world. With her profile kissed in candlelight, and her front bathed in moonlight, I wasn’t sure if she was a gift from Heaven for my piety or the devil in disguise, sent to derail me from the path of righteousness.

I tried to push her away, but she pushed back. She flung herself into my arms and planted a tearful kiss to my lips. The globes of her breasts pressed into me, and she moaned into my mouth when her nipples scraped against the rough material of my tunic.

God forgive me for waiting a few moments before plucking her mouth from mine. “Catherine, we can’t.”

She sniffled, her thick tears rolling down her cheeks. “I know we’ve sworn ourselves to the Lord, but you are truly my gift from God, Brother. How could it be a sin to be close to someone so devout and steadfast in his faith? Kiss me. Please, please, kiss me.”

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