Page 8 of Ashes of Sin and Stardust

Yep. I was the Regional Director’s Executive Assistant fired from the CIA... over some paper clips.

It wasn’treallyabout the paper clips. I knew that. It was about reallocating my salary into my boss’s bonus. But it wasn’t like I could prove that. I was interviewing for a bartender’s job when Alex found me with her weird super-powers, convinced me to leave DC and move home with her to North Carolina, and live in their compound for free so I could get back on my feet.

She called it a church, but the way she described it, it was more like a gang. A community service oriented, Jesus-loving gang made up of college students, abandoned children, and homeschoolers.

Sounded like an adventure, and I’d already lost my apartment and was living out of my car, so I didn’t have much of a choice.

As I walked in, I was struck by how gorgeous and big the place was. High ceilings, beautiful woodwork in the molding, and carved columns gave it an elegant rustic feel. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in the golden afternoon light and made the place look like a castle. The lobby still resembled a hotel lobby from its first life, but the vibe worked.

“Alex, this is gorgeous.”

“I know.”

“And your boyfriend’s family did the work?”

Before Alex could answer, the boyfriend in question approached. I recognized him right away from her file. And yes, I had read it, cover to cover. She needed me to, so she could read my mind and find out what they were hiding from her. Long story.

“You must be Jake! Wow, nice to meet you.” His photos didn’t do him justice. He was a gorgeous man. Over six feet tall, broad, muscular, dark skin and warm brown eyes. His teeth flashed in a wide happy smile, and we shook hands.

“Welcome to Mountain Valley Baptist Church, Alice. Everyone is excited to meet you.”

I looked back at Alex. She was studying her fingernails. “Oh no. What did you tell them?” I asked. She ignored me.

I rolled my eyes and looked back at Jake. “Russians.”

He snickered. “Just you wait until you have to live with her. C’mon, you need to meet Sophie.”

Sophie turned out tobe super cool, and I very quickly decided she would be my new best friend. She had on a cute pink dress with a lace trim at the bottom, Mary-jane style heels, and a sparkly necklace around her neck that looked oddly similar to a collar. We hit it off immediately and she gave me a tour of the clubhouse and introduced me to everyone. Afterwards, we chatted while I set up my room. She helped me hang up my dresses and put away my shoes while I organized the menial random things that had been in my car when I went on the run.

“So, Alex said you were wrongfully fired from the CIA?” she asked me. “Oh my gosh, this dress is adorable.”

“Amazon, girl. Thirty bucks. Yeah, I put some materials in the shred box and forgot to pull the paper clips off them, and it jammed the shredder. But I know it was a money thing.”

I was about to tell her about the apartment situation, but the sound from my closet had stopped. I looked over at her and waited anxiously.

Sophie was holding up a tight leather mini-dress with a deep v-cut down the back, staring at it with big eyes. “Wow,” she whispered. “This is beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I said, not sure what to expect as far as her reaction. I lost most of my kink gear last month due to a circumstance I only referred to asthe situation. I wasn’t ready to let my mind go there yet. Last month when everything went down, I had jumped in my car and left, only taking the things that were already in the trunk and the back seat, not bothering to pack anything.I’d forgotten about the trash bag of kink clothing that I’d shoved under the seat.

Shoot. They’re a church. This could get me in trouble.

But the wide-eyed look on Sophie’s face told me I was with a co-conspirator. She bit her lip and hung it up gently.

“Do you... want to see the others?” I asked. She looked at me with a timid smile and nodded.

I grinned and locked the door. “Okay. I have quite a collection. See, I know this girl who does leatherwork...”

I spent the next hour showing her my skirts, dresses, and the few harnesses I had left. We swapped stories, kinks, and fantasies. And lo-and-behold, I found out Sophie was actually one of the uber-popular BDSM writers whose work I’d read, and wrote under the pen name S. L. Baker.

She introduced me to her fiancé, Mark, and I smoked a joint with the two of them on the balcony like we were long-time best friends. Sophie asked if I wanted to do a movie night with her and Cat.

“We are going to watch The Emperor’s New Groove,” she said shyly.

“Oh my gosh that’s my favorite!”

“Dude, calm down,” Mark laughed. “It’s almost midnight. We have a noise curfew.”

I whisper-yelled back to them, “I can’t calm down, I just found kinky friends who I don’t have to hide from!” I was over the moon ecstatic.

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