Page 35 of Forgive Me For I Have Sinned

I don't want to admit I secretly objected but was too hung up about what she did that night at the initiation party. The last person I wanted touching her was that snake Dorian Black, but I kept telling myself she deserves him, but avoided admitting it to myself how I feel about her. I always blamed it on a lustful attraction because Veronica is gorgeous.

“Something you had in the palm of your hand like a gift but then you let it go like a dog, an owner doesn’t want, so they put the bitch in the car and drive it to a farm or secluded area to let it out so they could drive off, never once looking in the rearview mirror so their conscience is clean. But to someone else, it seems God answered their prayers." My grandfather slides one hand into the pocket of his pants with ease. "She's not your problem, Alaric. No one cares about that girl." He pierces me with his gaze. "Especially you."

* * *

"Is that all you need, Mr. Riordan?" the librarian asks with her wired spectacles resting on her chest.

She looks like she belongs in a haunted library. Her skin is ghastly white and wrinkled, and she looks like she is a breath away from dying.

I flip the leather-bound hardcover book and respond, "That is all."

The last time I was in the library was to fuck in the back by the encyclopedia section. This is the last place I expected to spend my Friday afternoon when I should be going over my financials, but it would have to wait because Veronica is due in my office Monday morning.

It was a dick move to make sure she completed her internship at my office. I was able to override Dorian's request because she doesn't belong to him yet. Some things don't add up when it comes to her. Her eyes continue to haunt me from the minute I felt her in my arms. Her lips are a sweet poison. One look in the cloudy depths of her eyes hypnotized me after tasting her lips, loving the smell of her breath. The memory of the way her lips tasted stayed with me. It hurt to think I was being used because of my name by the man that sent her.

The history of the Order adopted certain rules in the book of Deuteronomy and in the Bible under Exodus. It reads members of the Order adopted beliefs that God could live among the people by cleansing sin and guilt when sin occurs. In Exodus 21, a man can call his daughter to slavery to serve men. I scroll down and find polygamy is allowed, and it's true, Dravin and Draven with Gia. It is all here. The rules in alliances with partners and how sex is allowed between partners.

I scroll down until I reach the term sex slaves, and I feel my blood turn cold when I read the first line.

A man can sell his daughter to another member of the Order if certain obligations are met. Once she is used when given by the hands of God. She is to be beautiful and questioned if she was born out of evil to corrupt. The law of Moses can be adopted when the woman is a virgin, but first must perform a type of ritual for purification for a life as a concubine. After her first taste of flesh, she is purified, and from then on, to serve. Purification is the pain given from the sins committed.

A man can have multiple wives if his brother dies. It also states he can impregnate a slave with no lineage (Prey).

The Prey is marked after the ritual so that there is no question about what she represents among the members. She must perform and be purified from sins committed by the flesh infinitely. She is to serve.

The man she belongs to can marry her or keep her as his concubine and do with her as he wishes until he tires of her and can set her free. If the Prey chooses a master and he has no desire for her and she is set free until she is selected by another, but this must occur before her graduation. Concubines under the rule of the Order are considered Prey and property of their master. She is to serve and obey and provide an heir. Her true master is the first one she serves with children in the eyes of the Order to be deemed abolished for her past sins. She is to serve her true master until her death. If a concubine does not fulfill her duty, she is ordered the penalty of death or sacrifice to eternal damnation, feeding the craving of flesh from man to ward off lust from the legion.

I shut the book and slide my fingers in my hair, pulling at the top in frustration. What. The. Fuck. That is what my grandfather was trying to tell me. Veronica is Prey. She chose me that night but I didn't know. And I set her free. I close my eyes. The word, whore, flashes in my mind. I called her a whore. The book talks about a mark, but there isn't a mark on her. I've never seen it.

My grandfather's words replay in my mind. "No one cares about her. Especially you. He won something." He won because no one gave a shit about her. She was acting like they wanted her too. Veronica would have never chosen Dorian that night because she chose me and he wanted her. He played you. He knew what she was.

Her feelings for me were genuine, and I…let her go. I––

There was no way I knew the truth.

In her eyes, I'm like everyone else in her world.

In her eyes, I'm one of them.

She couldn't be more wrong.

But I am an absolute master in the realms of greed and disgust. Beyond measure. Dorian Black wants to play a dangerous game. I going to give him a war.

CHAPTER 14

Veronica

My Docs thud on the marble floor of Riodrick-Riordan Holding and Capital Investments’ top floor. I ignore the glances at my attire as I walk through the lobby and am shown to the executive offices after giving my name at the front desk. The short skirt, pantyhose, and long-sleeve fitted shirt are what I had, and I wasn't going to waste three weeks of pay on a pantsuit that I would only need for a week.

When I approach the double doors, I reach a desk with a gold nameplate that reads Sasha Barnes. Her smile when she sees me standing in front of her desk is lethal and scrutinizing as her eyes trail the length of me like I'm an insect she wants to swat away.

I give no judgment where it isn't given, but my intuition was right the first time I saw her. She still sees me as a threat, even though he treated me like I was a blood stain on his shirt. I'm not the only one she should be worried about. He isn't tamed. He runs out and picks his prey as he so chooses.

"You must be Veronica. Now that I can place a name to the face. I'll have you know that your attire is not appropriate."

I lean on her desk and tilt my head, letting the platinum locks from my wig brush the surface of her black desk. "Oh, Sasha. You should be rejoicing. You look so sophisticated and older. You can't possibly give a shit what I'm wearing." She's wearing a black skirt suit with sky-high heels, and judging from the red soles, they are Louboutin's. They are gorgeous, but the way she carries herself with her insecurities on her sleeve, they can easily pass for Steve Madden knockoffs. Her blazer is flat, desperately needing a push-up bra.

"I'm afraid it's not the standard here; this is not a college frat party."

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