*Jay*
I sit in a chair near a window in an upstairs bedchamber so Eden… no, Esma… has better light by which to work, because we’ve closed up the windows downstairs. I can’t deny that her sister has the right of it. I can see heavy dark clouds rolling forward in the distance, dimming the sunlight. I try to focus on the weather but seem unable to concentrate on anything other than Esma’s slender fingers gently parting my hair. I feel foolish for allowing her to entice me into wanting her. The hell of it is that she doesn’t even need to try.
“This is likely to hurt,” she says softly.
“As you’re well aware, I’ve suffered worse. Just get on with it.”
As she works the needle through my flesh, I clench my jaw, but everything else remains as still as stone. Well, not quite everything. My heart
