"That's it?"
"For now."
There it is. The catch. The inevitable hook buried in the bait.
"For now," I repeat flatly. "And later?"
"Later, when you trust me, when you understand what your body can do, I'll show you more. But Eden—" He leans forward, elbows on his knees, his intensity focused entirely on me. "Every step will be your choice. Every touch. Every moment. You'll ask for it. I won't take anything you don't offer."
"I'll never ask."
"We'll see about that."
God, I hate that phrase.
Hate the certainty in his voice.
Hate that some small part of me wonders if he's right.
We sit in silence for a moment.
Him in the chair by the window, casual and controlled.
Me on the bed, wrapped in silk armor that isn't armor at all.
The unopened box on the dresser between us like a challenge neither of us is willing to back down from.
"Have you ever been touched?" he asks suddenly.
My face burns hot enough that I'm sure he can see it even in the dim lamplight. "That's none of your business."
"You're a virgin. That much I know from your file. But have you ever been kissed? Held? Had someone touch you with affection or desire? Anything?"
"No." The word comes out harder than I intend. "Nothing. At the Sanctuary, physical contact between unmarried men and women was forbidden. The only time I was supposed to be touched was by my husband. On our wedding night. When I became his property."
"And you were going to marry Elder Jacob."
I flinch at the name. "Yes."
"A sixty-four-year-old man with three other wives who already looked at you like you were something he owned."
"The elders said it was an honor," I say, the words tasting like ash. "That he chose me specifically out of all the young women in the Sanctuary. That I should be grateful."
"And you ran."
"Two weeks before the wedding. I couldn't—" My voice breaks and I have to stop, have to breathe, have to push down the memory of Elder Jacob's hand on my shoulder during service, the way he'd smile at me like he was already imagining our wedding night. "I couldn't do it. Couldn't let him touch me. Couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life being one of his wives, having his children, pretending to be grateful for the honor."
I stop.
I can't finish.
Can't put into words the terror that drove me to steal money from the community fund and run into the night with nothing but a backpack and desperate hope.
Vaughn is watching me with an expression I can't read.
Something intense.
Almost angry, but not at me.
