25
Briella
I STILL HAVE PLANS TO SET IN ORDER. I’LL START WITH RORY.
Citizen Soldier Playlist
“I’m Not Okay”
“Who I Am”
Ifollow Raphael to the guest bedroom with Jude trailing behind.
The room is pretty bare, apart from the bed, the stand-up mirror in the corner of the room, and the hope chest at the foot of the bed.
Jude swallows hard when Raphael opens the chest. I purse my lips, wondering what the significance is. Holding the sheets tighter to myself, I watch Raphael as he shifts aside a handmade quilt, some old books, and a music box to unveil white fabric.
Then, he shakes it out.
I gasp, covering my mouth with my hand, gushing over the dress.
“It’s beautiful,” I remark on the vintage white sundress with a pretty rose floral print, tiny roses. Short, capped sleeves with a little puff to them. Wherever did it come from?
“Strip,” Raphael orders. “Try it on.”
He stands back, tilting his head, eyes zeroed in on me.
Jude smiles at how I hesitate. Not because I don’t want to obey. My cheeks flush at the idea of being naked before them. Inthe daytime. Pissing naked in the bed was a victory. They were all focused more on what I was doing than what I looked like.
This is vulnerability. And I must find a way to deal with it. Still, I can’t believe how I can still feel shy after the Initiation.
One narrowing of Raphael’s eyes, and I drop the sheet until it slides off my body to a pool of fabric at my feet.
The bulge in Jude’s pants doesn’t escape my notice. My clit is still tingling from him giving me five orgasms in a row. He came twice. How can he possibly be hard?
“Fuck, Babydoll.” Jude’s hungry gaze rakes over me. Raphael’s prowls.
It feels different than the shower. Even the water seemed like a buffer. And it was only Jude. I know I have bigger tits than the average girl. I’m not a stick in any sense of the word. Not really slender either. I’m in that happy medium between slender and curvy. But leaning more toward curvy with my plumper ass and round hips.
Jude approaches me, and I hold my breath as his form towers over me. Raphael trains a keen eye on him, but Jude cups the side of my face, thumbing my cheek. “How do you feel?”
I knit my brows, confused until I register his question is more clinical. Though he re-wrapped my wounds in the bathroom, I love how he’s still checking on me. Ugh, between those cheekbones and Raphael’s eyes, I’m on the verge of melting.
Jude stations his hands just below my breasts, his fingers brushing their undersides. But he’s more concerned with the bandages he applied around my torso. Others stick to my back with plastic wrap over them if I want to take a shower or bath later.
“Goddess, you’re a sight,” Jude murmurs in his deep baritone. “Pure fantasy. Feast for the eyes.”
“Jude,” Raphael’s voice sharpens before he extends the hand clutching the dress to me. Jude steps back, his eyes not leaving my body.
I rush to put it on, smiling because it fits. A little snug at my hips and bottom, but it has a pretty flare at the midriff line. I wander to the mirror to look at myself. The cut is much lower than I thought it would be. A V-neckline that would cover a less endowed girl. But the empire waist cinches nicely. I love the puffy cap sleeves.
“Very lovely,” Jude compliments me. “I may have a little addition.” He retrieves something from his pocket, and I practically beam at him as he fastens the pearl necklace around my throat. I touch my fingertips to them. They’re tiny…like white seeds and genuine if I had to guess. Again, I can’t help but wonder where they came from.
But I’m more curious about the dress. I know I shouldn’t, but I turn to Raphael and wonder, “Where did you?—”
“No questions,” he interrupts, shoulders visibly tensing. I lower my chin, nodding, which seems to help.
But I’m not about to let it go so easily. Just like they’re not about to let me go. But I have seventeen plants at home that depend on me. The more I get to know about thesegods, the more I can find a weakness.
