Chapter 5

I remained motionless, my breath shallow, my fingers laced together in my lap as I knelt on the cold wooden floorboards.

Father Damian stood before me, his cassock draped over his broad shoulders. I kept my gaze fixed on the floor, but I could feel him, his heat, the way his breath. It’s like my body and mind had already recognised him.

His fingers twitched at his sides, as if resisting the urge to reach for me.

“Look at me, Alexis,” he commanded, his voice deep and ...