Page 56 of Ceremony of Lust

Yael

It seemsZev has been only gone a few minutes when the elevator dings and the doors slide open.

“Did you forget something?” I call out before I see who gets out.

It’s not my husband.

“Chief Elder Huxley,” I breathe out. “How did you get up here?”

“I own the fucking building,” he spits. “I just give you and your husband the courtesy of announcing my presence first. But I’m done playing games, Yael.”

I shake my head, confused. “I don’t understand.”

He advances with a sinister smile plastered on his face. “You’re a troublemaker, just like Aviva. You think you can do whatever you want, just like she did. There are consequences for not following the laws of this community.”

“I have been,” I insist, even though I’m confused by his mention of my mother. There is so much about her life I don’t know and even though I want the Chief Elder to elaborate, I also want him out of my home. “I’ve done everything you asked of me.”

“No, you haven’t. You haven’t done the one thing we ask of all women in Ripley. If I hadn’t seen the proof for myself, I would think you and Zev haven’t even consummated your marriage.”

“Proof?”

His laugh is as sinister as his smile as he comes even closer, trapping me against a wall. “Your husband did his duty and sent us evidence of your lost virginity. Blood on the sheets.”

My stomach churns, and bile rises in my throat from this disgusting invasion of our privacy.

Anders reaches out and presses his hand over my stomach and lowers it slowly until it rests just under my belly button. “You have two choices, Yael. Come to the Temple with me now and Hadassah will perform the Fertility Ritual. Or I can perform the ritual right here, right now.”

He closes the distance between us, pushing his body against mine, and I feel his hardness. My eyes widen with realization. No one needs to explain the fertility ritual to me.

His fingers grasp the hemline of my dress and slowly lift it. Silently, I curse myself for the shortness of the garment. His hand brushes against the center of my body as he leans forward, his hot breath against my ear. “Make a decision, Yael,” he whispers. His tongue licks my earlobe, and I have to swallow down my sickness. “I’m not a patient man.”

Everything about me—my body and my voice—seem paralyzed with fear. I can’t speak or push him away, but inside, I’m screaming with rage. I cannot let this happen.

Defend yourself, I silently plead.Do something. Say something.

His fingers press against me, and my eyes squeeze shut. This cannot be happening, yet it is because I’m immobilized with fear. Every lick of his breath against my neck makes me cringe and shiver.

“Hadassah was supposed to pick me,” he hisses in my ear as his hand moves between my legs. “She told me the Universe showed her an older man and assumed it was me. I was going to be blessed with a second wife. You should have been mine.”

“But she’s mine.”

The sound of Zev’s voice surprises us both. Anders lets go of me and turns, giving me a way to escape. My body doesn’t hesitate this time, and I scramble away.

I spin and catch sight of Zev grabbing Anders by the shirt, his fist cocked back. “Stay away from us,” my husband growls, right before he connects with the Chief Elder’s jaw.

The blow knocks Anders’s head back, but it quickly snaps back. He laughs at Zev as blood streams down his face from his nose. “You’re going to regret that.”

Zev lands another blow to Anders’s gut. “I regret a lot of things, but beating the shit out of you won’t be one of them.” Anders doubles over, falling to his knees as he gasps for air. Zev reaches out and grabs a handful of hair, lifting Anders’s face. “Don’t you ever fucking touch my wife again.”

“Your luck has run out, Wolf. Your secret will be exposed to everyone.”

“Go ahead. I’ve been keeping secrets of my own. You tell mine, and I’ll gladly tell yours.”

Anders jerks away and stumbles to his feet. “You can’t leave this town. You know you can’t. I own you.”

Zev shakes his head. His hands flex open and closed at his sides as his jaw tightens. “Not anymore. We’re done. Yael and I are leaving Ripley, and you can’t stop us.”

The smile on Ander’s face is menacing as he wipes at the blood still trickling from his nose. “We’re not done here.” He stumbles toward the elevator, presses the call button, and when the doors slide open, steps inside. “You can leave Ripley, but you’ll never escape its hold on you.”