Eve returned at dusk.
She wore the dress they'd specified — white, virginal, thin cotton that did nothing to hide the absence of what she'd been commanded to leave behind.
No underwear. No bra. Just bare skin and anticipation and the slick evidence of her arousal coating her inner thighs before she even crossed their threshold.
Brother Thomas met her at the door, his collar tight against his throat, his eyes dark with knowledge. "Kneel," he commanded, before she'd even entered fully. "Remove your shoes. Remove everything. Present yourself for purification."
Eve obeyed, her fingers trembling as she stripped in the hallway — dress pooling at her feet, shoes kicked aside, until she stood naked in the amber light of the setting sun. Thomas circled her, his gaze raking, assessing, his hand
