Page 110 of Sands of Atonement

If I were a gentleman, I would have taken her to the stairs, but I was not.

Instead, I wanted her entire body around me. I wanted to claim her until she shattered, trembling beneath me. I suppressed it and stupidly allowed myself to be so close to her. Just close enough, but not enough to break my discipline.

I shook the thoughts from my head again, and I walked over to my brother. I should stay far away from Eshe tonight.

“Casimir,” I nodded in greeting.

Casimir lifted his eyes, which were big, sparkling saucers, and he had the largest smile on his face. “My brother! Welcome.” He lifted the long, thick pipe my way.

I gave him a death stare.

He always did this, thinking I’d change back to my old ways. Not a chance.

I had the self-control of a rock during a thunderstorm. Nothing could make a dent in my walls.

Yven was sitting on his lap with a flush on her cheeks. Casimir’s hand was around her hips, lazily brushing against them. A flash of memory went back to my hands on Eshe’s bare hips, sliding over them, feeling her entire ass in my hands, slowly pressing into her skin.

Suppress, suppress.

“No fun.” Casimir winked at me.

“No regrets.” I gave him a flat smile.

“Life’s not all about control, Ezra. Sometimes it’s nice to just live life and relax a little, don’t you agree?”

“No. I’ll relax with God when I die. You? I’m not so sure.”

Casimir dropped his head back and gave a full belly laugh. I wanted right then to have Eshe hear this. At least someone understood my sense of humor. “Harsh. I like to think God puts the finer things in my life so I can enjoy them, no?”

I smiled and shook my head. Backward thinking.

“I think we believe in two very different gods, Casimir.”

“Thank God!”

We laughed in unison, though we weren’t being entirely serious. Most of our religious talks ended like this.

“Remember when we smoked some of that Silver Snake, and we couldn’t shake it off for two days?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, wanting to forget all those memories.

“You smoked a Silver Snake?” Norrah gasped, stepping into the conversation. It was nice to see her finally open herself up. When I first met her, she was shaking from head to toe and could barely form a proper sentence.

“Not literally, but the poison—yes. After we burned the venom out,” Casimir rumbled another laugh, and I with him.

We were idiots.

“What happened?” Yven asked.

“We couldn’t stay out of our harems for two days,” Casimir deadpanned. “That’s what happened.”

Norrah turned red with wide eyes.

Suddenly, I felt a little too warm. I tried not to think of cringeworthy moments, but Casimir liked to remind me often of how I used to be.

He missed that part of me. I knew he did.

“We brought a Silver Snake with us.”