He turned her again, and she lost sight of Sarah. “Of course, when it comes to homosexuality and other issues. We just have a different definition of adultery.”
“What’s your definition?”
“Adultery is making love to a woman without the consent of God.”
“Isn’t marriage how you get that consent?”
“Not necessarily. It requires honest prayer and petition and a responsible plan for any children that might be created as a result.”
“Doesn’t the commune take care of that?”
“As a matter of fact, it does.”
“So wouldn’t a man be likely to get whatever answer he wanted to his prayer?”
“The woman also prays. It has to be agreed by both.”
“I see.”
“The prophets of old had many wives and concubines,” he said.
“You’re making a case for polygamy?”
“Not polygamy as you might know it.” His breath fanned her cheek as he leaned toward her. “That’s illegal, isn’t it?”
“Technically.”
“Contrary to what some outside these walls might say, we believe in upholding the laws of the land.”
She saw Nate again and tried to ignore his displeasure. “I’m sure the locals will find that very reassuring.”
“Especially Courtney’s mother,” he said with a theatrical sigh. “Are you still planning to vouch for me?”
“As long as you don’t suddenly grow horns and a tail and prove to me that you’re as evil as she claims you are.”
He clasped a hand to his chest. “Ah, Rachel, your doubt wounds me. You think I’m evil?”
“I think you like to flirt. With temptation, that is,” she added.
He dropped his voice. “Even a prophet has desires.”
“Every human has desires.”
“Exactly.” He whispered his next question near her ear. “So what did your religion teach you about behaviors not mentioned in the Bible?”
“Such as…” she murmured.
“Oral sex.”
He must’ve been hoping to titillate her with this talk. He had no other reason to address such an intimate subject in the middle of the dance floor. But she refused to act flustered. “Completely off-limits.”
“Along with mast***ation, I presume.”
“Of course.”
He grimaced. “How narrow-minded to curtail the enjoyment of God’s greatest gift.”
This time she couldn’t help laughing. “You can be quite irreverent, for a prophet.”
“Sometimes I meet someone who makes me wish I was just a regular man.” He drew her hand inside his jalabiya and placed it over his heart. “See? I, too, am made of flesh and bone.”
The smooth skin of his hairless chest took her off guard. Instead of pulling her hand away, she stared up at him, astonished by how easily he could manipulate people’s emotions. One minute she hated him and everything he represented. The next she felt…almost attracted to him, in the same way one might peer over a cliff and be tempted to jump. Was it the siren call of letting go?
Then it dawned on her. He was the man every other male in the room admired, the man every female wanted. His sphere of influence might be limited to Paradise, but inside this microcosm he was everything. He had looks, money, power. And he wanted her. She was no longer the idiot who’d confessed her love to Nate. Neither was she the outcast she’d been growing up, the girl usually left out, the one everyone whispered about. “Why won’t her father let her color that picture? It’s just a witch on a broomstick.” “She can’t sing Christmas carols? How sad.” “She’s the only one who didn’t bring valentines for the class. We’ll have to send her to the library during the party or we’ll be hearing from her father.” “Look at her clothes. She wears a dress every day….”
Maybe Ethan was no Prince Charming, but the adoration of everyone in the room helped create the illusion that he was. And the way he was looking at her right now, as if she was all he’d ever wanted, made her feel strange.
Fortunately, whatever spell she was under broke as soon as Nate strode up and dragged her away.
“You were touching him. You had your hand in his freakin’ Jesus robes.”
Nate was driving too fast. Rachel wanted him to slow down, but didn’t ask. She felt foolish, didn’t know how to explain what had come over her while she was dancing with Ethan. “The Holy One” was a poor substitute for the kind of man she really wanted, as different as Cain was from Abel. But in that moment, Nate hadn’t mattered, and her father hadn’t mattered, and it’d been such a relief to forget them.
Keeping her face averted, she gazed up at the moon.
“You don’t have anything to say?” he prompted when she didn’t respond.
“I was playing a part, Nate. I have to seem…open to him, right?”
“You have to be careful. If he decides he wants you, Rachel, we’re going to be in trouble. It could blow the whole operation.”
“Everything will be fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Stop worrying.”
“I can’t help it, damn it!”
Taking a deep breath, she finally faced him. “Why not? If Ethan gets…out of hand, it’s my problem, not yours.”
“Are you kidding? It’s my problem, too! If he tries to take his interest too far, we’ll have to head back to California just to keep you out of his bed—and that leaves him in power.”
“We won’t have to take off,” she grumbled. “I can look after myself.”
“You can?”
If she could establish some emotional equilibrium…“Yes.”
He thumped a hand on the steering wheel. “So what are you saying? That you’re willing to sleep with him if it comes down to it?”
She didn’t even attempt a response.
“Just how far are you willing to go?”
“I don’t have to answer that.”
He took a turn too fast. “Why the hell not?”
“Because it’s none of your damn business, and it shouldn’t matter to you one way or the other!” She hadn’t meant to raise her voice, but she had, and he came right back at her.
“It’s my job to keep you safe, for God’s sake!”
“No, it’s your job to infiltrate the cult and stop any abuse that’s going on—the same as my job. You’re not my babysitter, you’re my partner, Nate. While we’re here, anyway. You wouldn’t care if Drake or…or Roderick slept with someone in that commune in order to maintain a cover or get information. You’d consider their choices to be their choices. Why should I be any different?”