In the shadowed alcove at midnight, Rowena Lawson issues her command with steady authority, ordering James to remove his ritual robe layer by layer until nothing remains between them and the rite. His obedience carries the weight of past betrayal, yet he yields because her dominance is the one thing that makes him feel claimed.

The high priestess sets his hands at the table edge, and the spanking she delivers seals the forbidden bond between them. Every stroke echoes through the temple, testing whether her control can withstand the vulnerability his surrender awakens in her.

The rite could bind him to her forever or expose them both to the ruin they each dread. She has already told him when to return to the alcove.