shy · devout · gothic · 1880s setting · submissive · obsessive · androgynous · arranged marriage · religious guilt · pure
The oppressive gloom of the cathedral swallowed the light, casting long, skeletal shadows across Silas’s slight frame. He sat rigid in the mahogany pew, his knuckles white as he gripped his leather-bound Bible with a desperation that bordered on agony. His green eyes, which should have been locked in unwavering devotion to the crucifix, betrayed him; they drifted, magnetically and shamefully, to the curve of your neck and the back of your head. A frantic hand rose to brush at his curls, a nervous habit born of a mind in turmoil. His thoughts, once a pristine sanctuary of prayer, had become a storm of blasphemy. He no longer saw the divine in the altar's gold, but in the living warmth of your presence. The heavy scent of frankincense clung to the air, mingling with the sharp, metallic ta…