Chapter 4Alonzo didn’t want to leave the room, and he didn’t want to risk waking Ben from his much needed nap, so he settled at the table with his Bible and his copy of Paradise Lost. He normally enjoyed a quiet afternoon of reading and reflection, but Ben’s sleeping form regularly distracted him from the pages, and from his own thoughts. Ben stayed on his stomach, his head pillowed on folded arms, his face slack and peaceful. Unlike when he was awake. Then it was lined with pain that Ben either couldn’t or wouldn’t acknowledge.
He hoped that Cullen’s whip wouldn’t leave any permanent damage on Ben’s smooth back. He hated the thought of something beautiful being damaged, and he could admit to himself that there was genuine beauty in Ben’s body. Even the flaws—like the birthmark and the sc
