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"Don’t be sorry I have never begrudged Eleanor her dalliances The sacrifices she’s made to be with me are so profound that I would be the worst of men if I demanded complete fidelity from her"

"I wish more people were as open-minded as you and Nora A few of Zachary’s friends, well, ex-friends now, hate me because I dated someone while ere separated No matter how many times he tells them he was involved with someone else, tooboys will be boys but a woman who has sex with anyone other than her husband, that’s an unforgivable sin"

"Not to me And not to God, either Eleanor and I have always had an open relationship, and it was entirely at ation Because of what I am--"

"And what are you?"

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her She suddenly felt like a naughty schoolgirl about to get scolded

"You knohat I am, Grace"

"I know you’re a sadist That’s what Nora says And I also know you’re a good man and a wonderful priest Which she also told hed and sat next to her on the roof ledge She studied his profile as he weighed his words It had been years since she’d taken pen to paper and written a poeood poet in her university days and had dreae, her career, the real world, had taken that dreaain She knew she would remember this quiet moment on this roof with this priest for the rest of her life The still-for memory fluttered about her head like a ht ords and pin it to paper so it would stay in place forever

"There are those of our kind who play at sadisht sound crass and sordid to you"

"My brother plays rugby I’ame"

"They’re the lucky ones The ones who can play at it The whistle blows, the gaame I can’t walk away from it"

"Nora explained it to ht It’s what you are instead of what you do"

"I’lad she helped you understand Not everyone does It scares people As it should I would worry about so another person for pleasure"

"It reater the pain I inflict on sohtrope walk, a balancing act There’s always the fear of going too far, of falling off And in such a situation, you don’t fall off alone You take the other person doith you"

"But that’s what the safe words are for, right? To stop the fall?"

Søren nodded "They help, the little safeguards we have Eleanor and I have been together for so long she kno far she can takeht words "--lost yourself?"

"Yes Once with Eleanor shortly after we became lovers She taunted ot that she had her safe word to stop me I didn’t stop"

Grace shivered as his voice dropped to not much more than a whisper I didn’t stop She didn’t want to knohat he didn’t stop doing That was a secret she would let hilass to her lips