Without Bound by Ryan Marie

Bishop
She’s the forbidden fruit and I am Adam, tempted by what I cannot have.
Like a song she called to me, serenading me with the lyrics that would unlock my heart and a desire that never existed until her. I knew there was danger involved, but my will and my sanity was only as strong as the man who possessed it. And I was a weak man.
My friends kept our love a secret from the one man who could threaten to tear us apart. A man who was more like a brother than a best friend. A man that she called family. And when the chips fell, there was no one there to catch me. No one but her. Anais.
My butterfly.
Now I stand on my own, only her by my side, as we fight the world against us. The family I once would give my last breath for won’t lend me a hand when I’m down. It’s a battle between love and loyalty, and I’m faced with losing it all. Do I give up the friendships that have seen me through the worst? Or do I let love rule?
There are only two things I know to be true. Setting a creature that beautiful free would bring me a lifetime of pain. But holding on too tight could only prove to suffocate her. Whichever path I choose will bring me a pain like I’ve never known.
Maybe it’s time I walk alone.