Wrath's voice got low, real low. "You can't be serious—"
"I've got a couple centuries of celibacy to make up for. What better way to take the edge off?" It was meant as a joke, except no one laughed. "Come on, who else could do it? All of you are taken. The only other possible candidate would be John Matthew, because of Darius's line, but John's not a member of the Brotherhood, and who knows if he'll ever be."
"No." Zsadist shook his head. "No… this will kill you."#p#分页标题#e#
"Maybe if I'm fucked to death, yeah. But barring that, I'll be fine."
"You will never have a life if you do this."
"Of course I will." Phury knew exactly what Z was getting at so he deliberately shifted his attention back to Wrath. "You'll let V have Jane, won't you? If I do this, you'll let them be together."
This was not smooth, of course. Because you didn't give an order to the king, both by custom and law—and also because he'd kick your ass across the whole state of New York. But at the moment Phury wasn't too concerned with protocol.
Wrath pushed his hand under his sunglasses and pulled another rub routine with his eyes. Then he let out a long exhale. "If anyone could manage the security risks inherent in a relationship with a human, it would be V. So… yeah, fuck me, but I would allow it."
"Then you'll let me substitute for him. And he'll go to the Scribe Virgin."
The grandfather clock in the corner of the study began to go off, the steady chiming like the beat of a heart. When it ceased to ring, everyone looked at Wrath.
After a moment the king said, "So be it."
Zsadist cursed. Butch whistled low. Rhage bit into a Tootsie Pop.
"Okay, then," Phury said.
Holy shit, what have I just done?
Apparently, everyone else kind of thought the same thing, because no one moved or said a word.
Vishous was the one who broke the deadlock… and he came across the study at a dead run. Phury didn't know what hit him. One second he was about to light up another blunt; the next, V pounded across the study, threw a massive pair of arms around him, and squeezed the breath out of him.
"Thank you," Vishous said hoarsely. "Thank you. Even if she won't let you, thank you, my brother."
* * *
Chapter Thirty-nine
"You're avoiding me, Jane."
Jane looked up from her computer. Manello was planted in front of her desk like a house, hands on his hips, eyes narrowed, nothing but a whole lot of going-nowhere. Man, her office was fairly sizable, but he made it feel tight as a wallet.
"I'm not avoiding you. I'm playing catch-up from being out all weekend."
"Bullshit." He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's four in the afternoon, and by now we usually would have had at least two meals together. What's up?"
She leaned back in her chair. Lying was not something she'd ever been good at, but it was a skill she was sure as hell going to try to develop.
"I still feel like hell, Manello, and I'm buried up to my molars in work." Okay, neither of those were lies. But she said them only to camo the omission she was pulling.
There was a long pause. "Is this about last night?"
With a wince, she gave up the ghost. "Uh, listen, about that. Manny… I'm sorry. I can't do anything like that with you again. I think you're great, I really do. But I'm…" She let the sentence drift. She had the urge to say something along the lines of her being in love with someone else, but that was absurd. She had no one.
"Is it because of the department?" he said.
No, it just didn't feel right somehow. "You know it's not appropriate, even if we kept it quiet."
"And if you leave? Then what?"
She shook her head. "No. I just… can't. I shouldn't have slept with you last night."
His brows shot up. "Excuse me?"
"I just don't think—"#p#分页标题#e#
"Wait a minute. Where in the hell do you get the idea we slept together?"
"I… I assumed that we had."
"I kissed you. It was awkward. I left. No sex. What makes you think there was?"
Jesus Christ… Jane waved a shaky hand around. "Dreams, I guess. Really vivid dreams. Um… will you excuse me?"
"Jane, what the hell's going on?" He came around the desk. "You look like you're terrified."
As she stared up at him, she knew there was desperate fear in her eyes, but she couldn't hide it. "I think… I think it's quite possible I'm losing my mind. I'm serious, Manny. We're talking schizophrenia time. Hallucinations and distorted reality and… memory lapses."