He went for what was in her mouth, loosening the tie, removing it. "Be of ease…"
She panted, seemingly incapable of speech, and going on the theory that actions spoke louder than words, he worked off the binding on her forehead and untangled it from her long blond hair.
When he freed her thin arms she covered her breasts and the juncture of her thighs, and on impulse he took the curtain he'd ripped down and covered her before taking off the ties at her feet. Then he stepped back from her, going all the way across the temple and leaning against the far wall. He figured she might feel safer that way.
Dropping his eyes to the floor, he saw only her: The Chosen was pale and blond, her eyes jade green. Her features were fine, the kind that made him think of porcelain dolls, and her scent very much like jasmine. God, she was too delicate to be tortured like this. Too worthy to endure a stranger's rutting.
Christ. What a mess.
Phury let the silence go on, hoping she'd get used to his presence while he figured out what to do next.
Sex was not going to be it, that was for sure.
Jane was not big on The Sound of Music, but she was totally Julie Andrews-ing it up as she lay in bed and watched V try to find his clothes. Man, being in love really did make you want to throw out your arms and spin in the sunshine with a big, sappy, happy grin on your face. Plus she had the short blond hair to pull it off. Although she was drawing the line at lederhosen.
There was just one little problem.
"Tell me you aren't going to hurt him," she said as V pulled his leathers up his thighs. "Tell me my boss is not going to end up with a pair of broken legs."
"Not at all." V drew on a black shirt that stretched tight over his pecs. "I'm just going to make sure that he's good and clean and that picture of my ticker is iced."
"You'll let me know how it goes?"
He looked at her from under his brows, an evil little smile on his face. "Don't trust me with lover boy?"
"Not as far as I can throw you."
"Smart woman." V came over and sat down on the edge of the bed, his diamond eyes still glowing from the sex. "When it comes to you, that surgeon needs to watch it."
She took his bare hand, knowing that he hated her getting anywhere near the gloved one. "Manny knows where he stands with me."
"Does he?"
"I told him. Right after the weekend. Even though I couldn't remember you, it just felt… wrong."
V leaned in and kissed her. "I'll come back after I leave him, okay? That way you can look into my eyes and know the guy's still breathing. And, listen, I want to get real here. I'd like to send Fritz over this coming afternoon with some supplies so I can wire this place up. Do you have an extra garage door opener?"
"Yeah, in the kitchen. Drawer under the phone."
"Good. I'm taking it." He ran a finger down her neck and circled his newest bite mark. "Every night when you get home I'm going to be here. Every early morning before I have to go back to the compound, I'm going to be here. Every night I'm off, I'm going to be here. We're going to steal the time when and where we can, and we're going to stay in touch on the phone when we're not together."
Just like any normal relationship, she thought, and the idea that there was a prosaic side to things was nice. It took the pair of them out of some great paranormal superstructure and laid them fiat on the ground of reality: They were two people who were committed and ready to work at a relationship. Which was about all you could ask of the person you were in love with.
"What's your full name," she murmured. "I just realized I know you only as V."
"Vishous."
Jane's hand squeezed his. "Excuse me?"
"Vishous. Yeah, I know it's odd for you-"
"Wait, wait, wait-how do you spell it?"
"V-i-s-h-o-u-s."
"Good… God."
"What?"
She cleared her throat. "Ah, a long, long time ago-a lifetime ago-I sat in my childhood bedroom with my sister. There was a Ouija board between us and we were asking it questions." She looked up at him. "You were my answer."
"To what question?"
"Who…Jesus, who I was going to marry."
V smiled nice and slow, the way a man did when he was feeling pretty damn self-satisfied. "You wanna marry me then?"
She laughed. "Yeah, sure. Let's just jack me into a white dress and do the altar thing-"
His expression lost the tease. "I'm serious."
"Oh… God."
"I don't suppose that's a yes?"
Jane pushed herself upright. "I… I never thought I'd get married."
He winced. "Yeah, okay, that wasn't exactly the reply I was going for-"
"No… I mean, I'm just surprised at how… easy it feels."
"Easy?"
"The idea of being your wife."
He started to smile, but then lost the expression. "We can do the ceremony in my tradition, but it won't be official."
"Because I'm not one of you?"
"Because the Scribe Virgin hates my ass, so there can't be any presentation to her. But we can do the rest of it." Now he grinned with an edge. "Especially the carving."
"Carving?"
"Your name. My back. I can't fucking wait."
Jane whistled under her breath. "Do I get to do it?"
He barked a laugh. "No!"
"Come on. I'm a surgeon, I'm good with knives."
"My brothers will do it-well, actually, I guess you could do a letter, too. Mmm, that gets me hard." He kissed her. "Man, you are so my kind of girl."
"Do I have to get cut?"
"Hell, no. It's done on the males so everyone knows who we belong to."
"Belong?"
"Yup. I'll be yours to command. Lord over. Do what you want with. Think you can handle it?"
"I already have, remember?"
V's lids dropped and he let out a growl. "Yeah, every fucking minute. When can we go to my penthouse again?"
"Name the when and I'm so there." And next time she might find herself a little leather to wear. "Hey, do I get a ring?"
"If you want, I'll buy you a diamond the size of your head."
"Oh, right. Like I'm going to go glam. But how will people know that I'm married?"
He leaned down and nuzzled her throat. "Do you smell me?"
"God… yes. I love it."
He brushed his lips on her jaw. "My scent's all over you. It's inside of you. That's how my people will know who your mate is. It's also a warning."
"A warning?" she breathed, languor suffusing her body.
"To other males. It tells them who will come after them with a dagger if they touch you."
Okay, that shouldn't be erotic as hell. But it was. "You take the mate thing seriously, don't you."
"Bonded males are dangerous." His voice was a low purr in her ear. "We kill to protect our females. That's the way it is." He pushed the covers off her, unzipped his leathers, and palmed her thighs apart. "We also mark what's ours. And as I'm not going to see you for twelve hours, I think I'll leave a little more all over you."
He surged forward with his hips and Jane moaned. She'd had him so many times, but the size of him was always a shock. His hand pulled her head back by her hair, and his tongue shot into her mouth as he churned over her.
Except then he stopped. "Tonight we'll be mated. Wrath will preside. Butch and Marissa will witness. You want a church thing, too?"
She had to laugh. The two of them were both such control freaks, weren't they. Fortunately she was not inclined to fight him on this one. "I'm fine without a service. I don't actually believe in God."