“Yeah, of course you wouldn’t. But damn.” I run a hand through my hair, smiling even wider. “You know, Ifeltlike those two were sparring together an awful lot.”
Kingston closes his eyes in a long, long blink. “This isn’t funny, Kai.”
I snort. “Sorry,bro, but it’sextremelyfunny.” In a dark humor kind of way, admittedly. Because this means we’re probably in deeper shit than any of us realized. “Whew.” I pace back and forth in a little circle, taking it all in.
Meanwhile, Kingston’s frowning. He looks up at me. “You…Gwenna?”
I stop in my tracks. “Yes. Welcome to five minutes ago. We, ah…” I swallow, scratch the back of my neck, abruptly reconsider. “You know what? I shouldn’t kiss and tell. Forgive me, okay?” I spin to the altar, do a quick spectacles-testicles-wallet-watch, and duck my head in penance. “But suffice to say it was…”
Her skin in my teeth.
Her breath in my ear.
Her little moans when she?—
I clench a fist.Fuck me, I am not going to get hard in a church.
“Uh.” I cough-swallow to interrupt my runaway train of thought. “Lustful,” I finish.”
Kingston’s back to staring into space. “She…wanted to, I presume?” he says, mechanically.
I slacken a little. “Yes,” I mutter. “Jesus, yes. Do you really think so little of me?”
Kingston does a micro-wince. “I’m only checking.”
I swallow. He is…protective of her. In his own weird way. If he had any social skills whatsoever, he could probably have gotten to her first.
Then again, I guess he did. That night in Luther’s office.
That’s kind of what kicked a lot of this mess off.
Boy, oh boy. I…don’t envy Kingston right now.
“So…” I stuff my hands in my jacket pockets, take a few exaggerated steps one way, then the other, letting the soles of my boots ring out in the empty hollow of the chapel. “What do we do now?”
Kingston slowly shakes his head, eyes front. Says nothing.
I scoff. “Come on. You have to have a plan. That’s your job.”
Kingston responds by putting his face back in his hands.
Ah, shit.
“Hey, hey.” I slide into the pew in front of him and lean over so I’m facing him. “King. Kingston.” I snap my fingers a few times. “Stay with me.”
“I’m here.” Kingston mutters from behind his hands. “I’m just…” He lowers them. Looks up at me.
“I don’t know what to do, Kai.”
At that, my mouth actually drops open a little. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Kingston say those words, in that order.
“Yeah,” I say at last. “It’s a real pickle. We’re all kinda fucked, eh?” I smirk. “Except you, I guess.”
Kingston just glares at me. Then he looks at the ground.
“We were getting so close,” he says softly. “And now this is going to…tear us apart.”
“I don’t…” I catch my lip ring in my teeth, considering. Call it post-nut clarity—because I absolutely had to rub one out as soon as I was off duty—call it my feminine intuition, call it what-the-fuck-ever, but something’s tugging at my brain. “I don’t think it is.”
