Page 21 of Kiss of Fury

Okay…why the emphasis ongood? Shouldn’t decency be a given? Or maybe Honoria meant to emphasize the man part. Jason Steel had been the patient whose internal injuries had healed themselves, impossible for a human. But other species could do it—George’s tentacle would regenerate. Maybe Steel had a little alien DNA in him. Did Fury have the same?

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Verity said.

“Sure…” Honoria sounded hesitant.

“Is your Jason fully human? Or is he part something else?”

Chapter Ten

“I’m here! Sorry I’m late.” Fury rushed in.

The relief in Verity’s eyes stirred a little flicker of hope that their marriage might come to mean more to her than safety for Brody. “Did you get the message from Dusty?”

He and Steel had hiked several kilometers before getting a signal on the MCD. They’d called Dusty. He’d sent a conveyance to pick them up. Upon return to the ranch, Fury had burned precious minutes with a quick shower and a change of clothes. Better to be a tad tardy than to show up smelling of Eau de Horniger. The beasts could be musky, and rubbing against something they’d touched transferred the odor.

“Honoria passed on the message,” Verity said.

“Oh good.” His gaze flicked to Steel’s wife. Until now, he hadn’t noticed she was in the room; he only had eyes for Verity. She looked like a dream. Her blue-green tunic and slacks provided a perfect foil for her glowing, pale complexion. She’d changed her hair, fluffed it, giving it a tousled, just-bedded style that sentheat rushing to his groin. He could imagine her looking like that after…

Could we have a chance, a real chance?Rather than a year of lost opportunity, maybe thiswasthe opportunity.

“Are we ready to get started?” said a purple three-eyed alien resembling Gozar.

“This is JuJu, our officiant.” Verity introduced her then glanced at Honoria. “Would you care to be a witness?”

Steel’s wife grinned. “I’d love to. I was hoping you’d ask.”

“Excellent. Places, please. Verity, Mike, you face me. Honoria, you next to them,” Juju instructed.

They shuffled themselves.

“Is your legal name Mike or Michael?” Juju asked.

“Mike.” Nothing about him was legal. Solutions hadn’t given him a name, just a number, C5-105, fifth iteration cyborg, 105thout of the gestation tank, codename Fury, which he’d kept because he liked what it represented. He had been a furious foe. When he decided to pass himself off as human, he’d picked the name Mike. It sounded innocuous, unthreatening, not at all like the moniker of a coldblooded killer.

With no further ado, Juju launched right in. “We are gathered here today to unite in civil matrimony Verity Vale and Mike Fury. Although Cosmic Mates unions are provisional, enabling either party to walk away at the end of the trial period, marriage shouldn’t be undertaken lightly. One should approach it with forethought, honest intentions, and commitment. It is the hope that love will grow, mature, and cement the union.”

Of course, she addressed both of them, but it felt like the comments were directed at him. He hadn’t put any forethought into what marriage would mean in practice. Nor had he been honest about his past. If Verity had been fully apprised, he doubted she would be going through with the wedding. He’d committed to a year, but, in every other way, he had violated the intent and spirit of the Cosmic Mates union.

He glanced at Verity, and her tremulous smile caused his breathing to catch.I’m sorry. You deserve better than me.He recalled how he’d informed her he’d honor the contract for a year, but then they were done. Why had he put an end date on the marriage before it had even started? Why couldn’t he have waited to see how the relationship would pan out?

With a flash of insight, he realized the kid wasn’t the problem. He was terrified he couldn’t hack it in the “real world.” That he’d suck at marriage. That no woman could love him. So, he latched onto an excuse about why this marriage wouldn’t work.

Juju was speaking on how respect formed the cornerstone of a solid marriage. “From respect, love and commitment grow. Before you can respect your spouse, you must respect yourself. You give to the marriage what you bring to the marriage.”

Fuck, if it didn’t sound like she’d tailored her comments to his situation. He eyed her, but her sanguine purple face gave nothing away.

“Do you, Verity Vale, agree to enter into a legal union with Mike Fury as your husband for the term of one year to be extended indefinitely should you both concur?”

“I do,” she said in a low voice.

“Do you, Mike Fury, agree to enter into a legal union with Verity Vale as your wife for the term of one year to be extended indefinitely should you both concur?”

“Ireallydo.”

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

Fury had once gate-crashed the wedding of a crime boss and then killed the man as he left the church with his bride. He had so fucking much to atone for. He didn’t regret killing the man—he was the sort of lowlife who needed to be dead, but the way he’d done it, right in front of the wife?Jesus Christ.

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