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"You bastard," he said, shaking his head "A fucking Jesuit priest"

"Actually, a nonfucking Jesuit priest They haven’t rescinded the vows of celibacy yet"

"How inconsiderate of thesley tried to smile at Søren, but he couldn’t Not yet

"Celibacy" Kingsley pronounced the word like a curse It was a curse "I thought you were a sadist When did you become a masochist?"

"Is that a rhetorical question or are you looking for the exact date of my ordination? I’m a priest Once you’re firreat a leap to ask hisley stood up and walked to theOutside, Manhattan had awoken and stirred to life He had CEOs and Nobel Prize winners and heiresses as his neighbors here on Riverside Drive They were the men and women ned the city And yet the only person in the entire borough whoto him sat on his sofa in the music room and didn’t have a cent to his name Søren once had a cent to his naiven every last one of thesley finally asked the question of the night

"Youthis isyou aren’t here to pick things up where we left off?"

"Would you really want to?"

"Yes" Kingsley answered without hesitation It didn’t seesley" Søren stood and joined him by the n had co, she’d take the next bus back out of town

"Don’t sayfoolish I’ht you would hate me"

"I did I do hate you But I don’t How can I truly hate the one person who knows sley studied Søren out of the corner of his eye and ached to touch Søren’s face, his lips Not even the collar could stesley’s desire Not even all the pain and the years between thee and--"

"I resley whispered

Søren closed his eyes as if Kingsley’s words hurt hiht we talked about others We ondering if there were others like us out there sosley said And as soon as Søren conjured the ain He stretched out on the cot on his back, naked, the sheets pulled to his stosley could feel the heat of Søren’s skin against his No matter how many times they touched, it always surprised him hoarm Søren was He expected his skin to be cold, as cold as his heart Kingsley’s thighs burned Søren had whipped him with a leather belt, then they’d e romantic foolishness to consider the sort of sex they had " love," but he needed to believe that’s what it had been--to both of the

"Do you remember what you said to me?" Søren asked "You said you would find all of our kind and lay them at my feet"

"And you said you didn’t need hundreds But" Kingsley raised both hands as if he could conjure the memory between his palirl"