“I’m not fit to be around a child.” He scowled. “He could learn nothing good from me.”

“We’ll never know for sure unless you try. It might be good experience if you ever have children of your own.”

“That won’t happen.”

Fury shook his head. “Says the male who is obsessed with a female.”

“I’m not.”

Fury snorted. “Justice comes.”

Darkness turned his head, his keen hearing picking up the slight footfalls. “So does Jessie.”

“Here we go,” Fury muttered. “I hope he’s not pissed.”

“Why would I be?” Justice stepped into the dining room, holding Jessie’s hand. “What have you two been up to now? I don’t see any bloody knuckles.”

* * * * *

“So there you have it,” Kat announced. “He’s totally wrong for me in every sense.”

Missy buttered toast and dropped each piece on a plate. She turned, setting it down on their dining room table. “You’d have problems with any normal guy anyway. I can see why you’d be attracted to a New Species.”

“I don’t see it.”

Missy sat. “Eat breakfast.”

“You’re bossy today.”

“I’m grumpy. We didn’t get enough sleep last night and I’m kind of jealous. The only guys who are interested in me are creeps. They find out what I do for a living and instantly assume I’m some kind of  p**n  star/sex fiend. The only action I see is what my imagination comes up with.”

“Did you hear the part where I mentioned how he’s never going to see me again? He was a control freak too.”

“You intimidate men so you need a strong, take-charge guy.”

Kat lifted her toast and bit into it. She chewed and swallowed. “He’s over the top.”

“Says the woman who made her last boyfriend cry.”

“He wasn’t a wuss. He put his foot down eventually.”

“He stood up to you right until you told him to shove it up his ass if he thought you were going to quit your job to make him happy. Then came the tears and the shitload of flowers he sent. I was the one who had to sign for them and read the cards to you since you were too swamped at work to make the drive home. Do I need to remind you of the begging that went on?”

“We still would have had the same issues. I did him a favor by not calling him back. He was too needy.”

“You walked all over him. Let’s just cut to the chase.”

“Jason was a great guy.”

“He was. He was too nice though. You need someone tougher than you are and those men are hard to find. You aren’t the easiest person to get close to. You need a man who won’t allow you to keep him emotionally distanced.”

“Well, Darkness knows all about building walls and keeping people out. I could take lessons from him.”

“Exactly. He made you feel when you didn’t want to. That’s what you need. You’re both hardheaded and stubborn. It sounds like a perfect match to me.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I said more than enough last night.”

“So you’ve reached the deny-he-means-anything-to-you stage now?”

“Shut up.”

Missy threw a piece of crust at her. “Are you at the anger stage yet? We really need to do something about this kitchen and I’m not doing it alone. How do you feel about knocking out cabinets?”

“I’m not in the mood.”

“You’d get to smash shit.”

“Then we’d have to put up the new ones.”

Missy sighed. “Right.”

“We should just hire someone.”

“You can afford that but I can’t. Fifty-fifty, remember? I’m sorry. I’m hoping this new series I’m working on will hit a bestseller list. That stove is one of the things we most need to upgrade. I’m tired of having to light the burners.”

“You’ll get there.”

“I’m a poor artist but at least I can pay my bills. Why did I quit my day job again?”

“Because we both have faith that you are an excellent writer. Give it more time.”

Missy wiped her mouth with her napkin. “You should call Homeland and talk to this Darkness. You look miserable and you only left there yesterday. Just admit you have it bad for him.”

“It was just great sex.”

“Right.” Missy rolled her eyes. “Because you haven’t ever been exposed to hot guys before while on the job and you risked your ass for all of them.” She stood. “Lie to yourself but don’t forget who you’re talking to. I see through your bullshit.”

“I only knew him for a short time.”

Missy rinsed her plate, turned and leaned on the counter. “Sometimes you just know when it’s right. I believe that. Hell, I make a living writing books about it. I write from my heart and I’m hopeful that I’ll meet some guy who makes me feel. Love is messy and terrifying, Kat. It’s not going to be the guy who is your type or someone you can walk all over. You’d be miserable within a year. I’ve seen it go down before. This is the first time you’ve met a guy you can’t control, who doesn’t bow down to your strong will, and he made you take risks you never thought you would. Use that intelligence of yours and figure it out fast because let’s face it, you’ve got it bad. This is the guy. Go after him.”