"'There can only be one'," Devin echoes, mildly incredulous. "Really. And whose rules are those?" They sound like a prat, whoever they are.

And in a way, they sound like him.

"Life is harsh. We all do what we must to survive; surely you must understand that," he says. "It's not a personal assessment of you, but you may want to keep in mind that sex may be neither enjoyable nor desirable for some people, since you're going to persist." He couldn't believe she lacked that knowledge after so many years of living, but it seemed to him that she was, at the very least, disregarding it. "And last time I checked, there were plenty of brothels in this city that cater to women as well as men that you could visit."