Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 159487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 797(@200wpm)___ 638(@250wpm)___ 532(@300wpm)
Ravik’s hand settled gently on her shoulder.
“Sev?” he rumbled. “What is wrong with Cassie?”
Severin looked at his friend. The fact that Ravik had asked a coherent question pleased him, but he had other things to worry about.
“The virus is still active in her blood,” he said carefully.
Cassandra’s big brown eyes went wide and her whole body went very still.
Clearly sensing her fear, Ravik growled, low and dangerous.
“But the infections is not following the Visskous pathway,” Severin added quickly. “You are not becoming one of the Infected, Cassandra—not in the ordinary way.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed.
“Okay, that sounds…maybe good? Except for the part where you said ‘not in the ordinary way.’ What does that mean?”
Severin took a deep breath.
“It appears that your body is resisting the virus by using the biological materials it has already encountered—Ravik’s scent, his honey exposure, and his seed. Those markers are actually strengthening your anti-viral response.”
Cassandra stared at him.
“My body is using his seed to fight the virus?”
Severin nodded.
“Yes—exactly.”
Her cheeks went scarlet.
“Oh my God. That’s kind of crazy.”
“Actually, it makes perfect sense. But the virus is adapting to that pathway as well,” Severin continued. “Since it cannot create a classic flesh-hunger response in you, it appears to be rerouting the compulsion through reproductive and bonding pathways.”
Cassandra shook her head.
“In English, please. Not all of us have PhDs in Xeno-virology.”
Severin’s jaw tightened.
“In English,” he said, “the virus is not making you crave flesh—it’s making you crave sex and seed.”
Her eyes widened and she stared at him for one long, stunned moment. Then she pointed a finger at him.
“If this is your idea of a pickup line, it is the worst one I have ever heard.”
Despite everything, Severin felt his mouth twitch into a smile.
“I assure you, it is not.”
Ravik leaned closer to Cassandra and inhaled. His eyes darkened with obvious desire.
“Cassie smells hot,” he rumbled. “Needy.”
“Thank you, Ravik, that is incredibly unhelpful,” she snapped, but she was blushing again.
Severin saw it then—the way she pressed her thighs together under the hem of the nightgown. The way her nipples had tightened against the silk. The way her breathing had changed.
She was flushed, not merely from embarrassment but from heat. Her pupils were slightly dilated and her scent was filled with arousal pheromones. His nostrils flared as he breathed her in—the symptoms had already begun.
Cassandra saw him sniffing the air and glared at him.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m sorry.” Severin looked away.
“No, you’re not. You’re analyzing me,” she accused.
“I’m trying not to,” he protested.
“Well, try harder.”
Ravik’s hand slid from her shoulder to her upper arm, protective and possessive.
“Cassie is hurt?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, and the honesty in her voice made Severin’s heart fist in his chest. “I feel…weird. Hot. Like a hot flash, but lower…deeper. And I keep thinking about…”
She stopped abruptly and pressed her lips together.
Severin’s fangs ached—he could guess what she must be thinking. Her luscious, curvy body was going into a virus-induced sexual heat. But still, he couldn’t help asking.
“What do you keep thinking?” he said softly.
Her eyes flashed.
“I am not telling you that.”
“Cassandra—”
“No.” She lifted her chin. “You can science my blood all you want, but you do not get to hear every embarrassing thought that goes through my head.”
Severin inclined his head.
“All right, that’s fair. Forgive me for asking.”
That seemed to surprise her.
“You mean you’re not going to probe me for more answers?”
“No,” Severin shook his head. “But I do need to monitor your symptoms.”
She sighed wearily.
“Of course you do.”
“Cassie is upset. Cassie needs comfort,” Ravik rumbled, clearly reacting to her tone.
His arm curled around her waist from behind, pulling her back against his bare chest to cradle her against his big body.
Cassandra made a small, needy sound and her eyes fluttered for half a second before she forced them open again.
Severin watched her pulse flutter at the side of her throat and understood something—the contact helped her. Or aroused her. Or both.
Yes, almost certainly both, he decided.
“Your body may be asking for the very thing it needs to fight the virus,” he said carefully, not wanting to upset her. “But I don’t know yet if giving in to that need will help you or accelerate the infection. I need to run more tests.”
Cassandra gave him a level look.
“Let me guess—you need more samples.”
“Well…yes,” Severin admitted.
She arched an eyebrow at him.
“What kind of samples?”
Severin hesitated…she wasn’t going to like this.
Her eyes narrowed to slits.
“Oh no. No, I know that face. That is your awkward science face.”
“I do not have an awkward science face,” he said, with as much dignity as he could muster.
“You absolutely do.” Cassandra poked a finger at him.
Ravik rumbled,
“Sev has many science faces.”
Severin shot his best friend a glare. Ravik really was coming back to himself it he was sharp enough join in here. The Beast Kindred looked pleased with himself, which was another encouraging sign of cognitive improvement, the abstract part of Severin’s brain noted.