“Theo,” I said slowly. “I’m going to present you with a few… scents.”
He raised a brow but didn’t open his eyes. “Okay?”
“They are in no particular order,” I continued. “I’m going to test your reaction to each of them. Is that okay?”
“What kind of scents are we talking about, exactly?” he mumbled.
I paused. I couldn’t lie to him any more. I’d been doing too much of that lately. It was time to be honest.
“It’s blood, Theo.”
His eyes snapped open. “What?”
I met his gaze as calmly as possible. “Do you think you can handle it? Or should we call this off?”
He stared back at me, emotions raging behind his expression. Finally he leaned back in the chair with a serious frown. “Yeah. Let’s try.”
“Great.” I smiled genuinely this time. “Then for research’s sake, you need to close your eyes again.”
Theo did so, but still seemed a bit hesitant. “Shouldn’t I bind my hands again? Or something?”
“What do you think? Answer honestly.”
“I don’t know,” Theo admitted. “I mean, I don’t really come into contact with blood unless I’m feeding…”
His body tensed, and his hands curled into loose fists on his knees.
“Tell me if the hesitation is coming from you, or from Adriel,” I asked.
That seemed to make him think. He eventually shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you. I want him to be wrong. But what if he’s not? What if I’m the immature, out-of-control young vampire he thinks I am?”
“You didn’t want to bite me during sex, did you?”
“No,” he said. “But that was different. You weren’t literally waving blood in front of my face.”
“No, I wasn’t. But that just makes this the ultimate test, then, doesn’t it? If this works, Adriel will have no choice but to accept that he was wrong.” I smiled. “Then he won’t have to keep us apart anymore.”
Theo digested this, then nodded. “I want to do it. I’m tired of him treating me like a kid. And I don’t want to doubt myself anymore.” He met my eyes. “I want to prove to myself--not just to Adriel--that I won’t hurt my mate.”
I gave him a soft kiss. “I know you won’t.”
“So, uh, do I still have to shut my eyes?” he asked, raising a brow.
I crossed my arms. “Yes. It’s part of my experiment. I worked very hard on it in the twenty minutes we’ve been here, you know.”
“Fine, fine…”
When Theo was ready, I produced the first stimulus--a vial of blood taken from a patient. Was it wrong? Completely. But this was important to me, too. I lifted the cap and brought the vial in front of Theo’s face.
Instantly, Theo stiffened. His muscles went rigid and his hands curled, gripping his knee tightly. His nostrils flared, like a wolf in front of a steak.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
Theo winced. “Like I want it.”
“But you’re not taking it.”
“No.”
