With a kind smile, Vincent met Mal’s gaze once more, then turned and showed himself to the door. Mal followed, standing in the doorway to watch as Vincent made his way down the hallway. He stayed until Vincent was out of sight.
A single change had started a chain reaction. All this time, Mal had been waiting for the right man to come into his life—to find someone who would understand his psychological hang-ups and accept them. It had felt like the right, rational thing to do. Stick to the script, don’t deviate from the course. But all along, he’d had it backwards.
There was no such thing as a script.
The course of his life was his to choose—whether or not he wanted to mirror what society deemed was acceptable was the only factor at play. And now that Mal had broken from the expected and taken steps to achieving the future he wanted for himself, everything else was falling into place.
A baby. A romance. A lover.
To others, it may have seemed twisted, but to Mal, it was perfection. He closed the door, locked it, then leaned back against it and remembered how, just an hour or two prior, Vincent had shoved him up against that same surface and taken the start of a heat unlike any Mal had ever had.
Heart aflutter, he returned to the bathroom, took his heat blockers as Vincent had instructed, then returned to bed. What they’d found in each other came at a risk, but Mal was willing to take his chances. In Vincent, he’d found a kindred spirit, and for that, he’d go off-script any day of the week.
25
Mal
“Have you noticed any early side effects?” Dr. Peterman asked as she drew yet another sample of Mal’s blood. Her silver hair was pulled back into a tight, short ponytail, her brow furrowed in concentration as she extracted the samples she needed. As it turned out, most of the medical staff in Synecta’s clinical trial division didn’t wear white coats—they spread germs too easily. Dr. Biernacki, whose job it was to sit and observe, seemed to wear one for prestige and identification purposes alone. With as young as he looked, Mal wasn’t surprised. Without one, Mal never would have thought that he was a doctor, too.
“Yes.” Mal hesitated. “I, um… well, I started to slick last night. Usually, I’ll only slick after I’ve already felt my heat setting in, but last night, it happened without any other detectable symptoms.”
“How long did it last?” Dr. Heaney inquired. While Dr. Peterman drew blood, he stood nearby with a tablet, fingers flying furiously as he input what Mal told them.
“Um…” Mal exhaled steadily. Recalling last night brought back memories of who he’d spent it with, and all the things they’d done together during that time. “Approximately two or three hours. At the two-hour mark, I took some blockers just to make sure that I didn’t succumb to heat, if it was coming, and after that, the slick more or less stopped.”
“More or less?”
“I…” God, it was embarrassing. Mal glanced across the room at Vincent, who’d busied himself with other work as Dr. Peterman and Dr. Heaney guided Mal through the first few steps of his appointment. “The reason I started to get slick in the first place, I think, was because I became aroused. I, um… I was watching…”Watching Vincent’s face as he fucked me against the door.“You know…and by the time I’d settled down, it was around three hours later. But after that, I kept… I keptthinkingabout it, and every now and then, my slick would come back.”
Was it a trick of his mind, or had he seen a shiver shoot down Vincent’s spine? Mal’s cock pushed against the flimsy medical gown he wore, and he shifted his thighs in a failed attempt to hide it.
“Increased libido is an expected side effect witnessed in multiple patients,” Dr. Heaney assured him. “While your body prepares to reach maximum fertility, you’ll likely go through several periods of false heat. At this point, medicating with blockers won’t be harmful to your health. If you notice symptoms coming on, don’t hesitate to use them.”
“Thanks.” Mal ran his tongue along the back of his teeth nervously. “I haven’t really noticed anything abnormal apart from the slick.”
There was no further conversation. Both doctors occupied themselves with collecting the samples they needed. The process didn’t take long—no more than ten minutes—but by the end, Mal found himself impatient.
He knew what was coming next.
When Dr. Peterman and Dr. Heaney moved away, clearing Mal’s blood samples from the area, Vincent approached. The blue-striped button-down he wore complemented his skin tone, and he’d matched the shirt well against sensible brown slacks. Mal thought he looked charming, but he did his best not to let the attraction show on his face. Dr. Biernacki, the supervising member of the Science and Ethics Advisory Group, was watching Vincent too closely. Did he suspect that there was something going on? It was paranoia, Mal was sure, but he couldn’t help but feel like there was a kernel of truth behind it. Dr. Biernacki hadn’t paid such close attention while Dr. Peterman and Dr. Heaney were at work.
What if…
Mal pushed the thought aside. It wouldn’t do him any good to panic. If he let himself give in to his fear, he’d give away what he and Vincent were doing their best to hide, and he’d land them both in trouble. Mal couldn’t allow that to happen. He had better control over himself than that.
“Good morning, Mr. Collins,” Vincent said. There was a cheerful, slightly put-on quality to his voice—Vincent had stepped out of his role as lover and into his role as impartial doctor. “Just like yesterday, I’ll be the one who administers your shot. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that, should you encounter any minor side effects, please record them and bring your observations to us at your appointment tomorrow. Should you experience a severe reaction, you’ve been given the director’s number—Dr. Heaney is available for emergency services around the clock.”
“Thanks.”
This morning, Vincent looked tired. There were bags under his eyes, and his beard was slightly more unkempt than usual. Every now and then, Mal noticed him slow blink, like his eyelids protested having to stay open. Between getting to Laurence’s, wrangling a sleeping Nikki, and getting home and settled, Mal figured he hadn’t had much sleep. He hoped he’d been worth it.
“Just like yesterday, today’s injection will be performed on your thigh. You may notice a slight prick—this is normal.” Vincent had wheeled a small, medical-grade stainless steel cart to the examination table. He snapped on a pair of nitrile gloves, selected a sterilizing wipe from a tray on the cart, tore the packaging open, and rubbed down the section on Mal’s thigh where he’d be performing the injection. It was the opposite leg from the day before. “There may be a slight burning or cooling sensation as the injection is performed. Again, this is normal.”
It was interesting to see Vincent at work. While off the clock, he was serious and polite, but he also wasn’t afraid to smile and laugh like he meant it. On the clock, he was far more rigid. The way he spoke was structured, and although he made every effort to come across as friendly, it wasn’t the same as the genuine, human connection Mal shared with him when they were behind closed doors. The look on Vincent’s face, likewise, was focused—perhaps a little too much. He was doing his best to keep any part of their private lives from his work sphere, Mal realized. The effort was admirable.
The antiseptic wipe Vincent used to prepare his skin for the injection was cooling. Goosebumps rose up Mal’s arms, and a shiver worked its way through him that made him want to move. He refrained. If yesterday was any indication, Vincent would be quick and efficient at what he did, and it wouldn’t be long before the injection was over and he was free to get dressed and go.
“If you develop any redness or swelling, make sure to get in touch with Dr. Heaney immediately. Apart from monitoring your body and its reactions a little more carefully than normal, feel free to maintain your current lifestyle. You don’t need to refrain from doing anything you’d normally do. As was said before, you’re free to take blockers if you feel the onset of heat—doing so will pose no risk to your health.”
