She stepped up towards him; anger and confusion flared inside of her. “I told you that you do not get to decide what I feel!”
“Then tell me,” he growled. All sense of humor disappeared as he looked intently into her eyes. “Tell me what you truly feel like doing.”
“I—I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Yes, you do.”
She shook her head. “No. I do not. I do not understand any of this. I do not understand you or myself. And this experiment?—”
Before she could finish, Alexander kissed her and Theodora realized that perhaps what she felt was not love or hysteria. Perhaps she had been denying her lust for him, and that was perfectly normal because she did not experience this feeling with any other man but him. It was the only explanation for the way her body caught on fire for Alexander and the way her tongue longed to taste every part of him.
Her hands fisted in his coat. His breath mingled with hers causing her heart to pound so loudly she could hear it in her ears. Theodora stood on her tiptoes and kissed him back desperately, angrily, and helplessly.
“This is wrong.” She broke away, breathless.
He touched her cheek, gently. “Then why does it feel right?”
She closed her eyes. She could not think. She couldn’t breathe. And she couldn’t lie.
When she opened her eyes again, something inside her had shifted. Theodora backed away from him, not to flee this time, but to steady herself.
I am not afraid.
“Alexander,” she said softly.
He waited patiently and she swallowed hard.
“I want to do the last stage of my experiment with you.”
CHAPTER 21
Stage Seven: Falling in Love / Consummation
The next and final stage of romance’s grand delusion is the physical act of love. Mechanism: The Mechanical Convergence
Aim: To prove that “becoming one” or partaking in any mating ritual is a purely physiological and physical act with no metaphysical binding of souls.
Method:
Document physical responses during intimate encounter with Subject.
Note Subject’s demonstration and knowledge of female pleasure responses and vice-versa.
Hypothesize that such proficiency results from male Subject’s prior study of female anatomy whilst females remain chaste for propriety sake, indicating practicedlust from male Subjects rather than emotional singularity.
Expected Conclusion: Two bodies aligning for mutual benefit does not equal two souls intertwining.
