Riot choked on nothing.
Orion’s head whipped toward him, eyes wide with a look that clearly saidwhat exactly have you been doing with him?
“It’s—” Dante started.
“Don’t,” Riot warned.
“—the buildup before sacred union,“ Dante finished smoothly, ignoring him completely. Riot had to admire the technique, actually. The man could sell sand to a desert. “The things that get you in the mood. For us, that’s arguing.”
Cass’s confusion only deepened. “Before sacred union? But sacred union is when two souls merge their energy to createspiritual harmony. What does arguing have to do with energy merging?”
Dante blinked. Then looked at Riot. Then back at Cass.
“Sacred union,” he repeated slowly. “That’s what Elysian calls it?”
“Calls what?”
“Don’t,” Riot said again, harder this time.
“When two people—” Dante gestured vaguely. “Physically.”
Cass stared blankly.
“Intimately.”
Nothing.
“When bodies—”
“He’sbornElysian,“ Riot cut in, feeling heat crawl up his neck. Somehowthiswas what was going to do him in. Death by embarrassment. The irony would be spectacular. “And he hasn’t taken that course yet.”
Dante’s mouth opened, closed, opened again. He looked genuinely at a loss—probably for the first time since Riot had known him. It was almost worth the embarrassment.
“So when you two...” Dante gestured between Riot and Cass. “Earlier. Did he even know what was happening, or—”
“I knew some things,” Cass said helpfully. “Riot explained the words.”
“Oh yeah?” Orion grinned. “What words?”
“Orion.” Riot glared at him.
Cass’s cheeks turned pink and he started fingercombing his hair, looking at his lap. “Like orgasm. And cum. And—”
“Okay,” Riot interrupted, his face definitely burning now. “We don’t need to—”
“—and slick, which is apparently normal and not disgusting even though it feels disgusting, and there’s a spot inside that makes everything go white when you press it, and—”
“Cass.”
“What?” Cass looked at him with genuine confusion. “They asked.”
Orion had buried his face in his hands. His shoulders were shaking.
Riot wondered, with the detached curiosity of a man watching his own dignity burn to the ground, whether it was possible to die of secondhand embarrassment. The modifications had enhanced a lot of things, but his ability to withstand social catastrophe was apparently not among them.
“Oh.” Cass’s expression fell. “I’m sorry. I’m not very good at communication techniques.”
The guilt in his voice made Riot’s chest ache. He pulled Cass closer, pressing a kiss to his temple without thinking about it. “It’s fine. You didn’t know.”
