His answer was infuriatingly honorable andCassiefound she couldn’t be mad at him anymore.Sheswallowed hard.
“I feel likeIneed to be touched,” she said, the words coming out stiffly.“LikeIneed…contact.Heat.Bothof you close.AndIkeep thinking about…”Shestopped and shook her head.“No.Ican’t.”
“You can,”Severinsaid softly.
Ravik’s voice came from behind her, low and rough.
“Cassie safe with us.”
Her eyes stung unexpectedly.
She hated this—hated how much she wanted to believe him.Hatedhow badly she wanted to step back intoRavik’sarms and letSeverintouch her from the front.Hatedthat part of her body was already leaning toward them, already aching for more.
She couldn’t be dependent on them—hadn’t her time with bothSskarthandMitchtaught her that men weren’t to be trusted?Sheneeded to be self-sufficient and yet this damn virus was undermining her self-control and ruining her independence at every turn.
“I keep thinking aboutsex,”she whispered.“Notjust normal sex.Ikeep imagining both of you.Inthe bed…in the lab.Touchingme…watching me.Fillingme.”Herface flamed.“AndIknow that’s too much information, but there it is.It’slike my brain is stuck on a dirty loop and my body won’t calm down.”
Ravik’s breathing deepened but this time he didn’t say anything.
Severin looked as though he was carved from ice, butCassiecould see the strain in him—the tight line of his jaw, the way his fangs had lengthened, and how one hand had curled into a fist at his side.
“Since when?”he asked.
“Since this morning.Itgot worse after…”Sheglanced atRavik, then away.“AfterIswallowed his seed.”
Ravik made a low sound that was half growl, half groan.
Severin closed his eyes briefly.
“When you told me in the shower that your body felt strange, was it like this?”
Cassie frowned.
“Yes, but not as strong.It’sbeen building all day.”Shelooked down at her arm again.Theglow had faded slightly now that both males were keeping a careful distance, but the pulse was still there.“Andnow my zombie bite is doing mood lighting, soI’mguessing we’ve moved past ordinary perimenopause symptoms.”
“That would be a reasonable assumption,”Severinsaid.
Cassie shot him a look.
“If you say anything about needing samples right now,Imay throw a knife at you.We’rein the kitchen—Ihave lots at hand.”
“Idoneed samples,” he said carefully.
She stared at him.
“Severin…”
“Butnotbecause you’re some kind of specimen,” he added quickly.“Becauseyou’re frightened and something is happening to you thatIdon’t understand yet.Ineedto understand it soIcan help you.”
The anger drained out of her again, leaving only exhaustion and need and fear…which was arguably worse.
Because she could fight anger.Shecould make jokes around embarrassment.Shecould push back against coldness and cruelty and being treated like a defective inconvenience, the waySskarthhad treated her.
But the gentleness she felt from both of the bigKindredkept getting under her skin.
Cassie wrapped her arms around herself, partly to cover her breasts and partly because she felt suddenly vulnerable.
“What if you can’t help me?”she askedSeverin.“WhatifI’mso infected by the virus thatIjust…burn up?Imean from fever or heat or need?”
