Page 150 of Tamed By Her Touch

Maera smiled.

“I thought you might say that. I already have some samples for us to test. Come on—let’s go.”

Their first task was examining the saliva samples Maera had ordered the previous afternoon. Several dozen tiny crystal vials had arrived from women throughout Titus Four, all carefully labeled with age, medical history, length of regular veloria use, time since their last serving of nectar, and other relevant data.

Maera had also requested samples from a smaller group of husbands so they could compare the compounds present in male and female saliva, though Clair suspected the male samples would prove even more interesting once they began considering the possibility of intimate transmission.

They started with their own. Maera produced two sterile collection tubes.

“Well, this is glamorous,” Clair said as she deposited saliva into hers. “Nothing says ‘advanced interplanetary medical research’ like spitting into a tube.”

Maera laughed.

“Science is rarely as elegant as people imagine.”

“Tell me about it. I once spent three weeks collecting mucus from a carnivorous swamp flower,” Clair said dryly.

Maera looked fascinated.

“Was the mucus useful?”

“Oh, extremely. My colleagues were able to use it to make a cure for a deadly rash that had been threatening the native population of a backwater planet,” Clair said proudly.

Maera smiled.

“Then I see no difficulty. Even when it’s messy, science pays off.”

They loaded both their samples into the analyzer and the results appeared almost immediately. Clair leaned forward with interest to see them.

“Well, there it is,” she remarked.

The active veloria metabolite was present in both samples. But the difference in concentration was enormous. Maera’s saliva contained nearly nine times as much of the active compound as Clair’s.

“Wow,” Clair murmured. “Look at yours.”

Maera examined the figures.

“That seems quite high.”

“It is. But it makes sense. You’ve been drinking veloria since puberty, right?”

“Since my first flowering, yes.” Maera nodded.

“And every day? Correct?” Clair asked.

Maera looked thoughtful.

“Yes. Sometimes twice a day during periods of illness or stress.”

Clair nodded thoughtfully.

“I’ve had what—two glasses?”

“Three.” Her hostess smiled.

Clair looked at her, surprised.

“Three?”