Page 6 of Spawn

"Big Guy has given me detailed descriptions of human anatomy," he said as he picked up chunks of vegetables and crushed them in his hands into the pot. They began to sizzle. "Mating with Saoirse would lead to my death."

My many thoughts about the future fluttered out the window into outer space.

"She invited you to watch a show together, not mate," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. I didn't know why I felt so disappointed. If he was able to mate with a human, he just made it clear it would have been Saoirse. He only turned her down because of something Big Guy told him. When I saw them hanging out together in the public spaces, it made me happy he was connecting with others. Shouldn't I have felt jealous to see them together if I was going to feel disappointed by the fact that he couldn't hook up with humans at all?

"My origin species has a mating rut that is triggered by accepting an invitation into a potential mate's nest," he said as he continued to add things to the pot. "I am fairly certain going into a personal space like a room would trigger it."

"But you made several comments about wanting to watch your show with me in my room," I said, trying to work through my confusion. "Why would you do that if mating with me would kill you?"

"Mating with you would cause me minor injury," he said, flashing me a smile as he poured the coconut-like cream we made out of the attack vine's venom. "I have looked up the scans, and mating with Saoirse would kill me, whereas mating with you wouldn't. Even if it wouldn't, I am not attracted to Saoirse the way I am to you. Your scents are different, and even if it were safe to do so, I would never accept her invitation to mate when I had a stronger attraction to you."

His words caused a flutter of excitement to clench my core, my anticipation and arousal adding to my confusion about what he was saying.

"Garlithian would," I said. "From what you've said of your show, Garlithian accepts any female who expresses interest at all."

I didn't know why I was arguing with him about this, if what I was doing was even arguing. I just wanted to understand him better. Not only that, but I wanted to understand my emotional and physical reactions to what he was saying.

"Garlithian is not a role model," he said as he picked up a small round metal ball, tapped it on the side, and dropped it into the bubbling pot. The sound of whirring filled the air.

"You quote him all the time," I said. "You sure have made it sound like you consider him to be a role model."

"Not for mating," he said. "Garlithian is a character to be pitied when it comes to mating, not emulated."

As it often was with him, I found my mental image of him shifting around, realigning as he showed that his thoughts went deeper, that he wasn't going to worship a male role model unilaterally without seeing the flaws.

"I think I need to watch this show," I said.

The whirring sound faded as Sherlock's smile grew.

"I would love to watch it with you in your room," he said, again asking for an invitation without directly asking.

He said it that way because he needed that direct invitation. That was why he didn't just knock on my door with snacks in hand, ready to go.

I remained silent, not taking the bait.

"Try this," he said, dipping a clean spoon in the pot and holding it out to me. I let him feed me the spoonful, mulling over the flavor even as I mulled over everything he had told me.

"It's good," I said, and he dished up two bowls for us. I dug into the soup, enjoying it while we stood alone in the kitchen. It was getting close to dinner time, and soon others would begin to congregate, to find out if I had made anything or to play around with recipes of their own. The kitchen was big enough for everyone, and these moments alone with Sherlock were rare.

I still needed to know so much more.

"What is a mating rut?" I asked.

FOUR

SHERLOCK

I was halfway through my explanation when she cut me off.

"I forgot something in my room," she said, her eyes wide, the edge of her lower lip glistening as she stared up at me with parted lips, her words breathy. "Come with me to help me find it?"

"There is more to explain," I said. "The most important part is the fact that I can't-"

"Do you want to come back to my room or not?" she demanded, planting her hands on her hips in fists.

"What about the soup?" I said. She said it was good, which meant it was. Noelle was not one to give false praise when it came to food.

Noelle reached over and turned off the stove. She grabbed a lid, put it on the pot, then took the empty bowl from my hand and put both of them in a large sink basin.