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He had no idea, but he wanted to find out—even though he knew it was none of his business.
“I like the decorations in here,” he said, though the room was done in black and white, the same way the living area was. “You, uh, kept the same color pattern, I see. Is it the same in your sleeping chamber?”
Jodi looked at him mistrustfully, her arms crossed over her chest.
“Well…yes. Do you want to see it?”
Vorn held up his hands.
“Only if you want to show me. Sleeping chambers are private areas. Sometimes people keep the mess they like to hide from visitors shut away and prefer not to show them.”
Jodi’s back stiffened.
“None of my house is messy! Come on.”
She marched out of the spare room and led him to the room right beside it. Flinging open the door, she stood to one side and gestured.
“See for yourself.”
Vorn kept back a little smile. He had suspected that Jodi was extremely house-proud and that alluding to a possible mess would get him a glimpse of her sleeping chamber.
Only it wasn’t a glimpse he wanted—it was a smell.
He stepped inside her bedroom—which was a little larger than his own and had an en-suite bathroom—and glanced around.
This room was also done in black and white, but there were at least some accent colors here and there. Some blue pillows on the bed and a framed picture on the wall of a single tree and a pond reflecting the light of a blue moon.
“Nice picture,” Vorn remarked, nodding in approval. “Who painted it? Is the artist local?”
Jodi gave a reluctant smile.
“You could say that. I painted it at a ‘Wine and Shine’ event with a group of friends.”
“A what?” Vorn asked.
She waved a hand, looking embarrassed.
“Oh, it’s just this place you can go for a girl’s night out. You bring a bottle of wine and everybody gets drunk and paints. It’s fun.” She shrugged. “But I kind of liked the way this turned out—so I kept it.”
“I like it too,” Vorn said frankly. “You seem to have real talent. Are you going to school for art? For painting?”
She stifled a laugh.
“Hardly. I’m getting a Masters degree in Sexual Psychology and Counseling. I’m going to be a Sex Therapist.”
“A what?” Vorn had never heard of this particular profession. He was almost afraid to ask what it entailed.
“A Sex Therapist—someone who helps other people when they have sexual dysfunctions to overcome or work through.”
“How exactly do you help them?” Vorn asked. “Do you show them what they’re doing wrong or—”
“No, no!” Jodi gave a short laugh. “No, I’ll talk through their problems with them—help them see the source of the dysfunction. Then together we’ll work out a plan to resolve it.”
Vorn was still confused.
“I’m sorry but…do humans really have that much trouble just making love?”
“Kindred don’t?” she shot back.
“Well…no.” He shrugged. “Once you bond a female to you, the two of you have a mental link. Knowing what the other person is thinking and feeling most of the time kind of keeps you in sync. Like…if I was bonded to a female and she wasn’t reaching orgasm when I made love to her, I would know right away. And I would damn-well fix it—not go talk to somebody else about it.”
Jodi shifted, pressing her thighs together.
“Well, it’s not quite so straight-forward with humans. We don’t form any kind of mental bond with our partners. So a lot of times sexual dysfunction creeps in and one partner is afraid to tell the other one, for fear of hurting their feelings. It can go on and on for years, getting worse and worse until it can end a relationship.” She shook her head. “Of course, I won’t only be doing couple’s counseling. I’ll be working with anyone who isn’t having a fulfilling sex life in order to make them feel most comfortable with their sexuality.”
“Sounds nice,” Vorn said noncommittally, though inwardly he was thinking she ought to see to her own relationship first. Despite the faint scent of a male in this room—whom he assumed must be the elusive fiancé she kept talking about—there was almost no smell of sex. Either she and James made love someplace else entirely…or they rarely, if ever, had sex at all.
Which was just sad, considering the intense sexuality Jodi exuded. Maybe she had picked her profession based on her desire to heal her own dysfunctions, Vorn speculated.
At any rate, it was none of his business.
“Thanks for giving me the tour,” he said, exiting the room. “If you don’t mind, I’ll get my carry-all cube from the vehicle and unpack.”
Jodi’s full lips became a narrow line.
“Do you think you should? You might not be here long.”
Meaning she wanted him to leave as soon as possible, Vorn thought dryly.
“Hopefully not,” he said blandly. “But I’m here at least for the night. I’ll need my sleep trousers and oral hygiene kit.”
