Page 32 of Surge of Heat

I don’t know what to say, but Evander answers for her, “We were together this morning.”

Damn him.

“And before that?”

Again, he answers. “The night before.”

“And before that?”

This time, he doesn’t answer, because I wasn’t with him. I was with Aydan, so it’s my turn to answer. “The night before that.”

“Perfect. That should give us enough information, for now. But if you could track your intercourse moving forward, that would be very helpful.”

If only the earth would swallow me up right now.

“Time for the rest of your scans,” Dr. Duncan says.

I nod and follow him out.

The day passes in a blur of one scan after another after another. They want to see my brain, my heart, even my bones. I understand why. I know enough of studying new species to know the kinds of things they’re trying to figure out, but it still feels different to actually be the science experiment.

When we’re done, we wait for their analysis of the test results near the TV screen. Aydan, Granger, and I sit on the couch, and Evander sits in a big chair. Lunch is brought to us, and we eat in silence. Tension thick enough to cut with a knife permeates the air. When we’re done, the staff clears our dishes away, and Dr. Duncan and Dr. Abigail return, stacks of papers in their hands, excitement on their faces.

“Good news?” I ask.

Dr. Abigail’s excited gaze meets mine. “There’s a lot more we have to do with the data, but we have some immediate information. For one, since the two of you changed into dragons, you’ve changed on a biological level. With these readings, both of you should be stronger and faster than any human on earth. What’s more, your bones have changed to be thinner and lighter, and yet, they too are stronger than any humans. Your bones remind us a great deal of the phoenix bones, which actually disintegrate after death, which may explain why there’ve been no dragon fossils found.”

“Awesome,” Granger says, winking at me.

“What’s more, your connection with each other…” She takes a minute to continue, like she’s struggling to explain herself. “It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s like you have an extra sense, which is solely responsible for a deep awareness of each other. There’s your actual scenting of pheromones, which we believe can be tracked across whole continents and is probably a direct result of dragons being spread around the world, but also the effect your intercourse has on those pheromones.”

My cheeks are burning. I can feel several gazes on me, and I hate feeling like a horny test subject who can’t keep it in her pants.

“What do you mean?” Evander asks.

“Well,” she’s struggling for the words, “according to our research, in order to keep a female dragon hidden from other male dragons, factoring in the average amount of cum a male dragon could excoriate in a given round of intercourse, a female dragon would need to have sex every twelve hours. Otherwise, her scent would begin to attract other males once more.”

“I have to have sex every twelve hours?” I ask in shock.

“It seems likely,” Dr. Duncan says, pushing his glasses awkwardly up his nose.

My mind starts working. “But what if male dragons are more… vigorous in bed compared to human males?”

“How so?” Dr. Abigail asks.

I don’t look at Aydan, Granger, or Evander, I just focus on the woman in front of me, suddenly wishing that I’d waited to ask this question in private. “What if they… last often and come more often?”

She looks thoughtful. “That could change the timeline, but we’d need more facts before making an assumption that could endanger all of Specter Inc.” She taps her chin. “Next time, do you think you could write down how many times, and relatively how much semen is released?”

“I can try my best,’ I say, horrified.

“But a man, minus the dragon part, could be just as effective, correct?” Aydan asks.

“If he produced enough semen and could go enough times, I suppose so,” Dr. Abigail says slowly.

Aydan looks triumphant.

Her gaze finds mine. “All we know for sure is that until we do further testing, you should plan on intercourse every twelve hours in order to keep yourself, and everyone else at Specter Inc., safe.”

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