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merely having exposure once again.”
    She blew on the liquid before sipping carefully. It was too hot to drink, so she tried some of the fruit. It wasn’t horrible, just really sweet and very tangy, like hyper-acidic citrus. “Fine, that sounds about right.”
    He grinned, “And then, you found me so irresistible, you kissed me while I was sleeping, tasting my lips.”
    Ava grimaced and took a bite out of the surprisingly mild cured meat. “Sure.”
    “Bewitched by my masculine glory, you found yourself unable to hold back and you pressed your lips to mine.” His grin was blindingly white against the glossy jet of his skin.
    “Bewitched?”
    “Enthralled, entranced, your soul entwined with mine. However you want to say it. You want me.” He sipped at his cup.
    Ava let out an exasperated sigh and pressed her hand to her forehead while eating her toast. “It doesn’t matter. I am not allowed to have you.”
    He blinked and leaned back, “Why not? Among my people, you follow your heart or any other part of your body that is leading the way.”
    “Well, in contact-healer training, we learn that getting too close to folk that we work with can cause us to lose focus and that can mean disaster for our patients. With so many lives at stake, I don’t want to risk anything by following any part of my body. The kiss was a flight of fancy. I won’t do it again, I promise.”
    He scowled and finished his breakfast while she consumed hers. When they were done, he seemed to have recovered some of his determination. “Well, I make no such promise.”
    As they walked back to the medical gathering, Avaneer had to admit that hearing his words made her feel a little better.

Chapter Five
    Dr. Rathos was beaming when they returned. “It works!”
    Ava raised her brows. “In the petri dish?”
    “Indeed. This is excellent. You can be on your way in a matter of weeks if this continues to work.”
    Ava looked to Kondr and nodded tightly. “Doctor, I need to speak with you about the next stage.”
    Dr. Rathos frowned but inclined his head. “Of course. This way.”
    Ava gave Kondr a hand gesture that told him to stay. She followed Rathos to a small office that had been built on a balcony.
    The feeling of fresh air against her skin made her smile and being able to look out over the city caused an ache in her heart.
    “What did you need to speak to me about, Healer?”
    “I know what is required for the next phase in theory, but I don’t know how to describe it without complete mortification.” She dropped into a chair, and the doctor mimicked her, sitting close.
    “Just say it. We have the initial sample to try on our volunteers, so what is the hesitation for what comes next?”
    Ava blurted it out. “The volunteer needs to be male, needs to get injected with a sample from my blood and then I have to…”
    “Yes?”
    “I have to take DNA from that volunteer into my body and thereby create a working serum for your people.”
    “Of course, we can insert a sample under your skin as you mentioned earlier.”
    She winced. “No, I am afraid that my body will feel it as an attack. This is the hard part. I will have to have sex with the volunteer.” She tried to cool her skin by will alone.
    Initially she had assumed that she could create a simple anti-viral but the plague was hardier than it looked. Tricking her biology was her only choice.
    “Oh. That is unacceptable for you?”
    Ava ran her hand across her braid. “No. Yes. It has been over a decade for me, and I don’t want my first time in that long to be under duress.”
    Rathos frowned, “A decade? Are the men of your world dead? You are not Admorik, but you are exceptionally attractive. It is no wonder that Kondr is sniffing after you.”
    “I think that it is a matter of being convenient.” She groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. “Can you please restrict the volunteers to men? I can heal them enough to have sex with them if they happen to be in the