Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

MAY

I glanced up at Hejun's face. Even after sprinting with me in his arms, he wasn't remotely winded. His uniquely handsome face, with his grey skin and piercing yellow eyes, didn't carry a hint of tension or anger or revulsion. If anything, he looked worried as his gaze swept over the houses as he walked.

For me. About what we were doing.

Hejun was winning points without even trying. He promised safety without payment. He didn't grab me at all while running with me. And as soon as we were inside Tolerance, he'd slowed to ask if I would prefer to walk or if he could carry me to Eitri's front door.

Since being carried around like a princess was a novelty I enjoyed, I went with that option and let my head rest against his chest. His heart hammered steadily beneath my ear. I found the sound comforting.

The same as I found his strength. On any other man, it would have terrified me. But Hejun and the other fey never used their bulky muscles to hurt women or children. I knew that because I'd watched. For months.

The fey were kind and courteous to women and children. Always. Regardless of the circumstances. I'd watched one woman spit at a fey. He had smiled and nodded at her like it had been nothing.

Their calm in the face of anger and prejudice had proven to me that they were the real thing. Good men. That's when I'd first had thoughts of trying again. That was when Hejun had first caught my eye. It had taken me weeks to build up my courage. Weeks and the medical team's arrival.

"The house is ahead," Hejun said.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't; I was too nervous. Despite the time I'd taken to observe, I was still struggling with my doubts. What if I was wrong? What if being with a fey wasn't as great as everyone made it seem?

We were only halfway up the walk when Eitri opened the door. A fey walked out with a blushing woman, and a woman in a lab coat followed them out a step.

"Make sure to return first thing in the morning," the woman said.

"We will," the fey said, looking down at the woman. His expression reminded me of someone who just found out they won the lottery and didn't have to pay taxes.

The lab coat woman's gaze shifted to us as we passed the couple.

"Come in," she said.

Hejun eased me to my feet and set a steadying hand on my arm as I shook out my legs. The woman started tapping on her data pad.

"May I have your first and last name?"

"May Woods," I said, unzipping my jacket. Hejun helped me take it off. It was the first time in my life a man had ever done something like that for me, and boy, did I like it.

"Perfect," the woman said. "I have you entered. This will be a fairly simple process from my standpoint that will require a few samples. I'll explain as I take the first one to establish your baseline, all right?"

"Sure," I said. I took a seat on the folding chair she had set up by the door and rolled up my sleeve.

"The premise is simple," she said, wiping my inner elbow. "I'm taking blood samples at intervals to see how immunity progresses in couples having sexual relations."

Hejun dropped my jacket and cleared his throat as he quickly picked it up again.

"Don't worry," the doctor said with a glance between him and me. "I won't be present for those relations. I'll send you on your way for that piece. I'm only interested in the blood samples and the notes regarding the type of relations and frequency. We're trying to understand what is triggering the immunity.

"I'm looking for four test groups. The first group will have vaginal intercourse only once a day and return each twenty-four hours for bloodwork. The second group will have vaginal intercourse as many times a day as they are able and return each twelve hours for blood work. The third group will share reciprocated oral once a day with twenty-four-hour draws, and the fourth group will be for reciprocated oral as often as possible with twelve-hour draws.

"Since what we're asking is quite a lot, frankly, I'm leaving it to each couple to choose which test group they would like to join."

"What's the duration of this study?" I asked.

"Until the bloodwork starts to change," she said.

I held the cotton pad to where the needle had been and considered the options. Sex and blood draws for the unforeseeable future in exchange for immunity and a possible happily ever after didn't seem like an unfair trade at all.

"We'll join the first group," I said.

"No." Hejun's quick, firm answer briefly surprised me. Then again, maybe he was thinking of this as a test run too. Jumping right into sex might be a little too forward for him.

"Okay, then we'll join the fourth group?" I said uncertainly, glancing at him.

He didn't immediately reject the idea. Instead, he looked down at my coat fisted in his hands. A confusing and curious reaction.

"That's excellent," the doctor said. "I haven't had any volunteers for that group yet." She dug through a nearby tote and tossed something at Hejun. He caught it in one hand. "To help understand the quantities being consumed during this experiment, I'll need a baseline sample from you too."

The complete horror and discomfort in his expression as he stared at the collection cup had me feeling sorry for him. He hadn't signed up for that level of embarrassment.

"It's okay, Hejun. If you'd rather not, I?—."

Hejun lifted his head to glance at me.

"No. I will do this."

"The bathroom is to your right," the doctor said, placing my band-aid.

He disappeared into the bathroom the doctor had indicated.

"Remember to record how often," the doctor said, handing me a small notebook and pen. "Noting the frequency and quantity you manage to ingest is key. If possible, I would like to draw samples at consistent twelve-hour intervals between five and ten a.m. and p.m. Do you have a time preference?"

"I think nine will work well for me. I'm not sure about Hejun."

"I've found that the fey are very willing to go along with whatever the female chooses. Do you have any other questions for me?"

"Why reciprocated?" I asked. "I thought it was their semen that was giving immunity."

"The case studies are based on how the already immune women described their experiences with their fey. I don't want to discount saliva as being important. That's why I've broken it up into four groups. I'm testing frequency as well as method."

I nodded and looked at the bathroom door.

"Don't worry," the doctor said. "It usually doesn't take them long."