Brundar discarded the condom, grabbed a few washcloths and came back to bed. Releasing Calypso’s wrists from the restraints, he wondered whether he should thrall her while she was still out of it, or wait to see if she remembered his bite.

He removed her blindfold and examined her neck. The bite marks were already gone, so there would be no evidence of it, and even if she remembered, he might be able to talk his way out of it.

Damnation. He hated all the lying necessary to keep his people safe.

Except, it was for a very good cause, and he would do so as long as he had to in order to preserve Calypso’s sharp mind. Even every other day or every third day could cause irreversible damage to a human’s brain. He had developed a good system that allowed him to refrain from using the thrall too often, and it worked well in the club, but Calypso wasn’t as easy to fool.

She didn’t miss much.

After a quick wipe down with a washcloth, he tucked her into his chest and held on. So soft and so perfect. Nothing had ever felt as good and as right.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him with a smile. “Did I pass out again?”

“Just for a few minutes.” Her body was getting accustomed to his venom. Soon, she wouldn’t black out at all.

“You must be so proud of yourself,” she teased. “It takes skill to have a woman pass out each time you make love to her.”

The phrase making love grated on his mental synapses. Why did humans have to use euphemisms when talking about sex?

He didn’t like the word fucking either, there was a demeaning connotation to it that he wanted nowhere near Calypso. Plain old sex worked best. Not making love, not sleeping together unless they were actually sleeping, and not fucking or screwing either.

He and Calypso had sex.

But he wasn’t going to correct her. Calling the act of sex making love obviously meant something to her, and if he commented on it, she would get offended, maybe even start crying. The petty peeve he had with the euphemism wasn’t worth ruining her orgasm afterglow over.

“Did you enjoy the flogger, sweetling?”

“A lot. I’m so glad we added purple as a safe word. Now I feel like I could get adventurous and try new things. Nothing is so bad that I can’t endure a few seconds of it.”

“You can always say red and everything stops. Isn’t that enough?”

Calypso eyed his chest, then leaned forward and kissed it. “Is this okay? Or is it the same as touching?”

He cradled the back of her head and kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. You can kiss me anywhere you want.”

“Anywhere?” She waggled her brows.

He slapped her behind. “Answer the question I asked you.”

She made a pouty face. “Meanie. What was the question?”

Perhaps she was still loopy and unfocused from the venom. “Why do you need purple when red stops everything?”

“Because I don’t want everything to stop. It’s a downer. Purple is about implements only. There are so many of them that they deserve a color of their own.”

There was some logic to it, though he doubted it would make sense to anyone but the two of them. But then the two of them was what mattered. Until he could no longer stay around, Brundar wasn’t going to play with anyone else, and neither was Calypso. Which meant the condoms could and should go.

“I want you to go on the pill. I don’t want any barriers between us. I’ll get checked up and bring you a letter from the doctor as proof that I’m clean.”

“How do you know you are? Were you always safe?”

“I was. But I don’t want you to take my word for it. Never do that with any guy no matter how much they swear on it. Always ask for documents.”

Her smile vanished, her chin quivering a little. “How can you talk about me with other men?”

He couldn’t. The words had left his mouth before he had time to let the implications sink in. “It’s hypothetical. I want to make sure that no matter what the future holds, you’re always careful and protected.”

Calypso nodded. “You’re right. But by the same token, you should also ask me for a certificate. What if I’m infected?”

Brundar chuckled. “You married the first guy you had sex with, was with said guy for two years, and I’m the second one. I don’t think there is a chance you caught something.”

Calypso chewed on her lower lip. “What if Shawn cheated on me?”

“You think he did?”

“Why else would he be so suspicious of me cheating on him all of the time? Everyone judges others by their own standards or lack thereof.”

He nodded. “Yeah. That’s why it never crossed my mind that the lowlife could’ve brought diseases back home to you.”

She kissed his chin. “You’re a good man, Brundar.”

Was he?

Not really. But he was honorable. He would’ve never cheated on a life mate even if their match wasn’t a true love one.

“I can arrange an appointment for you with my other cousin who is a doctor.” Bridget would do it for free, saving Calypso unnecessary expense.

Calypso chuckled. “Not another cousin, Brundar. I want to do this one on my own.”

“Why? My cousin would do it for free.”

She shook her head. “Not this time. I’m going to find a nice doctor and make an appointment like everyone else.”

“I’ll drive you to the appointment.”

She rolled her eyes. “We will talk about it later.”

Which in Calypso speak meant forget it.

He didn’t understand why she’d refused getting checked up by a relative of his, or why she wanted to do this without him.

Was she trying to hide something?

Nah. Calypso was like an open book. Whatever bothered her about his involvement must have been something else. Probably one of those strange female-specific issues no male would ever understand.