Page 122 of Tamed By Her Touch

The raw plant contained the VEL-7 precursor compound. The prepared nectar contained the same precursor. But Maera’s blood, taken after she drank the nectar, contained something completely different—a metabolized form with the protective outer molecular groups stripped away and a highly reactive central structure exposed.

Conclusion—something in the female body was changing the plant compound into another substance entirely, and Clair’s mind had been buzzing with possibilities ever since.

Still, the instant she heard Kaelus, all those fascinating scientific possibilities temporarily vanished beneath another, much less intellectual thought.

He’s back, sang a little voice in her head. He’s back…he’s back…he’s back!

She opened the door just as he raised one huge fist to knock and for a moment they simply looked at each other.

Kaelus was still wearing the charcoal-gray tunic she had dressed him in that morning, and the dark silver band she had fastened around his biceps gleamed against his skin. His black hair was slightly mussed, as though he had been running his hands through it while he worked, and there was a tired look around his golden eyes.

Clair’s heart gave an annoying little flutter.

“Hi,” she said, feeling bashful as a schoolgirl seeing her crush.

“Hello,” Kaelus rumbled.

“You’re back,” she said. Why was she stating the obvious?

“I am.” He nodded.

“That’s generally what that means when someone is standing in front of you,” Clair said, because apparently the sight of him had rendered her incapable of normal conversation. “I mean, that they, uh, came back.”

One corner of his mouth twitched.

“I had not realized you required clarification.”

“Well, I’ve had a long day,” Clair said.

“So have I.”

They were still staring at each other, and she found she couldn’t look away from his molten gold gaze. Also, for some reason she had suddenly become acutely aware of the places his mouth had touched that morning. Her nipples were tight under the metallic blue gown she still wore, and she had to press her thighs together because her pussy was suddenly so hot and wet.

Apparently Kaelus was thinking of the places he’d kissed too, because his gaze dipped briefly to her lips, then lower before snapping firmly back to her eyes.

“So,” Clair said brightly, trying to hide her confusion. “Did you find anything?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did,” he rumbled.

Her scientist brain immediately kicked back in—thank goodness because it had been in the backseat while her lust was driving for a while there, Clair thought.

“So did I!” she exclaimed. “And I think it’s really relevant.”

Kaelus gave her a rare smile.

“I thought you must have found something.”

Clair raised an eyebrow at him.

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because you have that look—the one you get when you have discovered something and are attempting not to tell me before I have even entered the room.”

Clair stepped aside.

“Well, get in here then, big guy, because you are not going to believe what I found.”

Kaelus came inside carrying his data slate, and Clair had barely closed the door before he said, “You first.”