Honestly -- which I always am, but... I didn't think she'd stay. She asked to see- She wanted the whole effect. She got it. And she didn't leave.

[That had been what had surprised him the most. That and her acceptance afterward, the ability to touch him and not cringe away or have any fear in her eyes... He hadn't known how much he'd been needing that until then. He looked over at Gabriel, seeing him finally reach for his drink.]

It means more than I thought it would. I've had sex before, obviously. Billions of years of sex. But... It was never that. Is that... I can't say I don't mean to pry because I do. Is that what it's like with you and yours, mm? Do you love him? Is that something we're allowed to do?