Omega's Truth - Nora Phoenix Page 0,52

a go at answering that?”

Sando sat up straight. “Yes, sir. Alpha. Naran. Please, I’d appreciate that.”

Naran smiled at him, then pulled Lev in for a kiss that was slow and thorough and left Lev slightly panting. Naran rubbed him affectionately over his hair, then maneuvered his chair next to Sando’s. “You’re a scientist, Sando, so let’s approach this rationally. What is attraction, scientifically speaking?”

This, he could do. He cleared his throat. “It’s purely chemical. Our bodies respond to the hormones or other chemicals someone else’s body secretes. It’s a biological process we don’t control.”

“So if you tell yourself someone is attractive by listing their attributes, which society deem desirable, does that mean you will be physically attracted to them?”

Sando considered that. He hadn’t taken that into account when he’d set up his experiment. “It could be, but it’s not a guarantee, since people are attracted to different things.”

“Exactly. Attraction is not a choice. It’s there, or it isn’t. You can’t force it, though it can change over time, just like our tastes in other things can develop.”

“But what’s love, then? It somehow feels unfair to reduce it to hormones, even though I know that acts of love can trigger the release of hormones. Like, hugging for a prolonged period releases oxytocin. Love has to be more than that because in a way, you can measure attraction, but you can’t measure love.”

“It’s much harder, isn’t it? Love seems too grand and mystical to catch in physical processes and formulas.”

Sando nodded. “But you can’t choose who you love either.”

“No, you can’t.”

“So how can you know the difference? How do you know if what you’re feeling for someone is merely attraction or love? Because from what I understand, one can argue both manifest in the same way.”

Sivney and Rhene walked in, quietly washed their hands, and joined them at the table. Lev put homemade bread on the table, then poured the soup into bowls.

“I don’t think they manifest in the same way at all,” Naran said. “One is physical, namely sensations. The other show as emotional, feelings.”

Huh. He’d never looked at it like that. “So you’re saying that if being with someone only brings physical sensations, like pleasure, but not emotional ones, it’s not love?”

“Generally speaking, yes, I’d argue that if that were the case, it’s lust, not love. Big difference.”

Sando let that sink in as he blew on his spoon until the soup had cooled off enough to eat. “And what kind of feelings do you refer to?” he asked a minute or so later, only then realizing no one had spoken since. He blushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dominate the conversation. You can talk about other stuff, like what you usually talk about, and I’ll shut up…”

“Protectiveness,” Sivney said as if Sando hadn’t spoken those last words. “Wanting to make Naran and Lev happy.”

“Wanting to take care of them,” Lev said softly. “Like, I made this soup because I know it’s Naran’s favorite.”

“Thank you, babyface. You know how much I appreciate it,” Naran said. “For me, it’s this overwhelming feeling of happiness and gratitude when I’m with them. How blessed I am to have them. Feeling like the luckiest man in the world.”

Things clicked for Sando. That was the information that had been missing. He was almost certain now, based on these new facts. All he needed was one test.

“Jeez, guys, way to make the single guy here feel all sad and lonely,” Rhene joked.

Sando looked at him, took a deep breath, and said, “I want you to kiss me.”

18

“I may need another massage tonight,” Lucan groaned as he stretched his back.

All that bending and twisting was not good for his poor back, which had already been tortured the last few weeks with all the renovations in the barn they had transformed into a home. At least the hard work today had resulted in a gorgeous bed for the three of them. Handmade by him and Maz.

“Anytime, habibi,” Maz said as he twisted and turned, trying to loosen his muscles. “I hope you didn’t overdo it.”

Lucan shrugged. “That’s not exactly an objective term, now is it? Should I’ve done this much if I’d wanted to prevent my back from hurting? No. Do I regret it? Also no. I’ll be happy to sleep in a decent bed tonight, so well worth it.”

“True.” Maz checked his watch. “I think if we hurry, we may catch lunch at the farm.”

Lucan moaned. “Lev was making his special tomato soup. That shit is to