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I put the vial to my lips and asked, "Are we sharing this one or do you have your own?"

His eyes were intent as they roamed over my face. He seemed far too serious for someone who'd just been joking around and I didn't understand why.

"That's all there is so far," he murmured quietly. "But you've got to take the whole thing in order for it to work."

His eyes dropped down to my mouth and grew heated. The intensity never left but instead grew thicker, heavier, by the second. That look in his eyes told me he wanted to rip the vial out of my hands and replace its spot against my mouth with his lips. Any other time I would have been excited at the thought of Julian wanting to kiss me. He was one of my boys that I hadn't grown close to on any level of physical intimacy, and I was impatiently waiting for our relationship to get there.

At first, it had been me who wanted to take things slow because I had trust issues and a whole slew of other problems, but now it felt like it was because of the guys that things were creeping along at a snail’s pace, since they were trying to do what they thought was best for me. They were forcing me to be open about what I wanted with them or run the risk of not getting it at all. It was awesome of them and I respected them for it, but I really didn't enjoy making the first move all the time, so I tended to make no move whatsoever and then end up frustrated in more ways than one.

I wanted to tell Julian to kiss me. But, at the same time, I also wanted to help Marcus out in any way possible with his mission, because I thought what he was doing was more important than my love life. Way more important. My mind flashed back to Annabell on her hands and knees, taking multiple Council cocks at once, and I couldn't help the bile that threatened to climb up my throat at the thought of other girls, innocent ones, being forced into that type of situation. My eyes stung with unshed tears as my imagination ran wild and I forced myself to see things I had no desire to see. Ever.

I parted my lips and tipped the vial back. The liquid was surprisingly warm as it filled my mouth. I didn't waste time and quickly swallowed it in two gulps. It burned going all the way down. I pulled the vial away from my mouth and coughed. The aftertaste was horrible and reminded me of something disgustingly sour.

The corner of Julian’s mouth twitched and I knew he was fighting the urge to laugh at me.

"You really did it," he said in awe.

I shrugged. Yeah, I really did it. How stupid was I?

An intense warmth spread through my entire body at an alarming rate. It was there, all throughout my body, and then, in the blink of an eye, it was gone and I felt completely normal once again.

"I don't feel anything now," I told him honestly. "At first it was warm, everything inside me was, but now there's nothing. It's just normal me now."

Normal me was never really normal, that's for sure. Julian looked like he thought the exact opposite.

"Lie to me," he urged, and I blinked stupidly at him. What the hell did he expect me to lie to him about?

"Umm..."

"Come on, Ariel."

"Doesn't it need time to settle into my system before I should lie to you?" Maybe more time would make me feel something different inside. Shouldn't I feel different somehow? I thought so, but Julian didn't seem to agree.

He shook his head and repeated, "Lie to me, Ariel. Give me a good one. Something I will know is a lie so if I feel like I'm believing you, I’ll know subconsciously that you're lying to me."

Huh. I could do that.

"I'm a lesbian," I deadpanned.

His eyes widened right before he burst out laughing.

"A lesbian," he hooted. "It feels so real, but I know several of my brothers have had their tongues down your throat and you've enjoyed it. You." He laughed even harder. "A lesbian."

I frowned at him. What a dick. I'd done exactly what he'd asked me to and now he was laughing at me. That wasn't what I'd agreed to.

"It doesn't work," I grumbled under my breath. I didn't know what I'd expected out of him after my announcement, but it hadn't been this.

"No, no, no," he said after getting his laughter under control. "It feels real, that you're into chicks, even though I know it's not. It definitely worked. Try another one. Come on, Ariel, hit me with another doozie."

I did not think so. I wasn't interested in being subjected to more of his laughter at my expense.

"No," I told him snottily. "You want me to lie, then you should ask me questions and then you can tell me whether or not I'm lying. That's the only way this is going to go."

"Okay," he agreed readily, before he took the forgotten vial from my hands and sat it down on the table. "If that's how you want to play it then that works for me."

I frowned, unsure if I liked the way he'd worded that or if he was being sincere.

He turned, facing me, and placed his hands on my cheeks, cupping my face.