Not tonight? What was the bloody point of asking, then? Melody pulled at the strand in the mattress cover, refusing to look over at him. The bloody point was, she realized with a start, he'd been hoping for permission for an affair. For a love outside of hers. For a life outside of the one they were trying in vain to build.

She was going to be sick.

Melody bit her lip and nodded. Her experience with sex was abysmal, but there had to be things they could do that couldn't impregnate her. Many of the books she read while searching for a potion described different acts that she in her innocence couldn't quite understand. "We could do it now..." she hinted quietly, almost positive in his coming rejection. But, maybe if they did something he wouldn't be as inclined to an affair. Melody couldn't meet his needs in the way she desired, but maybe she could in other ways. In ways men needed.