Naga's question dropped into the charged silence like a match on dry tinder.
The air in the half-finished central chamber thickened instantly. Alex's skin flushed hotter, a deep, rolling wave that started low in his belly and spread outward until even the tips of his ears burned. The subtle ache he'd been ignoring all evening sharpened into a throbbing, liquid need that made his hole clench emptily and a fresh gush of slick soak through his pants.
"Yes," Naga hissed, voice dropping into that velvet-rough register that always went straight to Alex's spine. His forked tongue flicked out again, tasting the heavy, sweet scent now rolling off Alex in thick waves. "Your scent just bloomed. Delicious sweet citrus… and pure need. The artifacts kept it suppressed. Without them, your heat is crashing through you all at once."
Alex's legs trembled harder. "I—I've never—System said the stones would stabilize—"
