He didn't give Adonis time to process the words. Dax closed the remaining distance between them in two silent strides. He didn't even touch him
He simply let go.
The air around Dax shimmered with the sudden, overwhelming release of his pheromones. The rich, intoxicating aroma of dark spiced rum, aged in shadow and bitterness, flooded the space. It was thick enough to taste, to feel on the skin like an oil, seeping into the porous concrete of the motel, the cracked asphalt, and the very fibers of Adonis's ill-fitting clothes.
Adonis flinched back, a hand flying to his nose, but it was useless. His eyes widened in dawning horror. "No... I had them removed. The glands, the receptors… everything!"
"Did you think you could cut the sky out of your lungs and still breathe?" Dax murmured, his voice a soft contrast to the violence he was unleashing. "This isn't about your senses, Adonis. This is about your cells. About the water that makes you up."
