“From my observations, human beings are rarely able to separate physical intimacy from tender emotions so neatly,” Sherlock said. “And there are simpler ways of gaining bodily satisfaction.” “I suppose,” I said, staying right where I was, my gaze holding his. “But it is a rather special sort of gratification. How much direct experience do you have on which to base that kind of judgment?” “I had a few encounters in my college years. They were a lot of effort for little reward. There was nothing about them I’d recommend.” I smiled fully, just barely holding my lips back from a smirk. “I think you’ve missed out, then. A good ‘encounter’ can be incredibly stimulating to the mind as well. You’d have to recommend that.” “If I believed it,” Sherlock said in a skeptical tone, but his eyes hadn’t left mine. I was sure of the avidness I saw there now. “So we have a difference of opinion,” I said, resting my elbows on the arms of the chair. “What if I could prove it to you?” Sherlock had been sitting nearly motionless before, but now he went completely still. “How would you expect to ‘prove it’?” Oh, he knew. I could see that in his face, in the brief bob of his throat. “I don’t think you’re really so unaffected,” I said, settling more languidly into the plump cushions of my chair. “I bet I could provoke a reaction from you without touching a single place we’d consider overtly sexual. Will you take that wager?” “A reaction,” Sherlock repeated. “You’ll be undeniably hard. And if I win that bet, I get to show you how much more you can feel, without restriction.” A faint smile crossed Sherlock’s lips. He really thought I might not be able to live up to my word. “And if you don’t?” “I will.”