Free Hidden Heat by Amy Valenti

low. “She has nymphitis.”

Chapter Seven
     
     
     
    Something about the way he’d said it told me I wasn’t the first case of this fictional disease he’d seen. “Nymphitis? Is this another committee thing no one has bothered to tell me about?”
    Scott put his hands on my shoulders, sighing. “Relax, Holly. I didn’t want you to go out there freaked out. I knew it wouldn’t help you.”
    I wrenched out of his grip, hurt. “So I’m not the first to go through this? Why aren’t you being honest with me?”
    “Chill, Holly.” Grant’s voice brought my spiral of irrationality to a temporary halt. “Let him explain, okay? He’s a good guy.”
    I believed that, deep down, but my brain was filled with images that sickened me: Scott, taking advantage of my vulnerable state to get laid all weekend, knowing that there was something really wrong with me. “Have you slept with other nympho girls? Am I the latest in a long line?”
    Both Scott and Grant shook their heads, glancing at each other. “Come on. Let’s sit down,” Scott said, holding a hand out towards me.
    Brushing the tears from my eyes, I hesitated, then took his hand. His fingers folded around mine, warm and reassuring and somehow sensual at the same time, and I allowed him to guide me into the living room and onto the couch.
    “There was another girl who slipped through the net. A doctor helped her fake it, the same way your aunt did. She was going to be a lawyer. And no, I never met her.”
    My mind raced, confused by this new information. Had Aunt Leah helped her out? “What was her name?”
    “Theresa Mason.” It was Grant who answered, his voice quiet. “I was around when Beth brought her in. By that point, she was hitting on any guy in the vicinity, so I had to leave pretty quickly.”
    I stared at him, fear overcoming everything else. “I’m going to get worse?”
    Scott put a hand on my arm, and even through the encroaching panic, I had to fight the urge to climb into his lap. “I didn’t think you had the same condition until you couldn’t calm down just now, Holly, I swear.”
    “What happened to her?” I didn’t want to know, but I needed to.
    “Beth gave her meds to counteract the hormone imbalance, but it shifted too quickly. She was taken into clinic custody a couple of days later,” Grant said. “We never saw or heard anything about her after that, but one of the committee in the corporate sector hacked into her governmental record. She’s listed as deceased.”
    The words hit me like a physical blow. Would I share Theresa’s fate? How long would I have until I went completely crazy?
    “Can you cancel things with your parents today? Tell them you’re sick? I wanna get Beth to take a look at you.” Scott’s voice grounded me, and I nodded, glad to have something to focus on.
    “I’ll call Beth.” Grant got up and left the room, and I dug my phone out of my purse.
    While I spoke to my mother, who could hear the distress in my voice and took it for physical discomfort, Scott paced the room, getting tenser by the moment. By the time I hung up, his hands were balled into fists.
    “Scott?” I said quietly.
    He looked over at me, and I saw the helplessness in his face. “I don’t know what to do. How to help. I don’t even know if I should touch you, or whether that would be taking advantage—”
    I acted on instinct, getting to my feet and crossing to put my arms around him. He hugged me back, some of the tension draining from him as I tried to reassure him.
    “I believe you when you say you didn’t know. Don’t distance yourself from me…please?”
    He sighed, then pressed his lips gently against my forehead. “You’re only in the early stages. By the time Theresa got to Beth, she was too far gone, but she should be able to help you.”
    I hope.
    His unspoken words rang loud in my ears, no matter how hard I tried not to hear them.
     
    * * * *
     
    Beth arrived an hour later, carrying a bag full of