Judgment (The Alternate Earth Series, Book 3) by S.J. West Page B

context of our…habits, anyway.”
    “If you don’t mind me asking,” Gabe pipes in, making my humiliation complete, “how exactly is sex supposed to help Jess recover her memories?”
    “I’m not entirely sure,” Mason admits.
    “Hey, Rafe!” Malcolm yells across the room to our resident doctor, who is standing quietly in a corner of the room speaking with Nina. When Rafe lifts his head to look in our direction, Malcolm says, “We need a doctor’s opinion about something!”
    Rafe nods his head, letting Malcolm know he heard him and is on his way.
    I notice Rafe take Nina’s hand into his as they walk through the crowd towards us. It was such a natural gesture, that I immediately assume the two of them must be a couple. I’m sure that piece of knowledge is locked up inside my brain somewhere. It’s obvious neither of them is trying to hide the way they feel about one another.
    “What do you need my opinion about?” Rafe asks Malcolm, after he and Nina join us.
    “Michael thinks Jess needs to have sex with Mason in order to get her memories back,” Malcolm tells Rafe. “I’m assuming there has to be some sort of physiological reason behind it. What do you think?”
    Rafe doesn’t laugh at the theory like I thought he would. He considers it seriously before answering.
    “Well,” Rafe begins, “it could be that when Ravan tried to phase Jess into Heaven, her brain completely shut down during that time to protect her. Since our brains are a bit like computers, it could be that Jess needs something similar to a reboot.”
    “But how will having sex do that for me?” I ask, curious to know the answer.
    “When people have sex,” Rafe begins to explain to me, “the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in the brain shuts down. It’s the part of the brain that controls self-evaluation, reason, and control. With all of that disabled, you also shut down all of your fear and anxiety. If you’re able to have an orgasm while having sex with Mason, the activity in your amygdala and hippocampus will slow down to a point that you will enter into a trance-like state. A large amount of dopamine and a chemical called oxytocin will also be released into your system, which is believed to stimulate the love felt between lovers. There are a lot of other chemical reactions which occur during an orgasm, of course, but I think those two chemicals are the ones that might help reboot your brain and recover your memories. The closeness you share with Mason has always had the ability to open up your mind, Jess.”
    “Oh, yeah,” Gabe says, “I remember Chandler telling me he helped Jess when you were still trying to find all us vessels. He said the closer you got to Mason, the easier it became to connect with us.”
    Malcolm slaps Mason on the back. “Think you’re up for the challenge?”
    Mason lifts one eyebrow as he looks over at Malcolm. “What do you think?”
    Malcolm shrugs. “Considering the way you two go on and on about matches and marshmallows, I have to assume Jess has always liked your style.”
    Marshmallows? I’m scared to even ask what that’s a code word for.
    I begin to bite the inside of my bottom lip, and quietly scan the room to see if there’s a table I can go hide underneath for the rest of my life.
    Mason casually grabs my hand. “If you would all excuse us for a moment, I think Jess and I should have a talk in private.”
    Mason doesn’t wait for any responses from our friends. He simply phases us up to our room.
    “You looked like you needed a minute away from all of that,” he tells me, standing still and letting me come to terms with the conversation we just had with the others.
    “It’s just weird,” I start to confess, “to think sex might be able to bring my memories back.”
    Mason rubs the tips of his fingers against the back of my hand. It brings me a sense of comfort, but doesn’t completely take away my anxiety.
    “Well, this is never going to work if you’re uncomfortable,”