"Somehow, I'm not surprised that's how it was," Stein said wryly. He shook his head. "It's not polygamy or monogamy that interests me. It's just... interesting people. And a woman who just goes on smiling while I do my damndest to terrify her, and cut up her skin... is interesting."

He stiffened as Birkin grabbed him, nearly dropping his own glass, startled all over again. "I know," he said. His own fingers curled around Birkin's upper arms in return, holding him steady, and hopefully with reassurance. "Nothing went wrong. I took precautions. And it was a time in my life when I didn't have anyone else to experiment on. So I experimented on myself." It seemed perfectly reasonable to him.