However, the problem of her love life or, to be more specific, the complete lack thereof, persisted. In the now-three occasions on which she had gone on dates, there had been no spark whatsoever. The first man, Alfonso, had been an Italian scholar in Britain for research. They had hit it off in discussions of his research and her work, both centred around arcane artefacts and runes. He had been attractive, charming, and seemed to find her so as well. And yet his kisses and caresses had been so irritatingly gentle that she didn’t bother to invite him into her bed. The second, Orpheus, was similarly academic and yet not as tentative in their initial flirtations. She accepted the invitation to join him in his bed, but the sex was uninspiring and she left disappointed. She thought perhaps she would go in the opposite direction and seek a more stereotypical embodiment of testosterone in Zach, but he had similarly treated her as if she were a fragile, precious thing.