Footsteps thunder nearer down the hall, and before I can shove myself upright, my door slams open and Becks bursts into my room.
Hair tousled and wide-eyed, he scans the room until he spots me on the floor. As he rushes over, his eyes search for injuries.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
He’s only wearing a pair of gray sleep pants, so as he helps me to my feet, I get another eyeful of his bare chest. I have to clench my free hand to keep from reaching out and stroking the scaled heart over his pec.
Eventually, I’m going to become immune to the sight of his perfectly chiseled abs and pecs, but today isn’t that day. I feel myself heat despite the cold.
I rub my sore hip. “That’s going to bruise.”
“Let me see,” he says and tries to lift up the edge of my sleep tee.
With a squawk, I bat at his hand and hop away from him, suddenly very aware that I’m half naked as well.
“Dude. Boundaries.”
He takes a step back. “Sorry, I just need to make sure you’re all right.”
Something flashes in his eyes. For a split second, his pupil appears slitted, but the light is too low to be certain. The air fills with the scent of ash, and an iridescent shimmer ghosts over his bicep.
Reaching over, I flick on the bedside lamp, catching another flicker of color appear on his shoulder, the one without the dragon tattoo.
I thought I saw something similar back in the hotel, right before we were attacked by the demon again, but I brushed it off as a fear-induced hallucination. But I know this time I’m not imagining it.
I move closer, staring intently at Becks’ exposed skin.
“What was that?”
Becks mumbles that it was nothing, sounding a touch embarrassed.
“Were those your scales?” I guess, awed.
He grunts, and I think that’s supposed to mean yes.
“Can I see them?”
Becks crosses his arms over his chest, covering some of himself up. “What happened in here? I heard you scream.”
I guess that means no.
I gesture toward the window. “Something slammed into the window and startled me.”
Becks steps around me to peer out the window. “Do you know what it might have been?”
I shrug. “I didn’t get a good look. But it was loud. Maybe a large bird?”
With his back to me, I catch another ripple of scales.
Iridescent teal. Beautiful.
They melt back into his skin almost instantly.
Wanting to see them again, I brush my fingers over the same spot, slow and intentional.
Becks sucks in a sharp breath, his back muscles tense. A shudder rolls through him as scales bloom again, rippling from his shoulders down to his waist.
