Page 139 of Nobody Told Me Thrift Shops Sell Stolen Dragon Heirlooms

His expression changed as his gaze dropped to my arms, where goosebumps had taken over my skin.

Before I could say anything, Rafe stepped closer, his face tightening. “You’re cold.”

“I’m fine.”

“I should have told you to dress warmly.”

“I didn’t notice.”

“You’re shivering.”

“It’s from the awe.”

He shook his head. “You’re going to get hypothermia.”

“We weren’t up there long enough for hypothermia to set in.”

“But you’re cold.” He sounded almost angry, but not at me. At himself. At the fact that he had offered me the sky and forgotten the temperature attached to it.

Then his hands were on my arms.

Warm. Careful. Rubbing gently from shoulder to wrist, trying to bring heat back into my skin. The touch was practical, but that fact didn’t reach my heart.

His palms moved over my skin, and warmth spread beneath them, deeper than body heat, steady and controlled enough that I knew he was doing it on purpose. The chill receded almost at once.

I looked down, startled. “Are you… warming me?”

His hands paused for half a second. “A little.”

“That’s a dragon thing?”

“Restrained heat,” he said. “Useful in flight. Also for damaged locks, cold tea, and people who refuse to admit they’re shivering.”

“I said I was fine.”

“Exactly.”

I nearly laughed. But his hands were still on my arms, his face was too close, and the warmth settling into my skin felt like magic.

“I’m okay,” I murmured.

His hands stayed on my arms, and the rooftop was suddenly very still, as if the city sounds had all vanished to make the moment more momentous.

Then he released me, removed his coat, and wrapped it around my shoulders. It was heavy and warm and smelled faintly like him, clean wool and cold air and something darker I had no business trying to identify.

My heart did something I didn’t have a plan for.

It didn’t flutter or swoon. It folded inward, frightened by how badly it wanted.

I could joke about attraction. I could blame dry spells and stress and dragon novelty. I could mock myself into some semblance of sense. But standing there in Rafe’s coat after seeing the world from his back, all I could think was that the idea of him not being around suddenly felt like grief arriving early.

That terrified me.

“Come on,” he said, quieter now. “Let’s go inside.”

We went downstairs without speaking. I clutched his coat around me, and he stayed close enough that I could feel his attention without being crowded by it. When we reached my apartment, Max was still sleeping exactly where we had left him, one paw over his nose, completely unaware that I had just had a life-altering experience.

Typical.