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His words were still flowing through me, the melody catching fire in my blood. I kept tapping out the beat and sang, “Until the stars fade away and the day swallows the dark.”
Gaping at me, Asher blinked and jerked backward. “Holy shit.” If I hadn’t seen the shock so clearly on his face, I definitely would’ve caught it in his voice. “That’s...that’s perfect. How...?” He shook his head.
I gave a loose shrug and was glad he couldn’t see my blush from under my mask. “I was just finishing what you started.”
“Well, get your ass over here, Curran. We’re going to finish this song. Tonight.”
When I hesitated, he lifted an eyebrow as if to say, Well? What’re you waiting for?
So I heaved out a big sigh as if it were such a hardship, when really, I had to restrain myself from hopping over there too fast. Grateful I’d left on my man torso too—despite how uncomfortable it’d been to fall asleep in—I slipped out of my covers and eased gingerly onto the mattress beside him until we were sitting with our backs to the headboard and our feet stretched out in front of us.
I stole a second to watch my bare feet next to his at the end of the bed, poking out the ends of our surprisingly similar flannel pants. Except his feet looked decidedly larger—and male—next to mine, so I burrowed mine into the covers under me.
He noticed none of this, thank Dios, too busy frowning down at the notebook he was scribbling in. So I leaned in closer to study the lyrics with him, amused by how many times he marked stuff out, only to rewrite the same line and then mark it out again.
“Ooh, you could say something about everything being a lark to rhyme with dark.”
He tapped his pen against his chin as he glanced at me. “Yeah, that might wor—”
A loud sneeze cut off the rest of his sentiment.
I shook my head. “Do you realize you always sneeze when I get close to you? Geesh. It’s like you’re allergic to me or something.”
He chuckled as he leaned away toward his nightstand to snag a tissue from a nearby box. “Only if you’re made of latex.”
I froze, blinking at him. “Uh...what?”
“That’s the only thing I know I’m allergic to,” he answered between sneezes and nose blowing.
“Oh, shit.” I immediately scooted to the edge of the bed away from him, worried I’d kill him any second with my deceitful proximity.
He lowered a tissue from his nose, eyeing me curiously.
I gulped, not wanting the guy to end up dying around me or anything. So I blurted, “I’m wearing a latex mask.”
“Really?” His eyebrows shot up in surprise and he leaned closer to examine my face.
I reared backward. “What’re you doing? Don’t get close.”
He sniffed and rolled his eyes. “It’s not going to kill me from just being near it. Just a couple sneezes here and there. I need skin-to-skin contact before it really does any damage with a rash and swelling. Unbelievable,” he murmured. “I had no idea. That thing looks so real.”
“I know. Gracias.” I patted at my face, still keeping a few feet between us but remaining on the same mattress. “So, latex, huh? That’s an usual allergy. I’m all boring with a common one: peanuts.”
He winced, making me edgy with how heavily he was concentrating on my mask. “No peanuts? That’s gotta suck. You know, if you’d be more comfortable taking it off, it’s okay. It’s only me around; I promise you I won’t freak out.”
Damn, that was a sweet offer. He didn’t try to pry and find out why I was wearing a mask or ask what kind of deformity I was hiding. He immediately tried to reassure me.
“Thanks, but...” I cringed. “Not tonight, okay?”
He nodded immediately. “Yeah, no problem. Whatever you want. I was just trying to tell you, you didn’t have to worry about me doing anything to upset you.”
“Gracias,” I repeated, touched by his compassion. I cleared my throat, feeling extra guilty about lying to him. Maybe I should just take the mask off and let him see the real me.
But then I remembered all the things he’d told me tonight; he’d feel extra betrayed if he knew I was really a woman now.
And I was too scared to find out how he’d respond.
Damn it. How the hell had I gotten myself into this predicament? Putting on a little disguise to get my dream to come true should never have had the power to hurt anyone else. But I had a sinking feeling it just might upset the one person in this entire situation whom I didn’t want to hurt.
