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Two hours later a lot of customers had come and gone, and I still didn’t recognize anyone. His notes on gargoyles were fascinating though. He even had several detailed sketches.
“I stood in front of the mirror and drew those,” he said.
“Wow. I didn’t realize you were so talented. These are really amazing.”
“I wanted to be sure I documented everything I could about myself while I researched others.”
He had moved closer to me in the wraparound booth and I was trying hard to not reach out and put my hand on his thigh. He was big, warm, and only a breath away. I wanted so much to brush my face against his throat and breathe in his scent. I wanted to pull out the band that restrained his hair and lose myself in that dark silken cloud.
“I’m afraid of getting close to anyone,” I blurted out. “I’m sorry for the abrupt subject change, and it’s probably an overshare anyway—“
“No,” he said. “It’s all right. After last night, I don’t think you can overshare with me.”
I smiled and as I turned slightly to face him, I stopped resisting and put my hand on his thigh. I took a moment to appreciate how firm and warm he felt beneath those tight jeans.
“I was in a relationship years ago that ended suddenly and very badly. It left me kind of scarred. Then not long after my mother died. All I could think about was finding who was responsible for her murder, and controlling the monster I’d become. There wasn’t room for anything else in my life during that time.” I paused. “I hope I didn’t seem too causal about last night. Being intimate with someone does mean something to me it’s just that ...”
He reached down and took my hand in his. “You’re not quite ready for what it might mean.”
“Yes. I hope that’s all right. I’m not saying no. I really like you and there’s no denying that I feel something here.”
“We’ll take it slowly.”
I laughed. “I bit late for that, isn’t it?”
“I meant with the talk of feelings,” he said with a smile. “I understand what you’re trying to say. I’ve been in some bad relationships too. I think we all have. I’ll go easy on your heart, Tris.”
For a moment all I could do was look into those amazingly pale blue eyes.
“Wow. That’s probably one of the sexiest things anyone has ever said to me.” I glanced back down at the notes and remembered what I had actually meant to ask him before.
“Can you really do this?” I asked, pointing to a passage in his notes.
“Turn my skin to stone? Yes, I can.”
“When you touched me, before you turned back, your skin was soft and smooth.”
“It takes practice and concentration at first. But now, I can turn to stone in an instant. I can turn just my hand, for example, or I can turn my whole body. It slows down my movements a little, but once I rock out, I’m unstoppable.”
I laughed. “You ever rock out naked?”
His smirk let me know he got where I was going with this joke.
“Yes, I rock out with my cock out sometimes.”
We were still laughing when I caught a familiar scent.