I tapped his nose. “Hello.”
He groaned and his ridiculously long lashes fluttered. Why was it that guys got all the good lashes?
But then those celadon colored eyes met mine. Instead of looking startled, he gave me a slow smile. “Hello, beautiful.”
I couldn’t help but smile back, damn him. “Did you get lost?”
He sighed and his eyes started to drift closed again. “No, I’m in the most perfect bed. It smells like the ocean and Luna.” He sighed. “Perfect.”
I pressed my lips together against a laugh and an audible aww. He really was far too adorable for his own good. I should probably be running for the hills.
“You know, getting an invitation to my bed is preferable, right?”
His eyes opened again, this time alert and shocked. “Oh, shit.” He hopped off my bed and crashed to his knees since his shirt had clamped his arms into a weird position. Like one of those TikTok videos where you saw just how much a man’s center of gravity could land him on his face.
I laughed again.
He popped up on his feet and looked around my room. “Oh, shit.”
“Articulate, too.”
He flushed. It was pretty impressive too. From his deliciously sculpted chest all the way up his neck and then it bloomed across his cheeks in scarlet slashes. “Shit. I’m so sorry. I, uh…” He glanced down at himself, his shirt dangling from his wrist. He tried to put it on, but failed miserably.
I took pity on him and came around the bed once more. I held up my hand for him to stop flailing with his shirt. Instead of helping him dress, I snapped it off his wrist.
He started down at me, his chest heaving a little in panic. A guy’s worst nightmare, I imagined. His aura went from a roiling dark chaos to a softly glowing orange. I laid my hand on his chest and dropped my shields.
The ones that I kept up to keep people out. To protect myself and my energy. Being a healer meant that I needed those boundaries so people wouldn’t siphon it all away from me. It also meant that I could block out those little tingles that showed attraction and want.
I realized that gave mixed signals to a guy sometimes.
Right now I didn’t really want to be mystical.
I just wanted to let the sweet and sexy teacher in a little.
His chest expanded with a deep breath and he turned to face me fully. He was almost a foot taller than me—most people were taller than me to be honest, but I liked the breadth of him. Big enough to get me excited, but not too big to make me nervous for my safety.
He’d been off center with me since we met, but now he seemed to know just how to approach me. I was pretty sure some of my boundaries were to blame. I went on my toes to kiss him and he leaned his head back.
I blinked.
Had I read him wrong?
I glanced down at his very happy boxer shorts.
He gently put his hands on my shoulders. “I want to kiss you more than anything, but I cannot make our first kiss full of foul dragon hangover breath.”
I laughed and nodded toward the bathroom. “There’s an extra toothbrush in the medicine cabinet.”
He pointed at me. “Stay right there.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. “I’ll be right here.”
He zipped off into the hallway to the bathroom and I immediately rushed around my bedroom. Luckily I was the kind of girl to have girl junk all over and not just in the bathroom. I’d used my backup toothbrush at Ryan’s house, but not much else.
I quickly shoved a comb through my crazy curls and spritzed some of my own concoctions of essential oils and floral scent in my hair and down the front of me. I had one of those ridiculously unflattering but super comfortable shelf tank tops on that did nothing to lift the girls, but I didn’t exactly have time to swap out clothing.
While the water was running, I decided to check my face instead.