It wasn’t fair.
“I want to touch you,” she said, her voice barely audible.
“No. You don’t,” he said, straightening.
“Your skin doesn’t look dangerous…”
How could something so alluring be such a trap? She eyed his hands, his arms, his lips—
His mouth opened, and his tongue shot out, hitting the side paneling of the door.
She started, confused at what just happened. “Was that...your tongue?”
Hysterian did it again. His tongue shot out so quickly she couldn’t get a good look at it before it hit the wall next to her with a thunk and vanished back within his mouth.
Alexa’s brows furrowed. “I thought you couldn’t shift.”
“My body,” he said. “I’m still an animal. Even if only a part of me is.”
“Do frogs— Do they have more than that? A long tongue?” she asked, searching his body.
“A long tongue, a long jump, an enormous amount of power, but not much else. My skin is where the real danger lies, Alexa. If you really think you want me, you need to see for yourself.”
He reached out his hand and spread his fingers under the bright bathroom light. She looked at it, trying to see what he was showing her. Slowly, his hand changed. Little by little, tiny droplets formed, like beads of sweat but smaller. As she watched, they got bigger until one dripped off the side of his finger to land on the ground.
She noticed more droplets appearing elsewhere on his body.
“I can’t control it, not entirely. I can’t make it stop, at least not for long. I can’t weaken it, only changing the quantity I give my enemies. My body reacts based on natural cues from my environment, and those who created me…brought me into a dangerous world. I can manipulate the nanobots within my poison to reconfigure it based on other toxins I’ve ingested—I can copy them—but trying to dilute it…” Hysterian sneered. “Just makes it turn back into something called batrachotoxin. A highly dangerous poison to humans as well as animals. Do you still want to touch me?”
She licked her lips. Was it terrible of her that she still did?
Hysterian fisted his hand and gave her his back. The shower turned on, and he stepped under the water. Alexa collected herself as he washed, dried, and threw his uniform into the laundry receptacle, and picked up his black suit to dress.
“Why are you telling me all this?” she asked as he stepped into the suit. The material embraced him like a lover, but she wanted him—him—not a barrier.
“So you’ll trust me,” he growled. He snapped the mask over his face as he said it, leaving just an obsidian outline of everything she wanted to explore. “I’ve never told anyone what I’ve told you. You know more about me than anyone in the universe does. Do you understand what I’m saying to you, Dear?”
She shook her head. He grabbed the doorframe and leaned toward her.
“I’m sharing with you what makes me vulnerable.” His eyes flashed. “So you’ll be the same with me.”
“I can’t…”
Tension filled the space between them.
“Why did you sleep with me, Alexa?” he asked softly. “Why did you give me your virginity?”
She swallowed. “Because I wanted to.”
He stared at her for a moment before releasing the frame and cupping her cheek. She stilled.
“I hate that I don’t understand you,” he whispered.
“Kiss me,” she begged.
He pushed up against her and brought his other hand to cup the other side of her face. Her lips parted. The coiling warmth in her reignited as he slowly leaned down.
She closed her eyes. He pressed his mouth to hers.
