Kaspian sighed and tried a sip. Then he looked at me with wide eyes. “It feels . . .”
“Effervescent?”
“Yes. Bubbles on my tongue. Perhaps I was too hasty in my judgment.”
“No, really?” I drawled, then sipped my drink.
Kaspian stared at me.
“What?” I asked.
“You have played your pranks on me. Multiple tricks. I would like to shock you now.”
“Oh? Turn about's fair play, eh?”
“I don't know what that means, but you need to come outside for this.”
I followed Kaspian back down the short hallway, then motioned at the front door. “That way. Here. Let me unlock it.” I unlocked the door and went out to the front yard. Turning around, I asked, “Now what's this you want to show—oh, come on! I've already seen you naked.”
Kaspian paused—shirt off and hands at the button of his jeans—and looked up to grin at me. “I know you have, Demetrius. That's not why I'm undressing.”
“Call me Met,” I murmured as he shoved his jeans down. I cleared my throat and tried to ignore how the light coming from the house outlined his body. “What are you doing?”
“I'm going to prove to you I am who I say I am.”
“Oh,” I whispered. Then it hit me. “Are you going to become a dragon? Lowercase D?”
He winked at me.
“Holy shit.” I backed up. “How much space do you need?” Yes, that was my question. I didn't once consider that he wouldn't be able to shift. I knew it would happen. I felt it. Something already tingled over my arms. Was it magic? Real magic?
“This is fine.” Kaspian shoved his underwear down and strode past me to stand in the middle of the front yard.
Thank God my yard was private, hidden from the road by distance and trees. Plus, it was dark out. But those were not the thoughts running through my mind when naked-Kaspian walked by. Yes, I'd already seen the goods. But it turns out that every sight of those particular goodies was like a fresh look. And now, I got to look my fill. The whole point of this—whatever it was—was for me to look.
So, I looked.
Kaspian had a phenomenal ass—the kind of ass so plump that it had dimples. And there were more dimples in his lower back, just above those glorious globes. Or half-globes. Whatever. The sight was mouth-watering. His back was poetry. Or it made me want to write poetry. I couldn't decide. It had all these dips and bulges—muscles that mocked me. And those shoulders. So broad. Thick. And speaking of thick.
Nope. No, I will not be a perv. I will not be a perv. Not going to—oh, fuck me. He turned around.
But my drool dried up when Kaspian's beautiful body blurred. I rubbed at my eyes but it didn't help. “What the fuck?”
The blur grew. Bigger and bigger. It brightened. Turned white. I recognized the shape, even under the blur. But it couldn't be. Yes, I know I just said that I was sure this would happen. Still, my surety didn't prepare me for the literal enormity of the truth. Because that blur took the form of a giant, scaly lizard-monster.
Then all the blurriness came into focus.
“Holy fuck,” I whispered. Somehow, I kept standing. It was close for a second there. My legs shook. All of me was shaken.
An enormous white beast took up most of my front yard. It lifted its head and straightened its long neck to stretch toward the sky. This was no lizard. This creature was magnificent. Beyond fairy tales and make-believe. Snowy scales caught the meager light from my house and magnified it, making Kaspian look as if he were enameled. Giant talons spread over the lawn, the tips of his claws making divots in the dirt. The beast leaned forward and lowered its head to look me in the eye. Human eye to green dragon eye.
“Lowercase D,” I whispered.
Kaspian chuckled. “You're taking this remarkably well.”
“Holy fucking shit! You can talk? You can fucking talk?” I backpedaled.
The dragon cocked his head at me. “That is what shocks you? My voice, not my glorious body?”
