“I saw,” he says with a smile.
I stare, mesmerized by that rare occurrence. His teeth are sharp. He notices my attention and the smile disappears.
“No, don’t,” I say.
“What?” he asks.
“Don’t stop smiling. It looks good on you.”
Griffin stares at me, and for a heartbeat, I think he might be angry. His whole body seems tense. But then he says nothing and finishes his meal in record time. I keep my mouth shut as he cleans his dishes and escapes the galley.
Way to go, Helios. You’ve made him self-conscious.
So much for getting to know each other.
Beet has been uncharacteristically quiet for the past minutes. I wonder if she was hoping I would get somewhere with Griffin. Maybe she’s as curious as I am to see where this might go.
I spend the next three hours on the couch, reading, not wanting to retreat to my room just yet. I can hear Griffin tinkering in the engine room.
It’s in the late hours that he finally goes to his room. Waiting for five minutes, so not to look like a stalker, I go to his door. I’m about to knock when it opens, and I come face to face with Griffin’s naked chest.
He looks as surprised as I am. I think he was going to take a shower.
“Helios?” he says.
I blink, staring at his carved muscles. His skin turns into thick scales around his pecs, shoulders, and down to his arms. They start the color of skin and turn into a deep red color. What god’s DNA does he share? I try to recall who has red scales. It could be Barlok, a sea creature from the Indian Ocean. Quetzalcoatl, the feathered snake who lives in South America, is known to have red scales under his belly too. I want to touch them and see if they feel rough under my fingers. I can feel the heat radiating from him. Was he always this tall and impressive, or is it just that I’m not used to being this close to him?
“I’m—I’m sorry,” I stammer when I realize I’ve been staring for too long. “I just wanted to know if you’ve read this one.” I offer him the fantasy book that was in my bag. It’s a book about dragon riders. “I’d like for you to have it and add it to your collection, if you don’t already have it…”
Griffin accepts the book and nods stiffly. His nostrils flare.
“Hum, I’ll be going then,” I say. “Good—good night.”
And I escape to my room. It was supposed to be athank yougift, but instead I made things even more awkward between us.
I get into bed and read my shifter romance book to try to forget our exchange. But even hot fictional men are not enough to make me forget Griffin’s body. He has no business being so fit and impressive. Sharing DNA with a monster of legend does have its advantages.
Late at night, I touch myself under the covers, thinking about him.
I expect breakfast in the morning to be tense, but I’m wrong. Griffin greets me with a freshly baked loaf and a little nod.
“Good morning,” he says.
“Hello,” I answer back with a grin of my own. Then to Beet, I say, “Good morning, Beetle Goddess of my heart.”
“Oh! That one is growing on me like a tumor,” she says. “Can we keep him, Griffin?”
I laugh and cut myself a slice of bread, before reaching for the peanut butter.
“What’s the rarest food you’ve tried in your travels?” I ask him.
The question stays on the safe side. Not too personal.
“Butter,” says Griffin without hesitation.
My jaw drops to the floor. “You’ve had butter?”
I’ve only seen pictures of it or read about it in books. Cows aren’t exactly easy to keep alive in our time and age. And they’re cumbersome.
