“Call me Cyn.”
Cyn, which sounded like “sin.”Figured.Because with him kneeling in front of her, his dark hair catching the dim light, bare shoulders gleaming…whoa.Cut that shit out.“Well, Doctor Cyn, what is it?”
Though his hair was straight, a few locks curled rebelliously in various directions.She had the insane urge to run her fingers through what looked like silk.
He rose.“Dragon rash.”
“Huh?”
“Started when you were about thirteen?”
“Yeah.”
“Kicks up when you’re stressed.I bet it was driving you mad when I Catalyzed—turned Dragon—in the library.”
“Well, yeah.”
He stroked his own dragon tattoo.“It’s the part of you that’s Dragon.And it’s literally itching to come out.”
“It sounds like there’s a creature inside me.I’m having flashbacks of thatAlienmovie when the baby alien bursts out of that guy’s stomach.”
“It’s not like that.It has no physical form outside of you.”
Her eyes widened.“I’m going to have a tattoo like that?”
“It’s not a tattoo, but it passes for one.It’s just below your skin’s surface.”He wrapped his hand around her waist where the rash was.“We hold the essence of our Dragon inside us.Though we are mostly human, the Dragon is all animal.Once Awakened, it will pull at you to release it.To act on its impulses.”
She lifted her face to his, feeling the heat from his body, from his words, envelop her.“Impulses,” she heard herself repeat.
His fingers tightened on her skin, and he lowered his mouth just a little closer to hers.“It responds to stimuli like food, conflict… lust.When it wants something, it will goad and seduce you.It speaks to you telepathically, simple words likemineandwant.”He let those words sink in.
And they did, like warm honey soaking into her skin.“Mine,” she repeated, feeling it thrum through her.“Want.”
“Mm hm.Andhungry.”
“Hungry,” she said, spellbound.
“And not for food.”His voice grew soft and low, his eyes hooded.“You’ll feel it through your whole body, hear the siren song in your mind.”
Yes, she heard it, felt it.Her body began to sag toward him, wanting to feel him against her.The spell!Just like the spell the Dragon Prince wove around Garnet.Ruby stepped away, pulling down her shirt.“It sounds like being possessed.”
He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat.“It can be if you let it get the best of you.The Dragon has no reasoning skills, fears no consequences.If we let it control us,wepay the consequences.”
“Oh, great.”She realized she was scratching again.“The rash has been a lot worse since… well, since I’ve been around you.”
“Your Dragon is responding to mine.It aches to be free.That’s why I have this room, so I can let the beast run.I created the Obsidian Room at the dojo so others can release it safely.”
For sure, something inside herwasresponding to him.She studied his tattoo, remembering how it had blinked when he’d done that Veil lifting thing at his office.“I saw your Dragon move.”
He walked to a cabinet built into the far wall.The pants he wore reminded her of karate uniforms she’d seen, only the material was soft and did amazing things for his ass.It didn’t hurt that he had a fine one, combined with the walk of a man comfortable in his skin.No matter what skin that was.
“They can move, but they won’t crawl off you or down your leg or anything.Mostly they keep an eye on things.”
She glanced down at the fiery red skin on her waist and sighed.If only she could go back to the time when she thought it was mystery eczema.
He set several thick, short candles on the floor against the back wall.She wondered if he’d Breathe on the wicks to light them, but no, he used a lighter.Could he Breathe fire?Could she?
He turned on a stereo system and cranked what sounded like old rock and roll.She had a fleeting thought to run, get the hell out while she was still normal and human and…
