“Don’t be.” Warmth and amusement came through in his voice. “I’m beginning to recognizeyourweather patterns. Snow means you’re feeling something you don’t want to acknowledge.”
“That’s not—It’s merely unconscious magic responding to?—”
“Temperature differentials. Yes, I know.” He turned to face me fully, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “Very scientific. Nothing emotional about itat all.”
“Exactly.”
More snow began falling, gentle flakes that caught in his hair.
“Adele?”
“Yes?”
“You’re creating a blizzard.”
I looked up to find he was right. A full cloud had formed above us, snow falling in earnest now.
“Right. I’ll take care of it.” I waved my hand, but the snow didn’t stop. If anything, it increased.
Raoul’s mouth twitched. “Having some difficulty with control?”
“It’s the proximity,” I said, stepping back. The snow slowed slightly. “Dragon shifters create localized heat zones that destabilize my ambient temperature regulation.”
“Is that what I do? Destabilize you?”
Yes. Completely. In every possible way.
“Physiologically speaking,” I said.
He closed the distance I’d created, and the snow picked up again. “What if I did this?” His hand came up to cup my face, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone.
The snow transformed into a gentle rain, drops falling around us but somehow never actually touching either of us.
“Fascinating,” I breathed.
“Agreed.” But he wasn’t looking at the rain. He was looking at me.
The air between us felt charged with feelings I couldn’t explain away with science. His hand was warm on my skin, his amber eyes dark with want, and I couldn’t remember a single reason why we’d agreed to maintain a professional distance.
“Raoul—”
“We should look at the records,” he said, but he didn’t move away.
“Yes. The records. That’s why we’re here.”
“That’s definitely why we’re here.”
Neither of us moved.
Fletcher, who’d been exploring the archives, barked.
We jumped apart like guilty children. The rain stopped, leaving us both damp and breathing hard.
Sorry,Fletcher said, not sounding sorry at all.I thought I saw a mouse.
You’ve never been afraid of mice before.
I was acting in a defensive way. Scaring it to keep it from going near you.
