***
“I have to confess something.”
She looked at him as they exited the barbershop. Like, really looked at him. Part of Hollie had known that he was attractive, but everything had been hidden. Now he had a ultra-modern low-skin fade with wavy longish hair, and my God was he gorgeous. His broad features were fully revealed after the straight-razor shave, slightly bronzed skin reminiscent of his scales gleaming.
His brown eyes popped out at her now as she made eye contact, and the butterflies in her stomach went insane, trying desperately to get out. Her heart started racing just from making eye contact, and she felt a mild moment of panic as the realization of everything set in. Sid was male-model gorgeous. Supermodel even. His muscles, which she’d caught a glimpse of as he adjusted his clothing to sit in the barber’s chair, were so defined they were to die for.
So with all that going his way, why would he stay with her? She knew that once he got his feet under him in the new era he would leave her eventually. That was just a given. But now she felt like the ugly duckling in her brown coveralls and steel-toed boots. It was only going to get worse once she put a suit on him. Everyone was going to stare at her, and wonder why they were together.
You aren’t together, though. He isn’t yours. You barely even know him, so why are you moping over the fact that you’re going to “lose” him, when he isn’t yours in the first place?
She argued back that he was hers. But it was when she started using arguments like “finders keepers” with herself that Hollie knew she was losing it. How embarrassing, to lose an argument with herself.
“Go on,” she urged when he didn’t immediately speak.
“I much prefer eating pizza to having someone else shave my face and cut my hair.” He sounded almost grumpy.
Hollie grinned. “Well, pizza is pretty damn amazing, I’ll give you that.” She reached up and gently touched his smooth face. “But you look so much better.”
To her surprise, Sid jerked when she touched him, pulling away.
Hollie yanked her hand back, figuring she’d just crossed a line she shouldn’t have. “Uh, sorry.”
“No,” he said firmly. “I’m sorry. It startled me, is all.” She saw his chest inflate as he drew in a breath. “It’s been a long time since someone has touched me like that.”
Hollie felt her stomach tighten. She hadn’t meant it like that. It was just supposed to be a friendly gesture to show that she approved. But even at that, her argument fell apart because she’d used the inside of her fingertips, instead of the back of it. Most people would call it a caress.
No wonder he’d reacted so strongly. Sid probably thought she had been trying to put the moves on him. Considering that not even Hollie could prove that she hadn’t, it was understandable.
You need to figure out what the hell is going on, and soon, lady. Don’t forget who he is! This is Obsidian, dragon shifter extraordinaire. He doesn’t flinch at killing people!
She countered that by reminding her brain how the times had been different. Very different. He had shown restraint earlier, proving that he could still enact his will without killing anyone. Doug would recover from his injuries. Eventually.
“So, a suit?” Sid said into the silence as she wrestled with her internal thoughts.
“Yeah,” she agreed. “A suit. It would be for the best. But Sid, I gotta be honest. I don’t really have the money to spend on one of those for you. Pizza and a haircut? Fine. But a full suit? That’s out of my price range.”
Sid compressed his lips into a line, then reached into the folds of his shirt, pulling out a bar of something or other. “They don’t still take this as payment nowadays, do they?”
Her eyebrows flew up as she realized it was a bar of gold. “Uh…yeah,” she said, her throat constricting. It wasn’t a full-sized bar, a smaller one that could fit easily in her hand. But if he so casually produced one…maybe the legends of dragon treasures were based in reality as well? She didn’t know.
“Good. Is that enough, or do you need more?” he asked, reaching back into his shirt.
“No no!” she almost shouted. “This is more than enough for a suit. We’ll have to go exchange it somewhere, probably a pawn shop. But it will suffice just fine, thank you.”
She shoved the bar into her purse and then tugged on his arm. “Come on, let’s go.”
He shuffled after her, quickly catching up. “What’s a pawn shop?”
Hollie smiled. “Okay, next lesson!”