Chuckling, he watched as she walked to the bed and sank down on the edge, her gaze speculative as it rested on him. He arched an eyebrow as he sat on the chair facing her, waiting on her to say what was on her mind.
“Will you tell me the truth if I ask you something?”
His brow furrowed as he cocked his head. “Of course.”
“Why do your eyes change? They go from hazel to this kaleidoscope of green and yellow, and your pupils elongate. I think it’s clear that you’re not quite human, but what exactly are you?”
Freezing, he stared at her in surprise. He hadn’t once given thought to how his eyes changed when he was riled up emotionally and his dragon was close to the surface. That was probably stupid, to never consider it or try to hide it, but it never crossed his mind with her.
Nerves welled up inside him and he rolled his shoulders, uncomfortable with the feeling. It wasn’t an emotion he ever felt, and he had a hard time processing it.
Calm down, his dragon rumbled inside him, his voice smooth and unruffled. She obviously noticed it a while ago, and her question was curious, not freaked out. Not to mention that she wouldn’t have let you kiss her if it bothered her.
Okay, his animal had a point. Inhaling deeply, he forced the nerves down deep and met her curious gaze. “No, I’m not quite human. I’m a shifter.”
Her eyes went wide as her eyebrows shot up. “A shifter?”
“Yeah. I share my body with an animal, and I shift into that form sometimes. We’re the same yet separate—it’s hard to explain. He has his own thoughts and emotions, but we’re still one.”
“Wow,” she breathed, fascination in her light blue eyes. “What kind of animal do you have? Your pupils make me think something like a snake, but I can’t see that fitting the man I know you are, at all.”
Searching her eyes, he hesitated as he tried to decide if he should ease her into it or just blurt it out. He’d never told anyone what kind of animal he was before. All dragons kept that information close to their chests, not wanting to be targets of hunters.
He wasn’t at all worried about that from Katia, of course, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her. He just didn’t know how she’d react to it. She was handling the fact that he was a shifter well but admitting that he was a dragon might be what sent her running.
Maybe the best way to do it was to just rip it off like a Band-Aid. Quick and painless.
Hopefully.
“I’m not a snake. I’m a dragon.”
He hadn’t thought her eyes could get any wider, but they did as her breathing stalled. Swallowing hard, she huffed out a breath as she slowly shook her head. He didn’t think it was in denial, but rather in shock as she tried to process it.
The silence stretched out, and the nerves were starting to well up again when she finally spoke.
“A dragon? Seriously? That’s so cool.”
Blinking at the enthusiasm in her voice, he smiled slowly as relief filled him. “You really think so, don’t you?”
“Hell yes! Do you look like dragons in movies? Scaly, horned, big as a house? What color are you?”
He chuckled at the barrage of questions. “Yeah, the movies actually give pretty accurate depictions of us. I’m green with a yellow underbelly.”
“I’d love to see him some day. Do you have anything you can do differently than the rest of us?”
“I’d love to show him to you some day,” he replied, awe for her overwhelming him for a moment. She was a hell of woman, there was no doubting that—not that he ever had. “We’re stronger and faster, and we don’t get sick. We heal very fast, and things that can kill a human are less likely to kill us. We have excellent vision and hearing. And every shifter has a gift, something different and special.”
“Really? What’s yours?”
“Yeah, some are physical, some are mental, and they can be a human trait that’s enhanced or something totally supernatural. Mine’s controlling the elements.”
“Like weather and stuff?”
“That’s part of it.” Pausing, he concentrated hard, chuckling as she jumped at the loud clap of thunder he produced.
“That was you?”
“Yeah.” Holding out his hand, he focused on it, watching as a ball of fire appeared, hovering over his palm. “It’s mostly that I can control earth, air, water, and fire, like this.”