The swirling patterns that were barely noticeable against his dark gray skin became black tribal-like tattoos on his neck, chest and forearms. The design on his chest was circular and reminded Eva of a sigil, while the ones on his neck and forearms were like thick bands.
His messy hair stayed the same, but his body got broader and more muscular. His claws became hands. The bone structure softened in his face, leaving behind a defined jawline and high cheekbones. He opened his eyes. Beneath dark, expressive brows, the glowing yellow had darkened to a warm amber.
All in all, he was freaking gorgeous.
“Wow.” Eva stared in amazement. Not at all what she had expected.
“Not bad,” Meph agreed, nodding. “And nice tats.”
“They’re not tattoos,” Bel said. “They’re brands.”
Something dark flashed in Mist’s eyes.
Sensing this was a sensitive subject, she quickly changed it. “You forgot to disappear your tail.”
Mist frowned, closing his eyes. His skin became gray once again, but his tail vanished.
“But your skin...”
He opened his eyes, looked at himself and growled, and she realized he still had a mouth full of shark teeth. “This is difficult.” As he spoke, his eyes filled in with that glowing yellow and the reptile pupils returned.
“Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Eva said weakly, watching as Mist shook his head and grew in height until he was back to his original form. “You’ll just have to practice.”
He nodded eagerly, snake eyes aglow. She couldn’t help but smile back. What was wrong with her that she kept meeting scary monsters and finding them sweet?
“You are going to have to learn a lot about humans,” she said. “We’re not pets.” She looked at the brothers and amended her words. “Honestly, youallneed ‘How to Human’ lessons. Some of the stuff that comes out of your mouths...”
They all grinned, unashamed.
She rolled her eyes and turned back to Mist. “And lastly, you need to find somewhere else to live, because you can’t stay here.”
He stroked his chin with his claws. “I wonder if there are any apartments open in this building. I like it here.”
“No,” Eva said quickly, “That’s not—”
“That’s a good idea.” Bel’s eyes lit up. “We should all move here.”
“No, really, I don’t think—”
“Ash will be here more often than not, so if we live here too, we’ll be close by in case of emergencies.”
“Really, I’m sure you don’t want—”
“And then we can hang out at Eva’s place whenever we want.” Raum’s golden eyes were twinkling.
“It’s safer for Eva if we are close at all times,” Ash agreed.
Eva groaned. God help her.
A few days later, Ash sat at the grand piano in Eva’s living room, trying to find the perfect chord to link two others together. He was so close, yet it wasn’t quite right.
It would have helped if he’d actually been focused. Instead, he was mostly watching Eva from across the room. She lay on her back on the sofa, clad only in a slinky little bathrobe, her feet straight up against the wall as she chatted to her friend Skye on the phone. Thelonious sat beside her in a patch of sunlight streaming in through the big windows, and she stroked him while she talked, wiggling her toes absentmindedly.
He smiled. Damn, he really loved her.
And what the hell was she doing with her bare legs up in the air like that? Did she not know how enticing she looked? How was he supposed to focus on anything with all that gorgeous brown skin waving around like a homing beacon, guiding him right between those curvy thighs?
Brown.He blinked, noticing the green plants, the orange sofa, the purple painting on the wall. The scent of coffee in the air.
