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It wasn’t just the traitorous appendage that responded to her. My whole body seemed to tingle with a strange kind of electricity, and the warmth in my chest was close to scalding.

A dangerous thought whispered in the back of my mind, but I rejected it. Such a thing couldn’t be allowed to happen. Not to me. And especially not withher.

The silence dragged on, but it was a comfortable silence. Any other girl would’ve insisted on keeping the conversation going, on filling the air with noise. Clearly, Arya had more going for her than a pretty face and those piercing blue eyes I’d been doing my best to avoid the last several minutes.

“Is it true you were unaware of your nature until Caesar found you?” I asked finally, setting my fork down and pushing my plate away.

I didn’t want to know anything more about her, didn’t want to give into my burning curiosity, and definitely not my physical urges. But I had offered her friendship—like an idiot. I could hardly fault myself for that, though. What kind of asshole wouldn’t come to the aid of such a broken, beautiful creature? I wasn’t completely immune to my humanity.

Arya’s eyebrows furrowed for a split second before she shrugged. “My mom had these crazy rules. I wasn’t allowed out after dark, I couldn’t go swimming, and social media was completely banned. I’m not sure how they’re all connected, but I’m convinced there was no way I could’ve figured it out myself.” She laughed once. It was a sad sort of laugh.

It surprised me that she didn’t seem to have any animosity toward her mother for having such strict boundaries. Especially ones that prevented much of a social life. Arya seemed like the type of girl who craved attending pool parties that lasted past sunset and posting on Instagram to document her life.

All the mermaids I knew were precisely that type. Even the few humans I knew would’ve rebelled against rules that confining. I certainly wished I could rebel more against my father’s rules, and I shuddered at the memories of the consequences that followed when I’d dared to try.

I shook off the thought.

“Anyway,” she continued, “I thought mermaids were a myth until…well, yesterday. Anddragon shifters?Aren’t those supposed to be the hot guys on the covers of paranormal romance books?” She laughed, a real laugh this time. “The ones girls daydream about and stupid high school guys wish they were?”

She stared longer than I was comfortable with. And those eyes.

I picked up our empty plates and took them to the sink. “I’m not familiar with that genre.”

I hated how I bristled at her implication that I wasn’t a hot guy. I shouldn’t care whether or not she found me attractive. All the better if she didn’t. There were enough girls at this school that would drop their panties for me at a mere wink, which was great for the occasions when I needed to vent my pent-up hormones.

Those escapades were free of emotional ties, which I simply couldn’t afford to confuse with sex. I especially refused to form any kind of bond with Arya, emotional or physical. Clearly, my dick didn’t agree, as it was currently straining against my briefs.

“Oh?” she asked. “What genre do you prefer?”

She made her way to me as I squirted some dish soap and began to scrub, trying to think about my dragon history essay to lessen the swell in my pants. Her nearness made it impossible.

“I don’t have much time for novels,” I said, keeping my eyes on the dish in my hands.

For being so talkative, she was suddenly quiet again. Maybe she thought I needed to concentrate on something as simple as washing dishes. Strange.

“So whatdoyou have time for?” she asked as I turned the faucet on to rinse the first plate. “I m-mean…” she stammered. “What do you like to read? You said so yourself that you’re a walking encyclopedia. Tell me something.”

I looked at her—at those blue eyes that drew me in and threatened to hold me captive.

I had the sudden urge to run my fingers through my hair so I’d have an excuse to duck away from her gaze. But my hands were wet, so I reached for a drying towel instead. It wasn’t where the staff usually left it.

Where is that damn thing?

I ripped my gaze away as Arya slowly took the now-clean plate from me. Like she’d scare me away if she moved too quickly. She probably would.

Smart girl.

And, of course, she was holding the towel.

I turned back to the sink to scrub the other plate while Arya dried. The rote action helped clear my head.

“What do you want to know?” I asked.

“Well… My mom kept this entire world from me. So, you can pretty much tell me anything about shifters, and Iguaranteethat I won’t already know it. Like the fish thing.” She pointed at the plate I washed. “I mean, yeah, of course, it makes sense that a mermaid should eat fish. But also, yeah, I didn’t know it.”

I rinsed the plate and handed it to her, then quickly washed and rinsed the utensils before answering. “So, your hair didn’t clue you in?”

I turned off the faucet, then took the towel from her when she’d finished drying to wipe my hands.