Curse it, now he was the one who couldn’t stop questioning.
Body undulating, he moved and grooved his way home only to pause at the muddy edge.
Someone is watching.
He almost stayed hidden in the weeds, willing them to go, but that smacked of cowardice.
Striding from the brackish water, he immediately scented the air, but it remained clear of alien odors.
In other good news, the house remained secure. The traps he’d strung along the window intact, the doors closed, and he assumed locked. Nothing seemed out of place.
Everything looked and smelled right except for him. The swamp’s perfume clung to his skin, a miasma he would never dare bring into the house. A wooden spoon named Spanky had taught him that lesson young.
Besides, he didn’t need to go inside to get clean, not when they had an outdoor shower that drew from their well. It wasn’t hot water, but it was fresh, and the bar of soap kept in a dish, lemon scented.
It didn’t take long to rinse the bayou from his skin, but even once clean, he didn’t move. He remained standing under the spray, face lifted to it, and tried not to react as she drew near.
Renny.
From the moment he’d risen from the waters, he’d sensed her presence and tried not to let on. It wasn’t easy, not when he knew she watched.
She sees my beast.
A part of him had wanted to submerge under the murky surface of the swamp. To hide who he was. What he was.
More secrets.
He couldn’t do it. If he wanted a life with Renny, they needed to start with honesty, starting with his croc.
This is who I am. Whom he’d never dared reveal back when they were dating. Would she run away?
He might have held his breath when he rose from the weeds and mud, scaled skin rippling and sliding as the magic of the change drew his reptilian features back to the spot hidden within. Smooth flesh, strands of hair, and a face that could pass for human took their place. He walked as a man, straight, proud, and naked.
Did he forget to mention aroused? Knowing she watched, and didn’t flee, brought a boil to his blood. He could suntan himself under the heat of her gaze.
But he pretended to not know. Don’t push her. Let her come to him.
Please let her come to me.
Feeling her stare the entire time he showered did nothing to help his erection. How hard it was—so very, very hard—to not stroke himself to completion. But he didn’t dare.
She watched. What would she think if he came without her?
Would she know that he thought of her? Would it disgust her? What if it didn’t? What if he spent himself and she needed him?
Pretending nonchalance was so difficult and remembering to breathe as she approached with soft footsteps even harder.
“You can stop faking it. I know that you know I’m here.”
He turned to face her, unable to stop a smile. “Say that fast five times.”
“I’ve better ideas if you’re in the mood for tongue twisting.” Despite the droplets of water hitting her from the spray, she remained close to him. Very close.
The tank top she wore molded the curves of her breasts, outlining their weighted roundness and delineating nipples that shriveled into points as he stared at them.
Tiny shorts hugged her shapely hips, and a hint of rounded belly peeked at him between those skimpy bottoms and top.
“What are you doing outside?”
“Waiting for you.”
At his growled “baby,” she stepped closer and put a finger on his lips. “Don’t get mad. I didn’t do anything stupid. I watched from the window until I was sure it was you.”
“Just because you see a croc doesn’t mean it’s me.”
“Princess didn’t bark.”
“But I might.”
She slid closer, getting wet in the lukewarm water jetting from the wide rain showerhead. “While I appreciate the intent behind the bark, I think I prefer”—she leaned up on tiptoe to rub her lips against his—“the bite.”
He met her partway and was rewarded with the edge of her teeth grasping his lower lip and tugging.
Because he was apparently an idiot, he had to ask, “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she whispered with a soft laugh against his lips.
“It looks like you’re seducing me.”
“Only looks like?” she teased with another nibble of his mouth.
“Feels like, too.” He slid his arms around her, drawing her tight to him and deepening the kiss.
For a moment, their hot breaths mingled, their bodies pressed.
Then he groaned and pulled away. He grasped her hands and held them away from him, ignoring her sounds of protest.
“Stop, baby.”
“Stop? Why? I want this. Heck, you want this.” She punctuated her words with a grind of her hips against him.
His resolved wavered, and he forced himself to breathe as he looked her in the face.
Her perfect face.
How did I get so lucky to have a chance to start over? A chance to have a new life, a true life, with the woman he loved. But, if he ever had any hope of making it work, he needed to start it with honesty.