Page 10 of Tamed By Her Touch

“Oh, really?” Clair demanded. “Then tell me what my doctoral thesis was about.”

Kaelus opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“Uh-huh.” Clair nodded. “That's what I thought.”

“I have no reason to memorize your academic history.” But did his voice sound slightly defensive? Clair thought it did.

“No, because you've already decided I don't know what I'm doing.”

She poked a finger at his broad chest, which was probably a stupid thing to do considering that it was like poking a brick wall, but she was too angry to care.

“Well, news flash, big fella—I had been working in Xenobotany for almost twenty years before I ever set foot on this ship. I didn't get my grant because Commander Sylvan thought my Southern accent was cute. I got it because I'm damn good at what I do.”

“I never said you were not competent,” he protested, putting up his hands.

“You didn't have to! You've spent the last few months treating me like I'm some kind of annoying little pest you've been forced to tolerate. Well, I’m sick of it!” Clair exclaimed.

Kaelus's jaw tightened. His eyes had gone strangely bright.

Clair had noticed before that the gold in them sometimes seemed more intense when he was angry, but she'd never seen them look quite like this. They were almost glowing.

And for some reason he wasn't looking at her face anymore—he was looking at her mouth and his golden eyes were suddenly half-lidded.

The realization made something flutter unexpectedly low in her belly. Why was he looking at her like that? Like…

Like he wants to kiss you, whispered a little voice in her head.

Clair shoved it away.

Don’t be ridiculous! she lectured herself. He doesn’t want to kiss you—he’s angry. That’s all.

Still, there was something in the way the big Hybrid was staring at her that didn't feel like anger…or at least not only anger.

Then Kaelus dragged his gaze back up to her eyes.

“You should not have touched the analyzer,” he said in a lower voice, that didn’t sound quite so angry as before.

“Well, you should have let me use it when I asked,” Clair said, frowning. “It’s rude to refuse to share equipment when we’re sharing a lab.”

His brows drew low.

“It requires precise calibration.”

She gave him another hard look.

“I know how to calibrate scientific equipment.”

“Not this equipment.” Kaelus put a protective hand on the MRA, as if she might break it just by being near it.

“Well then, maybe you could show me instead of acting like I'm too stupid to learn!” Clair snapped back.

He frowned.

“I do not think you are stupid. I have never thought that.”

“Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it!” she pointed out.

“I am not finished,” Kaelus growled. “I do not think you are stupid—I think you are reckless. Also, disorganized and extremely distracting. You scatter your belongings across every available surface. You bring dirt into a sterile research environment. You drink that foul-smelling brown liquid constantly. You talk to yourself. You talk to me. You talk to your plants. You hum while you work. And you look…the way you look,” he ended weakly.