Page 44 of Tamed By Her Touch

“No wonder you're the size of a refrigerator.”

Kaelus frowned.

“I am not familiar with that comparison.”

“Trust me, it's accurate,” Clair said dryly. She typed his answer into the tablet. “Okay…what time do you wake up?”

“0500,” he said promptly.

Clair groaned.

“Ugh—that's obscenely early.”

He shrugged.

“It is an efficient hour.”

She shook her head firmly.

“There is nothing efficient about being conscious at five in the morning.”

“You wake at approximately 0700.”

Clair gave him a sharp look.

“How can you possibly know that?”

“You normally arrive in the laboratory shortly after 0800 hours,” Kaelus said. “Your hair is dry and you are reasonably organized. When you oversleep, you arrive closer to 0830, your hair is damp, your bag is hanging incorrectly from your shoulder, and you are generally carrying your first cup of coffee because you did not have time to drink it in your suite.”

Clair just stared at him.

Kaelus glanced over and seemed to take in her expression.

“What? Have I answered incorrectly?”

“No—you were correct. Maybe too correct. Everything you said is extremely specific.”

He shrugged.

“I am observant.”

“Yes, I guess you are.”

Clair looked at his profile as he turned back toward the controls. His nose was strong, his jaw square beneath the dark stubble he hadn't bothered shaving that morning, and his thick black hair was getting long—he clearly didn’t want to take time off from his research to go get a haircut.

The big Hybrid looked every inch the absentminded professor but wasn’t absentminded at all—he had been watching her. Not occasionally and not casually—no, he’d been watching closely enough to know whether she'd overslept by looking at her hair.

That was slightly disconcerting.

Clair cleared her throat and tried to push the thought out of her mind.

“Okay. Next question. Which side of the bed do you sleep on?” she asked.

Kaelus gripped the steering yoke harder.

“The bed?” he asked.

“Yes.” Clair nodded impatiently. “Which side of it do you sleep on?”