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The tips of his fingers had hardened again.

I returned to him. The change stopped immediately.

“So much for personal space,” I muttered.

“I did not create the bond.” He sounded genuinely upset.

“I know. Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

His attempt to stand suggested otherwise. I offered my arm without touching him. After glaring at it for several seconds, he took it. I wasn’t strong enough to really support his weight, but I just about managed to help him keep his balance.

We made our way towards the bedroom. My suitcase stood in a corner and I quickly grabbed a change of clothes.

The bathroom was small, but the doorway was wide enough for Sten to sit beside it without crushing his wings. I helped lower him onto the carpet with his back against the wall.

“Will you be all right here?”

“I will know if you move too far.”

“There’s nothing but a tiny shower in that bathroom. I can’t move very far.”

I closed the bathroom door, then a thought popped into my head and I opened it again.

Sten raised an eyebrow, clearly confused.

“Just checking something. You can’t see me through the door?”

“No. That is not one of my abilities.”

“But you know exactly where I am?”

“Yes.”

I closed it once more. Good. No X-ray vision. I had to make sure, as silly as I felt now.

The shower was hot, powerful and exactly what I needed. Mud ran from my legs and disappeared down the drain. I washed quickly, unable to forget that an alien gargoyle was sitting on the other side of the door.

Could he hear the water moving over my body? Could he hear my heartbeat speed up when I thought about his erection pressing against me in the car?

I turned the temperature down.

Once I was clean, I dressed in leggings and a loose shirt. My hair was too short to do anything with, so I rubbed it with a towel and opened the door.

Sten was exactly where I’d left him.

His eyes travelled over me slowly. I suddenly felt more exposed in my comfortable clothes than I had in the wet jacket and jeans.

“You changed your coverings,” he said.

“Clothes.”

“They show more of your shape.”

“So did your skirt in the car,” I blurted. Oops.

His gaze snapped to mine.