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He seems more composed now I knohen he looks atit feel like a greeting despite the lack of smile or wave After that, he bends down for the haht as he resumes his work

When he seems lost in his own rhyth stone I can feel the heat of him, smell the musk of male sweat as his powerful movements bend the air around us

“Notthe stone “But a small bit”

“Good”

His voice is strange, and when our gazes tangle a bit later, I realize his eyes are strange as well His are like no male’s I’ve ever seen—fierce and expressive—but when they touch mine this time, they seem different Troubled, I think

“Declan?”

He pauses at his name, and when he turns to“Don’t get too excited I

was bound to slip up sometime”

He sh—a brilliant sht

I twist my face up and beckon him with my hand “Come here Closer”

He gives h so I can sht from my pocket When I shine it in his face, he flinches I wait for his pupils to shrink, and when they don’t, I zero in on one He

“Hush that foul mouth”

He chuckles softly as I watch his pupil shrink under the light—but just a wee bit The other one behaves the sa has happened to cause it to be dilated I shut my own eyes for a moment, and he makes a soft sound

“That bad, huh?”

I shake my head “I feel badly that I let you sleep I should have realized, with your head…” I gesture to ot a bit of a concussion”