Page 52 of Swan

I bit the inside of my cheek when he pinched my chin and tilted my head to the side.

This felt strange. And strange in a way that I didn’t want to think about since Drake was family and I was messed up.

But my body didn’t get my brain’s memo. It reacted like it was a damsel ready to swoon.

What the heck?

It was wrong, right?

To react to Drake in this way after….

Close that thought down, Swan.

“There,” he said and touched the tip of the marker to my nose. He popped the lid back on and took a step away from me. “Take a look in the mirror and see if that’s where you’d like it to go.”

“I-I’m okay. I trust you.”

Drake’s stare intensified before he abruptly turned and went to the door.

“Good luck, Birdy. Catch ya ’round.” He shot two fingers in the air before he walked out.

Why did he leave so quickly?

Why was my heart racing?

Shaking my head, I blew out a breath.

There was something different about Drake, and it wasn’t just because his outrageous flirting had dimmed a lot since…. There was something else I couldn’t pinpoint.

Mon entered, saying, “Sorry, honey. Hex distracted me. Maya’s on her way.” She got close, brows bunching.

“Drake, I mean Dragon, was just in here. He marked my nose. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, totally. But I’m going to have to wipe if off to clean the area first. I’ll take a photo of where he put it to make sure it’s in the same spot when I redo it. Sound good?”

I nodded and kept still as she took a photo.

“I can’t believe you’re going through with this,” Maya said when she entered. She stopped beside me and took my hand. “You know you don’t have to do this.”

Rolling my eyes, I let out a quick laugh. “I know. I want to.”

“Awesome.” Maya watched Mon wiping and cleaning the side of my nose. “How come you’re wiping off the dot you already did?”

“I didn’t. Your brother did it before I cleaned the nose. I grabbed a photo to place the dot in the same spot.”

“I thought he was with a client,” Maya commented.

So he hadn’t finished his appointment?

Was he still in there with her?

Did that mean he did stop to come see me?

That was nice of him.

“All right, are you ready?” Mon asked. She had her gloves on, needle ready.

I drew in a deep breath. “Let’s do it.”

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