The extra time gained by his skid into the soil meant that she was back in the cabana, breathing hard with her clothing on and shoes in her hand when he skidded up to her. Maddy curtsied. It seemed appropriate. “Thank you. I haven’t been able to run like that for quite some time.” He shifted back into his normal form, all dark-blue skin and pointed ears. His black button-down shirt masked what she imagined was a fairly impressive torso. His jeans didn’t hide much at all. She licked her lips and quickly made eye contact. “I just have to put my shoes on, and then, we can continue this walk.” He chuckled. “May I assist?” She thought he was going to kneel down, but instead, when she nodded yes, he flicked his fingers and her sandals were suddenly neatly buckled in place. “Thank you.” “My pleasure. I would have done it myself, but I am told that shifters and djinn have a strange reaction when they have contact.”
