"My hero." She pulled him down for a kiss.
He responded instantly, his arms wrapping around her waist and lifting her off the ground. Before she could catch her breath, he had swung her into his arms and was carrying her toward the stairs.
Mattie laughed, one arm looping around his neck and the other clutching the bundle of clothes she was holding. "I love how strong you are now."
"I was strong enough to carry you before," he said.
He had carried her before, that was true, but it had been after he'd been bitten by Tarik, so his transformation had already been happening. Besides, the distance from the bathroom to his bed was only a few feet, and now he was taking the stairs two at a time without even breathing hard, but she wasn't going to say any of that and spoil the moment.
Instead, she kissed him again, tasting whiskey and Dimitri. He carried her into his room, kicked the door shut behind them, and set her down gently, keeping his hands on her waist.
"It's a lot to take in," Dimitri said quietly.
"It is." She set her bundle of clothes down and turned to face him. "I just need time to process that the man I've been falling for is immortal now."
His eyes widened. "The man you've been falling for?"
Heat rose to her cheeks. "You know what I mean."
"I'm not sure that I do." He stepped closer, his eyes searching her face. "Are you saying you have feelings for me?"
"Of course, I have feelings for you, you idiot." The words came out sharper than she intended, frustration and fear and something soft tangling together in her chest. "Why do you think I keep coming here? Why do you think I let you hold me, touch me, make love to me?" She waved a hand around the room. "Because I enjoy the lavish accommodations?"
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "The accommodations are pretty terrible."
"They're awful. The bed is too small, the shower pressure is pathetic, and the window is tiny." She jabbed a finger at his chest. "I keep coming back for you."
Because she'd lost her mind and was falling for a Russian scientist who was turning into an immortal, on an island neither of them had a chance of ever escaping.
Dimitri caught her hand, pressing it flat against his chest, and she could feel his rapid heartbeat beneath her palm.
Excited.
Human.
For now.
His expression shifted from playful to serious. "I have feelings for you, too, Mattie. Strong feelings. Terrifying feelings. Feelings I shouldn't be feeling so soon after meeting you."
She'd known that, but it was still nice to hear. A smile bloomed on her face. "No need to be scared, my brave scientist. Your heart is safe with me."
He looked into her eyes as if not sure he believed her. "Are you really okay with what's happening to me?"
She looked up at the face she had grown to love in such a short time and realized that he was, and always would be, the same man, no matter what his body transformed into. His soul, the essence of what animated him, would not change just because he was faster and stronger and could run up the stairs while carrying her.
She reached up and cupped his cheek, feeling the slight stubble beneath her palm.
"I know who you are," she said. "On the inside. And you are wonderful." She tried to smile, to make her voice light despite the seriousness of the moment and the feelings she was about toadmit to. "The only thing I regret is that I will keep aging while you will stay the same. But we have no future anyway, so that doesn't really matter, does it? We just need to enjoy each day as it comes."
Dimitri caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm, and his eyes were fierce when they met hers again.
"We will have a future, Mattie," he said. "I'll make sure of it."
36
KIAN
"Let me get this straight." Turner leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest. "Navuh has booby-trapped the enclosure containing the Clan Mother's truelove mate, and he's the only one who knows the disarmament codes."
