Mattie laughed, and the sound was warm, full, and utterly delightful, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
"I'm not really as shy as the impression I work hard to give," she said. "I'm not a blushing virgin." A pause, and her cheeks turned even pinker. "Just blushing."
30
MATTIE
"Just blushing," Mattie repeated, and the heat in her cheeks spread down her neck, across her chest.
Dimitri stood frozen, toothbrush in hand, staring at her as if she'd just announced she could fly. The steam from the shower curled around them both, making everything feel unreal.
Good. Unreal was easier than real right now.
He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. "You're inviting me to shower with you?"
"Yes, and I suggest you move fast before I lose my nerve."
He set the toothbrush down. "You are going to wash me."
Dimitri looked so shocked that it was comical, and she laughed. "Do you want to pinch yourself again?"
"No. That hurt."
"Then get undressed and get in." Mattie closed the shower curtain and smiled.
Normally, she wasn't that bold, but Dimitri had already seen her scars, and his reaction to them had been the best she could have hoped for. He hadn't recoiled or winced or looked at her with pity. He had reached with his hand and caressed her skin. He'd made her feel beautiful and desired, and at the same time safe, because he'd also made her feel appreciated and respected.
He made her feel seen.
Men like him were rare, and she would have invited him into her bed even if he hadn't saved her from a bunch of barbaric immortals. If not for his heroic act, she might have taken longer, but the opportunity had just presented itself, and she seized it.
Mattie was excited, and as she heard the rustle of fabric, the soft thud of his shirt hitting the floor, and then the whisper of his pants sliding down his legs, each sound sent a fresh wave of heat through her.
After seven months of cultivating the image of the shy, damaged girl who wasn't worth the trouble, tearing those walls down for a man she'd just met seemed reckless, but it felt right. Dimitri had risked his life for her, attacking an immortal with nothing but a syringe and desperate courage, and he'd nearly died protecting her from a terrible fate.
She trusted him like she hadn't trusted any man before him. There had been some nice guys in her past, but there had never been anyone like him.
The shower curtain moved, and he stepped in behind her, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his body even through the warm spray. Was he still running a fever?
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hi." She turned to face him, and the sight of him stole her breath.
He was thin, the short illness having somehow managed to carve hollows beneath his cheekbones and along his ribs, as if his body had consumed its reserves to wage war on the virus or bacteria that had invaded it. But despite that, he was beautiful to her, all lean muscle and pale skin, dark hair plastered to his forehead, blue eyes looking at her with an intensity that made her knees weak.
She was tempted to look down, knowing she would find him erect, but she fought the urge and kept her eyes on his face.
The shower stall was tiny, barely big enough for one person, let alone two. There was no way to stand without touching, but Mattie had known that when she'd invited him in. Had counted on it.
She reached for the soap. "Let me wash you. You've been sweating for hours."
His expression changed, and suddenly he looked embarrassed, probably remembering that he was sticky and smelly.
Dimitri took a step back, almost falling out of the shower stall. "I can do that myself. I feel fine."
"I want to do it." She squeezed soap into her palm and worked it into a lather. "Come here and turn around."
After a split second of hesitation, he obeyed, turning around and presenting his back to her.
