She could do anything she wanted to him, and he wouldn't even try to stop her.
Her mouth was warm and deliberate, and even though her left hand wasn't her dominant one, she didn't need much dexterity to make what she was doing to him exquisite.
His hand found the back of her head, fingers threading through wet hair, and time lost all meaning. The bathroom walls faded, the island disappeared, the missing tooth and the emerging fangs, and the collective consciousness that wanted to merge with his brain all ceased to exist.
There was just Mattie and the way she made him feel.
Against all odds, his higher functions somehow reasserted themselves, and he eased back gently, cupping her face with both hands. It wasn't because the sensation wasn't extraordinary, because it was, but because the imbalance of it bothered him.
She looked up at him. "You don't like it?"
"Like doesn't begin to describe it. But I'm not willing to do this if it's not reciprocal."
Still on her knees, water streaming over both of them, she blinked. "It can be."
The words sent a jolt through him that was not purely sexual. It was the particular electricity of a puzzle presenting itself, and despite the circumstances, the part of his brain that would always be a scientist first and a lover second immediately began calculating positions, angles, weight distribution, and the constraint of an injured right hand.
"I'll think about the mechanics," he said, and even as the words came out, he recognized how absurd they sounded. Here he was, standing in a shower with a beautiful woman on her knees in front of him, and he was talking about mechanics.
As Mattie burst out laughing, the sound echoed off the wet tiles, bright and contagious, and Dimitri laughed too. The tension that had been building between desire and responsibility had been broken, and it was a tremendous relief.
She was still laughing as he helped her to her feet. She leaned against him, her forehead pressed to his collarbone.
"The mechanics," she repeated, shaking her head. "Only you could turn sex into a physics problem."
"Engineering problem. Physics is theoretical. Engineering is applied."
"Even worse."
He tilted her chin up and kissed her, softer this time, the kind of kiss that was a promise rather than a demand. "Tonight, and I mean it. But right now we need to get down to the lab. A new shipment of chemicals arrived yesterday, and Petrov and I have a full day of work ahead of us."
"What's more important than this?" She wrapped her good arm around his neck.
"Nothing. But the shipment is more urgent."
She sighed. "Fine. But if you keep putting me off, I'm going to ask Dave to tie you to the bed so I can have my way with you."
The image that description produced was so wildly inappropriate that Dimitri nearly choked on his own saliva.
"That's not funny."
"It's a little funny." She grinned. "Four of Dave on the right side, four on the left, while I…"
Oh, God. That was such a wrong thing to say, considering what Dave wanted from Dimitri. If he agreed to the mind merge, the scenario that Mattie had painted would become a reality. Dave might not be there physically holding him down, but they would be there virtually.
He grimaced. "Please stop."
"Why? Don't you find the idea kinky?"
"No." He turned off the water and reached for the towels, shaking his head. "You are a menace."
"I am a woman who misses making love with her super handsome, sexy boyfriend." She took the towel he offered and toweled herself dry quite efficiently, given that she did it one-handedly. "I'm tired of waiting."
The humor had drained from her voice, and what remained was raw and honest.
He took the towel from her and wrapped it around her, tucking a corner securely so it would stay put.
"Tonight," he said. "We will go slow and figure out the mechanics together. I just refuse to let your hand get injured again. I want you to give it the best possible chance of healing fully."
