I stare at his nonchalance. "You could've died!"
"Who told you that? No. If sunlight killed vampires there'd be a hell of a lot more murders. Nah, we lie in agony with our skin burning and won’t lose consciousness until night. I told you, fire is the only way to remove us permanently."
More nonchalance.
"And the burns wouldn't kill you?” He shakes his head. “That's horrendous." My eyes fill with tears as I picture him writhing in agony.
"Come here." He hugs me close to him again and I bury my nose in his soft shirt as we soothe each other. "Everybody survived, Maeve." I squeeze him tighter. "But there was a shit load of blood. Did Jamie live?"
"Wow, subtle, Andrei."
"Huh? Did he?"
I sigh. "He’s at the hospital. I stopped him—as Leon."
"Holy shit, Maeve. You took over a vampire's mind?"
"If you could call it a mind. He was driven by his lust for..." I trail off.
"Witch blood?"
I nod. "I don’t want to think about what happened. Tell me you'll be alright."
Andrei takes my hand and tugs me to the bed. He sits and pulls me onto his lap and holds me around the waist. "Tell me you'll be alright. What happened with the Blackwoods?"
"Too much." I place a finger on his lips. "But I'm not injured. Nobody hurt me and Tobias took care of me."
He smiles ruefully. "I totally understand. I never wanted to talk about Ravenhold."
"Exactly," I whisper and replace my fingers with my lips on his. "I will when I'm ready. Today has been long."
"Technically, it's the next day," he says, and I shove him in the chest.
His expression changes as he runs his fingers over my cheeks and mouth, looking at me as if it’s the first time we’ve met.
“Are you really okay?” I ask.
"I am now. I was so fucking worried I’d never see you again. You've pulled some crazy emotions out of me over the last few months, but I never want to hurt like that again. I know what the Blackwoods are capable of, and when I saw that picture of you..." He closes his eyes. "I couldn't breathe. I could hardly move. It was more than fear...I don't know."
The depth of the emotion in his voice; the raw Andrei in his eyes, seals my soul to his. I don't care what I saw in the room with Gabriella, Andrei would never hurt me. Something between us overrides his instinct and my prejudice.
"You tell me I always secretly wanted a bad boy." I place my lips against his forehead. "And you've secretly wanted someone to love you. I guess we both got our wish."
Andrei's hands slip beneath my T-shirt and I move to straddle him as his featherlight touch brushes my back. "I can't imagine life without you."
He's sincere, but Andrei doesn’t make the connection I do. He's heading towards immortality—I'll live one life and die. That reality scares me more than everything I’ve experienced in the last day and I don’t want the thoughts in my head anymore. Andrei makes a soft noise in his throat as I run my tongue along his bottom lip and he responds with a fierce kiss, teeth almost colliding as our tongues push against each other. Our hearts thump in rhythm, matching the way our lives have joined in a shared direction; a direction I can’t bear to think will end one day. I tremble with the intensity and pull away, touching my mouth as I meet the eyes of the guy who has stolen my heart and given me part of his in return.
“I love you, Andrei. I don’t want to ever lose you.”
“And I love you so fucking much.”
I roll my eyes. “Such a romantic way of telling me.”
Resting his forehead against mine, he murmurs. “I love you more than you know.”
My heart soars to a new height. The guy who hides in the shadows stepped into my life and never wants to leave.
Andrei bites his lip. "I was burned other places too."
My eyes widen. "Where? Am I hurting you?"
I make to climb from him, and he grips my hips. "If I show you, will you kiss me better?"
I recognise the glint in his eye accompanying his teasing words. "Andrei. Tobias told me you can’t burn through your clothes in such a short space of time.”
He chuckles. "Damn. Thanks, Tobias."
With an exasperated noise, I shove at him and he sinks back onto the bed. Andrei links his hands behind his head and gives me that oh-so-sexy half-smile of his as the T-shirt rides up revealing taut, but definitely unburned, abs.
My hair sweeps his face as I rest my forehead against his. "You should be tired.”
"I suddenly feel more awake." His lips purse, the cheeky look in his eyes growing.
“Hmm. Strange, that,” I say as his fingers sneak beneath my shirt and gently stroke my lower back.
In a sudden move, Andrei tips me over so he’s lying on top of me, his lean body pinning me down. I brace myself for one of his hard kisses, but Andrei tunes into my need for comfort despite the heart-thumping desire of our bodies touching. Gently holding my face, Andrei reminds me how our intimacy goes beyond the physical, and how the slightest touch or kiss pushes him further into my soul.
We’re not just a part of each other’s lives now, but a part of each other.
"Can we cuddle?" I ask.
"Anytime."
Andrei shifts until I'm spooned against him, listening to his rapid breath slow as he rhythmically strokes my arm. “If anybody in that place hurt you, I'll go in there and rip their throats."
I half-laugh, but he's serious, and the words are uncomfortably the same as his mother’s tonight. I stroke the arm that tightens around me and lean down to kiss the skin. "The nightmare is over, Andrei."
I don't know how much longer Andrei stays awake, because I drift to sleep.
A heart beats, slow and steady, distant in my mind.
Chapter Thirty-Three
MAEVE
I fall asleep with Andrei wrapped around me and jolt awake some time later. I relax when I realise I’m not still in the Blackwood house and pull his arms tighter around me. After a few minutes enjoying the peace and comfort with a sleeping Andrei, I disentangle myself and reach for his phone on the floor. Five p.m. Too early for Andrei.
He stirs as my hair sweeps down and tickles his face but stays asleep. I climb out of the bed and look down at him, my heart filling with warmth. I've seen him sleep before and I wouldn't dare tell him he looks cute. His face is softer in the way I occasionally catch in his expression when he's awake —relaxed and happy.
I reach out and smooth hair from his forehead. "Andrei."
He mumbles something. For a guy who claims he rarely sleeps in the day, he's doing well.
"I'm hungry, and I want to see if Amelia is back."
Another mumble. Shaking my head, I bend forward and place my lips on his. He opens an eye, confused for a moment, until his hand slips into the back of my hair. As he holds my head to his, we kiss gently until I place a hand on his chest and move away. "I said, I'm going to find Amelia."
Andrei props himself up on his elbows. "What time is it?"
"Five."