Page 189 of Dante
"I can think of several."
"I'm sure you can."
"Most of them involve you naked."
"Most of them involve you behaving."
"I never behave."
"I noticed."
I swing my legs over the side of the bed.
Marina watches me cross the room. Her eyes track down my body. I'm wearing nothing but the sweatpants I pulled on after we finished this morning.
She disappears into the bathroom.
I follow.
The bathroom is massive. A shower big enough for four people. A tub that could double as a small pool.
Marina is already running the water. Testing the temperature with her hand.
"Sit on the edge," she says. "I'll wash your hair first."
"Or."
She looks up.
I'm standing in the doorway. Blocking her exit.
"Or what?"
"Or I fuck you first. Then we can have a bath."
Her breath catches.
I see it. The flutter of her pulse in her throat. The way her pupils dilate.
"Your wound?—"
"Will survive."
I step closer. She doesn't back away.
"Dante."
"Marina."
"We just—this morning?—"
"I know." I reach for her. My hand cups her jaw. Tilts her face up to mine. "I want you again. Always."
She swallows.
"If I end up dead," she says, "at least I got sex after two years."
The words hit wrong.
