38. Peter

38

PETER

T he drive back to the village was quiet, the silence broken only by the soft purr of the engine. The night had been magical, with the finest food and wine, dancing and laughter, as well as a naughty game that had Marina climaxing all over his hand.

Peter smiled, remembering how long it had taken her to catch her breath and calm her heartbeat. His Marina was a closet exhibitionist, and he intended to coax more of that from her in Brundar's club.

Not yet, though.

He would let a few days pass before he suggested it so she wouldn't feel overwhelmed. It was his responsibility to make sure that she expanded her boundaries at a comfortable pace and didn't force herself to do more than she was ready for just to please him.

He glanced over at her, taking in the way her eyes drooped with satisfied fatigue and her head lolled against the headrest as if it were too heavy to hold up on its own.

"Don't fight it, love." He reached over to clasp her hand. "Sleep. I'll carry you home."

Marina smiled, her fingers tightening around his. "I have an account to settle with you. I still owe you an orgasm."

Heat rushed through Peter at her words. He would've loved to collect on that debt tonight, but he could wait until tomorrow.

"I'll take an IOU, love. Tonight, it's going to be straight to bed for you."

She sighed. "Your resilience and boundless energy are what I envy the most about your immortality." She turned to him and smiled. "Well, that and not getting sick, and staying young forever."

Peter's gut clenched at the reminder that his time with Marina was limited.

"I hope that my frequent venom injections will keep you young and healthy for much longer than normal for humans."

"I hope so, too." She lifted their conjoined hands and kissed his knuckles. "And perhaps the solution to our predicament will come from an unexpected source." She slanted him a smile. "I met Kaia on my first day in the café, and she said something about working on a way to turn ordinary humans immortal. I thought she was saying that just to make me feel good, but Wonder said she was a scientist, so maybe she's actually onto something?"

"Kaia is a brilliant bioinformatician, and I know that she is working on something, but I don't know what it is exactly. It's classified."

Marina frowned. "But you are a Guardian?"

"Even Guardians don't have access to everything."

Peter had heard rumors, of course. But they were mainly about building a more primitive version of the Odus, not finding the secret to immortality.

"That's a shame. I thought you knew something about her work."

"Well, I do." He scrambled for something optimistic to say. "Our ancestors became immortal through genetic manipulation, so it's possible, and if anyone can find the answer, it's Kaia."

Marina sighed. "Kaia has endless time to find the answers she's seeking and figure out how to make humans immortal, but I don't. If I'm lucky, I might have a decade before I start showing signs of aging. And if I'm not lucky, it could be even sooner than that."

Peter wanted to take Marina in his arms and promise her that everything would be alright and that science would find a way to keep her young and beautiful and vibrant forever, but she was right, and there was nothing he could say to make it better without resorting to lying.

"I believe that the Fates brought us together for a reason, Marina," he said instead. "I feel the bond forming between us, which shouldn't be possible between a human and an immortal, and yet, here we are."

"Oh, Peter." Marina smiled indulgently. "I'm not a Dormant. I think we've established that by now."

She was right, of course. No Dormant had ever taken this long to transition, especially given the steady supply of his venom.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to their connection than met the eye, that the Fates had woven their threads together for a purpose that he could not yet see.

"Every Dormant is different, and every transition is unique. You could be the rare case of a late bloomer."

She laughed. "That's not likely, Peter. For that to be true, my mother would have to be a Dormant too, right?"

Peter shrugged. "There are many Dormants in the human population; it's just that there are so many humans that it's like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Even if your mother was born in the compound, she could still carry the godly genes."

Marina closed her eyes. "I wish you were right."

Damn, he hated the resignation in her voice.

"Assume the win," he murmured.

She opened her eyes, confusion flitting across her face. "What does winning have to do with anything? Winning what?"

Peter just grinned, his heart pounding with reckless excitement. "Let's get married."

"Peter…" she said as if she was admonishing him for making a stupid joke.

"I'm serious. Let's have a ceremony in the village square, in front of all our friends and family, and show the Fates that we have faith in them and that we believe in the power of our love to overcome any obstacle."

Marina shook her head. "You're such a romantic, Peter."

"I know, so? Do you want to marry me or not?"

She stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. "You can't be serious."

But he just smiled. "Yes or no?"

For a long moment, Marina was silent, her eyes searching his face as if looking for some sign of doubt or hesitation. But there was none to be found, only love and devotion and his fierce, unshakable determination and belief that he was right.

And then, with a smile that lit up the darkness like a beacon, she nodded. "Yes, but I expect a proper proposal with a ring and you down on one knee."