Well, she pretty much knew all of his secrets. So maybe it wouldn’t change?
Dipping his head, he kissed her lips. “Will you marry me, Melanie?”
“Hell, yes. Now let’s get out of here and go check out our new home so I can talk dirty to you without all of them listening.”
Laughing, he reclaimed her hand and headed back upstairs. By the time they reached the front door, they were practically running, eager to embrace their future.
And damned if some of the other immortals didn’t hoot and cheer.
Ami gritted her teeth as her stomach churned and turned and threatened to eject her dinner.
A large, warm body pressed up against her back. Marcus dipped his head and kissed her neck as he slipped his arms around her middle.
Relaxing back against him, she closed her eyes.
The room they now shared at David’s place held a tropical feel, the humidity from their shared shower lingering in the air.
“Your heart is racing,” Marcus murmured between kisses.
Ami forced a smile. “You tend to have that effect on me.”
Turning her in his arms, he brushed his lips against hers, trailed them across her cheek, skipped to her forehead. “You feel warm.”
“You do that to me, too,” she teased. “Well, you and the shower. That’s a powerful combination.”
He laughed, low and husky. “I wish we could spend all night in that shower.”
She nipped his chin and stepped away. “Me, too. Unfortunately, those vampires aren’t going to hunt themselves.”
Groaning, he went to work buttoning his shirt.
As soon as he finished, Ami draped the bandolier carrying his throwing knives across his chest.
“Is something wrong, love?” he asked, studying her a little too intently.
Avoiding his gaze, she reached for his short swords and slid them into their sheaths. “I’m worried about the mercenaries. What if we didn’t get them all? What if there are others?”
“Chris seems to think we’ve neutralized the human threat.”
She met his gaze. “We didn’t expect Keegan to cause any real problems and look what happened with that.”
“That little weasel did catch us off guard, but Emrys was the true threat. Now that he’s dead, he can’t hurt us anymore.”
Ami nodded. She had helped them make sure of that and still wasn’t sure how she felt about her part in the violence that had taken place that night.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Marcus pulled on one of his boots and laced it up.
Ami crossed her arms over her chest and tried to ignore her stomach when it lurched again.
“You didn’t eat very much at dinner,” Marcus commented, watching her shrewdly.
Damn, he knew her well. “Tracy’s perfume was driving me crazy,” she admitted. “I couldn’t smell the food for it.”
Marcus frowned. “You could smell that?”
“How could I not? It was so strong it overpowered the room.”
He shook his head. “Tracy doesn’t wear perfume, love. That was her deodorant.”
Ami stared at him. A sickening feeling that had nothing to do with whatever was going on with her dinner entered her stomach. “It was?”
“Yes. I didn’t realize humans . . .” he smiled “or you could smell it.”
“We can. She needs to start using a scentless deodorant stone. If she ever has to go to Lisette’s aid, the vampires will smell her coming a mile away.”
“Well,” he said and took the other boot she handed him, “I’ll let you be the one to tell her that.”
I don’t think so.
“Is that all it was?” he asked, eyeing her as though he were trying to figure out what had changed, if she had cut her hair or wore it differently . . .
“What do you mean?” She knew he saw through the words. She couldn’t lie worth a damn, especially to him or Seth.
He shoved his big foot in the boot, then paused. “There’s been a lot of coming and going around here lately . . . a lot of traffic.”
More immortals and Seconds than usual had been taking advantage of David’s open door policy and making use of his home, dropping by for meals, sometimes staying through the day.
“Do you need a break, honey?” Marcus asked, voice soft with concern. “I understand the network owns a number of safe houses. We could make arrangements with Chris to use one and get away for a while.”
Ami blinked back tears. Marcus knew how difficult it was for her to meet new people and spend time with men and women she didn’t know, an unfortunate consequence of the capture and subsequent months of torture she had endured at the hands of Emrys and his fellow monsters.
She shook her head. “No, we can’t. You know I’m the reason David’s home has been inundated with twice as many visitors as usual. They all knew Emrys was determined to capture me again and have been lingering here to protect me. How can I reject that?”
He laced his boot, then rose. “Just say the word and I’ll reject it for you. We don’t even have to stay in the area. I could take you to England or France. Italy. Australia. Somewhere we can truly be alone.”
Closing the distance between them, she wrapped her arms around him and leaned into his strong chest. “My family is here. Our family is here. So here we’ll stay.”
He hugged her close, kissed the top of her head. “Whatever makes you happy.”
Ami squeezed him tight and swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. “You’d better get going.”
Marcus drew back, took her lips in a deep, pulse-spiking kiss, then headed for the door. “Oh, by the way. I heard Sheldon will be training with Darnell tonight.”
Sheldon had once landed Marcus in such a vampire muck that Ami had raced to Marcus’s rescue and ended up with a knife sticking out of her back.
Even as she frowned, Marcus tossed her a grin and winked at her. “Try not to terrorize the boy too much.”
Ami actually managed to find a smile and hold it . . . until he ducked out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she bolted for the bathroom, bent over the toilet, and lost what little dinner she had managed to consume earlier.
When at last the retching ended, she rinsed her mouth out and brushed her teeth, splashed some cold water on her face for good measure. Her hands shook as she drew a towel down over her eyes and cheeks.
Ami studied her pallid reflection in the mirror. Large tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
She couldn’t ignore what was happening to her any longer. For days she had felt that something was wrong, but had hoped it was simply anxiety. Being around so many strangers and hunting Emrys really had been stressful for her, but . . . anxiety didn’t enhance one’s sense of smell. Anxiety didn’t make one run a fever. It might make one lose one’s appetite, but would that escalate to vomiting?
Returning to the bedroom, she picked up her cell phone and dialed Darnell’s number.
“Hey, Ami,” he answered jovially. “You ought to join us in the training room. I’m about to kick Sheldon’s ass.”
“Oh, ha freaking ha,” Sheldon said in the background.
“Wait, did you say Ami?”
Darnell laughed. “He is so afraid of you. What did you do to him?”
Aside from telling him in explicit detail how she would maim him if he ever endangered Marcus’s life again . . . nothing.
“I need to talk to you,” she said in lieu of a reply.
“Sure,” Darnell said, voice sobering. “Where are you?”
“Our bedroom.” One of the two quiet rooms that would afford them privacy.
“On my way.”
Mere seconds passed before the door opened. Darnell slipped inside and closed it behind him. Six feet tall, he wore the standard garb of a Second, his broad-muscled shoulders stretching the fabric of the black shirt. His bald, brown head gleamed beneath the overhead light.