Her eyes popped open. “Virgin.” She pointed at herself, shivered, and slid her hand between them. “Now I’m beneath some naked, hot, hero guy. The leap to a sex dream doesn’t seem that surprising.” She smiled.
And dammit, he smiled back at her. “Mirrors?” The wolf wanted to wrap itself around her, warm her up… Claim her. Mal swallowed, forcibly ignoring the wolf.
She pressed her eyes shut, a nervous giggle escaping. “Dream. So of course it will be amazing and we’ll look gorgeous.”
It was his turn to chuckle. “Right.” He looked at her—really looked at her. She was pretty. Her body, pressed against him, was tempting—even when feverish and delusional. Men would have wanted her. Plenty of men. The wolf growled.
“I feel weird.” She pressed a hand to the side of his face. “Really weird.” Her hand trembled. “Am I going to wake up?”
She was asking him? How the hell was he supposed to know? What was he supposed to do or say? He cleared his throat, wrapping his fingers around her wrist. Her pulse was erratic. If he could leave her, he might be able to determine where they were—how close help was. As much as he hated to admit it, she needed help he couldn’t give. “You need to be strong.” It was all he could do now.
“I am strong. I don’t feel very strong,” she murmured.
Her body was weakening, but her mind was sharp. She’d need it to fight.
Her smile was slight. “Is it really as magical and life-altering as people say it is?”
“Sex?” Mal bit out.
She nodded weakly.
“It’s been a while,” he grumbled, smiling at her laugh.
“Are you avoiding the question?” she asked.
He sighed. “Yes.”
“Yes, you’re avoiding the question? Or yes, sex is magical and life-altering?”
He was losing control of this conversation. “What’s your name?”
She opened her eyes. “Oh. My name is Olivia Chase.”
“You talk a lot, Olivia Chase.”
Her eyes were huge and fathomless. She grinned. “You have a name?”
“Mal,” he murmured, appreciating the slight dimple in her left cheek. He was wrong. She was more than pretty. She was vital somehow. Real and human. And dying.
“Mal. Can you do me a favor?” she asked.
“Depends. What?”
“Talk to me?” Her blink was sluggish, like her lids were weighted. “Feels like I’m underwater, like my head’s breaking the surface only part of the time. Maybe hearing your voice will help me stay afloat.”
What the hell was he supposed to talk about? “I’m not a conversationalist.”
“I sensed that.” She sighed. “Never mind.”
His wolf growled, thoroughly disappointed. He’d been trying to give her the motivation to hold on, then when she told him what she needed he couldn’t find something to say? “I’ll try.”
She smiled. “Thank you.”
It was a hell of a smile. Soft and sweet and inviting. The whole virgin thing was very hard to believe. Harder not to think about. “You ever been kissed, Olivia Chase?” he asked, his voice gruff.
Her eyes widened. “Not properly.”
“How about improperly?”