Mathias smiled at that, a smile that seemed heavy with regret. “Have you thought about what you’ll do...whether you’ll go back to Ozzy’s place...?”
“I don’t want to take Eddie back there,” she said, realizing it only now. She hadn’t really thought about alternatives, but she knew she’d land on her feet somewhere. “We’ll figure things out.”
“You already said that,” he murmured. He reached out to her, stroked her cheek with a light caress. “Why don’t you figure it out while you’re staying with me.”
Nova frowned. “Staying with you, where?”
“At my place in the city.”
“You mean, the Order’s headquarters?”
He shrugged. “I’m the commander of the London office. So, technically, the headquarters is my place. You and Eddie would stay with me, in my private quarters in the mansion.”
“Mansion,” she said. She pictured gleaming marble and elegant furniture. Things she’d known as a child and learned to despise. “I don’t know...”
“What don’t you know?” The fingers stroking her cheek now wandered into her hair, his warm, strong palm cupping her nape. “Come back with me. There’s no point in you and Eddie living here, when I have all the room either of you could ever need.”
She shook her head, even as tempted as she was by his offer of comfort and a luxurious place to stay. “It wouldn’t be right. I can’t trade one temporary shelter for another.”
He stared at her, a scowl forming. “No, that wouldn’t be right.”
She exhaled a heavy, pent-up breath. Letting it out seemed to deflate some of her soul along with it. “I’d rather stop this now, Mathias. I’m not afraid to be on my own, but I don’t want to fool myself that accepting your offer won’t make it harder for me to leave later.”
He nodded soberly. “I agree, that would pose a problem. For both of us. That’s why my offer isn’t a temporary one.”
She gaped at him. “What?”
“I want to take you home with me, Nova. You and Eddie both.” He took her face in both hands now, holding her as tenderly as an eggshell. “I want to take you back with me, right now. Where I plan to romance you properly...and thoroughly. You, at any rate. Not the boy.”
Nova laughed. “You can’t be serious. We hardly know each other.”
“We have time. All the time in the world.”
“You don’t even know my real name.”
He smiled, his eyes sparking with challenge and determination. “So, tell me.”
“Catriona,” she said softly. “Catriona Riordan.”
He grunted, as if testing the feel of the name in his mind. “I like it. And I like you. I love you, Nova.”
He loved her. Her heart leapt in her breast, a giddy, girly jolt of elation. She’d been so leaden with grief, the joy she felt now was like a sudden burst of sunlight after a heavy storm. “Are you trying to sweep me off my feet or something, Mathias?”
His grin widened. “Like some kind of knight in shining armor, Nova. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”
She touched his face, his handsome, earnest face. “Well, in that case, I don’t mind telling you that I love you too.”
“Good answer.” He stared into her eyes, his own irises glittering with bright amber sparks. “Now about the rest of my question...”
“The part about spending the rest of my life with you?”
“As my mate,” he clarified. “I won’t settle for anything less.”
“I’m not an easy woman to live with,” she warned him. “I’m moody. I’m stubborn. Sometimes I don’t play well with others.”
“Fortunately for both of us, I enjoy a challenge.”
She laughed, then sighed as he pulled her into his arms and across his lap.