She hesitated. “Say it in Russian.”

“Spasibo.”

She grinned. “I like that.”

He smiled, so charmed by her in that moment. “Get your dinner and join me.” He wanted her close to him.

“On my way.” She sauntered off, returning a few seconds later with her own plate and beer. She settled onto the couch and lifted her beer, leaning toward him. “Cheers.”

“Cheers.” He met her halfway, clinking his bottle against hers. “Thank you for heating this up.”

“No problem. Norma did the hard part.”

He sipped his beer before putting it back on the table. “You’re not going to have a very good view of the screen from there.”

She shrugged as she forked up a piece of meatloaf. “I can see okay.”

“Is not good enough.”

“It’s fine, really.”

It wasn’t. He lifted his plate, then scooted over. “This chair is big enough for both of us.”

“It’s not that big.” She laughed. “And I’m not sitting on your lap to eat my dinner.”

“Not on my lap. Next to me.”

She seemed to be considering it. “We’ll be squished in.”

“You do not want to be squished with me?”

She grinned. “There are worse things.” She thought a moment. “How about I join you after dinner?”

“Good.” Then maybe he could talk her into sitting on his lap. Or at least across it. He dug into his meal. The thought of having her that close to him, touching him, was very appealing. He put his fork down to click back to a channel. He picked the first neutral thing he saw, a game show.

“Aren’t you going to start the movie?”

“After we eat. You cannot see it.”

She took a sip of her beer, which she had on the floor by her feet. “You’re a stubborn guy, you know that? But sweet.”

“Like candy.”

She laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth. “I almost snorted beer through my nose, thank you very much.”

He preened a little. “Also funny.”

She nodded. “You’re a whole wealth of things, that’s for sure.”

But was it enough to keep her interest? To make her happy? He wished he knew.

Grom sighed and rolled over on his back, looking longingly at Van.

“Nyet.”

Grom huffed, making Lisa laugh again. “It’s not hard to figure out what he wants, is it?”

“No. But he has kibble in his bowl, and too much people food is not good for him. And he knows it. Don’t you, Grom?”

With a whiny, growly noise, Grom got up and went to lie by Lisa. Van laughed. She reached down to pet him. “Poor doggy. Such a hard life.”

Grom finally gave up and went to lie near the fireplace. They finished their dinner, and then Lisa took the dishes back into the kitchen.

“Leave them in the sink,” Van called. “I will do them later.” He used his crutch to get up and went over to the fireplace. Grom stretched out as if anticipating. There was still kindling and logs in the basket, but Van would need what was stacked by the door if they kept the fire going longer than a few hours. He started arranging the small kindling, then larger pieces on top and finally a hefty log.

“You want another beer while I’m in here?” Lisa called out.

“Da. Yes.” He really needed to get better about that. He shoved a starter stick into the kindling. If he’d been able to shift, even into his half form, he could have breathed the fire into being, but shifting was impossible with the venom in his system. He clicked the lighter and set the end of the starter stick ablaze. Blue flame licked the end, traveling quickly into the smaller twigs.

She padded in behind him, her shoes long gone. “Oh, that’s going to be so nice.” She stood next to him and handed him the beer.

He knocked his bottle against hers, happy she was having another one too. “This is a good day.”

She stared into the growing fire. “Yes, it is.”

He tucked his crutch under his arm, then shifted the bottle into that hand so he could put his other arm around her. She leaned into him a little, and he bent to kiss the top of her head. Her hair smelled nice. Floral and herby. Her shampoo, no doubt. It suited her. Feminine but a little wild too. “What are you thinking about?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

He knew that wasn’t true, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment by trying to get more than that out of her. “Movie?”

“Da.” She looked up at him and winked.

One word. One small gesture. And just like that, he knew this was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

It staggered him, like a punch to the gut. He clung to his crutch. How could anyone know anything with such certainty? He wasn’t sure. But his dragon side and his human side were no longer struggling to sync.

Lisa Devers was the woman he was meant to be with.

“This is going to be tight.” Monalisa squeezed next to Van in the small spot between him and the arm of the oversized chair. Oversized, yes, but still a chair.

“Is good.” He scooped up her legs and swung them over his.

“Your knee!”

“My knee is fine. You weigh very little. I know this because you told me.” He smiled and put his arm around her. “Are you comfortable?”

She snuggled into the crook of his arm. “Yes.” Believe it or not. She’d never been this intimate with a man before, but being with Van felt so right. Too right. The kind of right that was going to leave her miserable for months. But she would endure that pain in exchange for having these sweet memories of what could be.