"I love you," Dimitri said, the words deliberate, weighted. "I love you more than I've ever loved anything. More than my empire, more than my reputation, more than my own life. And I need you to remember that when I'm gone. I need you to remember that everything I'm about to do, I'm doing because losing you is unacceptable. Watching you die from a virus I could have stopped is unacceptable. Living in a world where you don't exist is unacceptable."
"So you're choosing to risk dying instead?" Eve asked, her voice raw.
"I'm choosing to fight," Dimitri corrected. "There's a difference."
He kissed her hard, like he was trying to brand himself into her skin. His hand fisted in her wet hair, angling her head exactly where he wanted it, and she kissed him back with everything she had, all the fear, all the anger, all the desperate need to keep him here, safe and alive.
When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing hard.
