Of course they couldn't live like that, and Norah was the one who broke first, pulling back with a slightly self-conscious laugh.
"That was pretty wild," she said. "Are you all right?"
"I'm tough enough to survive a little fall on the asphalt," he said, covering his disappointment when she pulled away. "Are you all right?"
"Feh, I did worse when I used to roller skate. But that car, I've never seen it before. It could have been the thief, and dammit, the security cameras back here don't work, I'll have to talk to Sayeed in security, and-"
"You thought that was some kind of criminal, and your first reaction was to run right over?" Val asked, appalled, and she gave him a patient look.
"It's not like I tried to stop an armed bank robber. Book thieves aren't known for being too aggressive. It was fine. I just got a little scraped up."
She gestured down at herself for emphasis, and then they both saw that her dress had acquired a few clean rips that wouldn't have been accounted for by a spill onto the ground. Val realized that his claws must have come out, fortunately not enough to hurt Norah, but it was still bad enough. Belatedly he stuck his hands behind his back, and Norah shook it off.
"It's fine, Val. I'm a big girl. I can handle a shoplifter."
Val tried to smile.
"I'm glad," he said. "Just, you know. Just like it's okay to let a taller person get the thing from off the high shelf, it's okay to let other people handle the criminals."
Norah gave him a mock glare.
"Listen, mister, unless you intend to be around every time I need to get the repair supplies down from the high rack, I don't think you get to make that call."
"I will," Val promised recklessly, looking into her eyes. "I will be, every time. I will continue to be taller than you, and I will continue to get you whatever you need from the high shelves, whether it's repair supplies, books, food. Rubies. Money orders. Gold ingots ..."
He realized he was somehow still talking and shut his mouth abruptly, but Norah laughed at him.
"You're in worse shape than I am, aren't you? Poor thing, you didn't expect this at all. And I never even thanked you for being my knight in shining armor."
"Oh. No. Please. No, that's awful, no."
"Well, thank you," she said, and before he knew what she was doing, she leaned up to kiss him.
She had clearly meant for it to be a kiss on his cheek, but Val was maybe a little twitchier from everything that had come before than he liked to admit. He half-turned, and instead of his cheek, Norah's kiss landed on his lips, and.
Oh.
The flames that had been waiting inside him for what felt like his whole life flared up, and suddenly Norah was in his arms, her hands on either side of his neck, hanging on to him just as fiercely as he hung on to her. The kiss was the beginning of everything, and somehow, he knew she could sense it as well, a beginning, a promise, a future for both of them.
In that moment, someone could have dropped a thousand carats of pigeon blood rubies right next to him, and he wouldn't have cared. A contingent of medieval knights could have come clanking up, and he would have waved them on without looking up.
This was Norah, she was his, and he was hers, unquestionably.
Unfortunately, even the most magical of moments needed oxygen, and Norah pulled back with a gasp. Even in the dim light, her lips looked lush and plump from their kiss, and he moved forward to capture them again.
Norah took a step back, shaking her head.
"Wow. Wow, that was. Wow."
Val blinked, and Norah took another step back.
"Okay, there's a lot of adrenaline going right now. Are you all right?"
"More than all right," Val said, and he had to stop himself from crowing with triumph because he could tell that Norah was feeling the same things he was, even if she had no idea what they were.
She laughed.
"You know, for all that I almost got run over here, me too! I'm feeling great. I'm feeling like – well, maybe we don't get into that. But we really shouldn't, um. Do what I think we're both thinking of."
"Why not?"
"Because this is a parking lot, and even if the security cameras are out, people still drive by."
It took Val a moment to realize what she was saying, and he stared at her.
"You mean you would-"
She looked at him seriously.
"My car has a huge back seat, and you are one of the most gorgeous men I have ever talked to in real life. Yes, I mean I would."
He was still trying to keep his dragon from puffing up forever with pride when Norah continued.
"And we can't. Really, that's hormones, and we can't. I'm going to go home and have a long shower and a glass of wine before I sit down with some bracingly boring paperwork. And then tomorrow, how about we figure out how much of this was just adrenaline?"
"None of it," Val said immediately. "I'll be just as ready to step into your car's backseat as I am right now."
"You say the most flattering things," she teased. "But tomorrow?"
Val didn't want to wait for tomorrow. He wanted a lot of things, starting with exploring the potential for her car's backseat and then flying her straight to his family to show off his new mate. Instead, he nodded.
"Tomorrow," he said. "Let me walk you back to your car, at least."
Val found himself glancing at the backseat, and then blushing when Norah caught him at it.
She made a brief arrested motion as if she wanted to kiss him again and then thought better of it. She squeezed his hand again.
"Tomorrow," she said, a promise and a beginning.
"Tomorrow," he echoed, and he watched as she drove off.
No,
