[This post is from Matt’s point of view.]
Hecate gave a startled little cry, blinking at him. “Where are we going?”
“Inside,” Matt said as he carried her up onto the porch. “Where else would we be going?”
“I—I don’t know. This is a little sudden.” She rested her forehead against his jaw, her arms tightening slightly around his neck, balancing herself. “Weren’t we fine where we were?”
Matt smiled crookedly. “Maybe. But I can think of better places.”
Her brows knit and she looked up at him again. “Like where?”
“You’ll see.”
He carried her through the living room, back toward the bedrooms. Her eyes widened as he bypassed the kitchen and its stairs down to the basement in favor of that other little hallway.
“Matt,” she whispered.
“Shhh,” he hushed gently, stepping into the room he’d guessed had been her bedroom once upon a time—before she’d started hiding herself away in the basement of that little house by the water. Tears pricked Hecate’s eyes and she covered her mouth with one shaking hand.
“Why here?” she asked in a bare whisper. “Matt, why here?”
“It’s time for this to be home again.” He kissed her ear and set her on her feet. She stared at him, biting down hard on her lip.
“Why now?”
“Why not?” He gave her a crooked smile and brushed his fingertips along the side of her face. “Why not now?”
Her hands shook as she wrapped them around his arms, squeezing hard. “There should be a thousand reasons, but I’ve lost them all—they’ve scattered like shards of glass against a slate floor. I just—Matt, I—are you sure? Really, really sure?”
“As long as you are.”
Hecate sucked in a breath and nodded. “Okay. Okay. As long as you’re sure.”
Matt kissed her again. She leaned into his chest, squeezing her eyes shut as tears welled up behind her lashes. He stroked her hair and she shivered, her arms sliding around his waist.
“Just remember that I’m not him,” he murmured.
“Of course not,” she whispered against his lips. “Of course not, you’re you. I know that.” She put a hand against his chest, breaking the kiss so she could meet his eyes, her own sparkling with unshed tears.
“Take me to bed, Matthew Astoris,” she said softly. “Make me feel real again.”
Matt’s voice was gentle. “With pleasure.”
Playing with fire. He’s going a bit fast but it seems to be working.
Smart move, reminding her that he’s Matt (not “the name I can never remember how to spell”). If he goes off script (her script), she may flip out. Reminding him that he’s someone different will help remind her that they are running a different script.