Dimitri was still looking at her with that innocent expression that was loaded with meaning, and she could feel her face getting hotter as she imagined exactly what he'd meant by that comment.
He lifted her plenty because she had to be on top to keep her injured hand out of the way, and since she could only brace with the other, he had to do all the work of lifting and lowering her on top of him.
Once, he had caught her about to plant her splinted hand flat on his chest and stopped her, rolling her gently over and taking it from the top instead, carefully enough that the splint hadn't been jolted, but that had happened only that one time.
"New rule." She lifted her good hand and pointed at him. "No innuendo before lunch."
"What about after lunch?"
"Negotiable."
"After dinner?"
"Shut up."
Dimitri grinned.
Petrov came over with a mug of coffee and set it on the table next to her. "Careful. It's hot."
She took the mug and brought it to her lips, when the intercom sounded, jostling her and making a few hot drops land on her apron.
"Jeez, how do they always do that? I'm sitting here and watching the street, and they still manage to sneak up on me."
Petrov muttered something in Russian and buzzed them in.
The door to the lab opened, and the Eight came in.
"Good morning," Number One said.
"Good morning," Dimitri said back. "I'm almost ready with the shots."
"Thank you."
The other seven did not say anything. They never did. Number One spoke, and the rest of them turned their heads to track Dimitri while he finished prepping.
"Are you calling the brothel today?" Petrov asked. "It's been four days since we agreed that you need to do that, and you've been dragging your feet about it."
Number One looked at Mattie. "We need coaching."
She nodded. "We'll practice after your shots."
Mattie had always wanted to make movies. It would probably never happen, but she still had the daydream anyway. And here she was, making her directorial debut with an eight-person hive-minded super-soldier, teaching them how to act when calling the brothel and requesting a woman to be delivered to their hotel room.
"When I pictured my first directing job, this was not the kind of project I envisioned, but that only makes it more challenging."
"What did you imagine directing?" Number One asked.
"Something with a wedding and a heist."
Dimitri chuckled. "That actually sounds like a fun movie. The opening scene will be a lavish wedding between an older, rich guy and a hot young woman, and the guests gossiping about her being a gold digger and marrying him for the money. In reality, though, it's a heist, and she has no intention of going through with the wedding. She and her bridesmaids are thieves, and the minister is an actor who's part of their team."
"Not bad." Mattie smiled at him. "Perhaps we should write the script together."
"We should." He approached Number One with the syringe. "After we break free."
Free.
What a concept. She'd always taken her freedom for granted until it had been taken away from her. If she really got free, Mattie was never going to take it for granted again. She would cherish and protect her freedom at all costs.
