"Different color?" he asked.

"Don't touch my clothes."

Irritated by her tone, he reached in and ran his hand down the line of her sweaters.

"They're mine, Gabriel," she retorted. "You could be nicer. I just helped you protect the souls."

"You did," he said. "I'm impressed."

"You shouldn't be." She crossed to him and pushed the door to her wardrobe closed. "You don't have to trust me, but I really am trying to help you."

"Because you love me." The words were out before he thought to stop. He wasn't even certain why he said them. She'd claimed as much yesterday.

Deidre didn't respond. She locked the wardrobe, still shivering.

"Am I right?" he asked, bracing an arm on either side of her.

She kept her back to him. "I shouldn't have said it."

"So it's true."

Deidre sighed.

"You said it earlier. I just want to hear it again," he said.

"Why? You already said we're dysfunctional."

"We were dysfunctional. It doesn't mean we have to be this time around."

This caught her attention, and she turned. Deidre rested against the wardrobe, arms crossed as she shook from cold but blue eyes riveted to him. He liked trying to get a rise out of her, and he really did want to know where they stood in her mind and whether or not he had to worry about her running off to make more deals with Darkyn.

"How do we become not dysfunctional?" she asked, puzzled. "Especially since I never knew we were."

"I think it starts with us giving each other a chance."

Deidre studied him. He wasn't certain what might be going through her mind. She appeared conflicted yet hopeful. The difference between her before her Monday night deal with Darkyn and now almost made him reconsider. But wasn't this what he wanted? The woman he fell for on the beach, without the tumor?

"How do I do that?" she asked.

"You started today with the souls. I'm grateful for your help."

"We can do it together, Gabriel." She beamed a smile. "I can help you with being Death. We can both take care of the souls."

It was a far cry from the woman who ran away screaming from the soul she accidentally touched last week or the G.o.ddess who would've commanded him rather than risk getting her hands dirty. Gabriel was taken aback. He didn't realize how great of a transformation had really taken place within the small woman gazing up at him. She didn't just have the body of a human and the knowledge of the G.o.ddess; she wanted to help him enough that she was willing to overcome her fear.

Granted, he was Death, and she was offering a partnership running the underworld instead of deferring to him in his role in charge of the underworld. In the course of three days, the G.o.ddess had almost learned to see him as an equal while her human side no longer in denial about her destiny.

She'd done something today he didn't expect and uncovered something he and all his dealers had overlooked for months. She was honest about wanting to help him and about how she felt.

Maybe Rhyn was right and the past didn't matter so much.

Maybe the secret could wait until they had built a better foundation. He'd cave to Andre's advice and double-check with Darkyn about whether or not his mate owed the Dark One anything formally or informally. Then, he'd stop throwing up barriers and give this Deidre a chance.

"Gabriel," she said hesitantly. "Will you kiss me?"

His arms dropped. He wasn't expecting the question. Building their relationship would mean easing into intimacy once more. He had no idea what she wanted on that front. The G.o.ddess had used s.e.x to control him. The human feared a relationship with someone who wouldn't share more than his body.

The woman before him was completely different than either woman. The reminder revived his uneasiness. What if he fell for this Deidre and she changed once again?

"You sure?" he hedged.

She nodded. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips nervously. Gabriel offered his hand. She took it.

"G.o.ds, you're freezing," he said and rested his other hand on top of hers to try to warm her.

Her eyes were on their clasped hands. She tucked her other hand between his to try to warm it, too. Gabriel's gaze took her in with some concern. She really was going to get sick from the cold and being soaked.

He cupped one of her cold cheeks in his hand, wanting to warm her up in whatever way it took. Gabriel dipped his head and kissed her. Her face was cold but her plump lips were warm, soft, her lips parting for him before he prodded them apart. She tasted slightly sweet, the heat of her mouth contrasting with the chill of her skin, and smelled of lake water. Deidre sank against him, and he wrapped his arms around her trembling body. Lake water seeped through his clothing. He paid it no heed, instead fascinated by the feel of her frame.

Desire spiked through him at the knowledge that his mate was in his arms. She responded to him with raw hunger, no longer timid as she had been when he kissed her the day before. Her hands were soon roaming his body curiously, resting on his jaw and trailing along his neck.

"You always smell good," she murmured, pulling away.

Her eyes traveled with intent interest over his face and followed the trail of her fingers down his neck. She rested her hands on his chest, but they didn't stay, instead running over the muscles of his chest and around to his back.

"You're so strong, Gabriel," she said in awe. "Have you always been like this?"

He chuckled. Sometimes, he thought there was none of the human left at all, just an incarnated G.o.ddess whose fascination with her new world extended to him. He loved that she was curious about his body. His one-night stand last week made him appreciate what it was to have a lover who was as infatuated by his body as he was hers. It was another part that remained of the girl he fell for last week.

He kissed her again. Her fingers ran through his short hair. She didn't move away or object when he allowed his palms to skim her curves, tracing down her sides to her hips then around to her tight bottom. He squeezed lightly then circled his arms around her, pulling her into his body. She yielded, fitting against him in a way that made him more possessive of her pet.i.te frame and fiery spirit.

Forced into hiding by the circ.u.mstances of the past two weeks, Gabriel's yearning for his mate emerged stronger than ever at her pa.s.sionate kisses and touch.

"Deidre," he whispered, fluttering kisses down the side of her neck.

She groaned.

"Are we ready for this?" He paused and brushed wet hair from her face with one hand, scouring her features.

Gabriel felt a thaw deep within him, one fed by the hope that arguing over her sweaters was the worst they'd face from here on out. The worst case scenario that she died of a tumor was no longer possible. He had his mate in his arms. She loved him, wanted to help him.

Maybe Rhyn was right. Gabriel had to let the past go. The changes in his mate were new enough to startle him sometimes, but she was without a doubt his mate. Even his lingering doubt about the real cost of her deals with Darkyn didn't extend to the question of whether or not he was meant to be with the woman in his arms.

"I've waited my entire life for this," she said.

His resolve lasted until she spoke, and he saw the truth of her words and the expression on her face. The emotion she'd admitted to yesterday which Andre had told him as well shimmered in her large blue eyes. She meant it when she said she loved him. Why, then, was he hesitating to claim the woman who clearly wanted to be by his side?

Whatever secret she kept, it couldn't change this moment or what he felt.

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

"Yes, Gabriel," she replied without hesitation. "I want you more than anything. I always have. I always will."

"Then let's get you out of those wet clothes," he said huskily.

Chapter Eight.

If Deidre found pleasure in funnel cakes and warm socks, she found utter ecstasy in Gabriel's arms. She didn't remember his pa.s.sion, the way he tasted and smelled and felt, or the movement of his muscles beneath taut, smooth skin. His velvety tongue was hot against her neck and her lips and as he pleasured her in ways she never experienced before. He wanted her, and nothing had ever made her happier in her life than when she saw the depth of his emotion in his eyes and lived through the consuming intensity with which he made love to her. Over and over, like it was their first time. Or maybe, like he really had loved her through the millennia they were together.

Their first afternoon of love was more than she ever thought possible. He wore her a G.o.ddess! out with his lovemaking and pa.s.sion. Her own body burned with emotions she couldn't control: love, happiness, and a hunger so deep, she thought she'd die before he sated her. Everything from the texture of his skin to the heat of his hands branding her was heaven to one unaccustomed to the sensuality of her world.

Deidre loved it. She reveled in every inch of his skin. She wasn't expecting his gentleness or the level of his interest in exploring her body, a combination that rendered her breathless before her clothes were off. He was certain to take her to climax each time before seeking his own release, a practice she'd never partic.i.p.ated, when she was a G.o.ddess who felt nothing.

Being with him, naked in bed, was the most natural, right and incredible experience. It reinforced what she had begun to doubt: This was where she belonged. Beside him, in bed and out, working together to run the underworld.

Dozing after his insatiable pa.s.sion, she roused herself when one of Gabriel's hands moved down her body. She rested on top of him, listening to his heartbeat. His chest was warm against her ear, and she drew loose shapes against his skin, beyond intrigued by the smoothness.

It was past midnight. The room was dark, aside from the glowing souls visible through the balcony doors. Gabriel had stayed with her for hours without showing any sign he was ready to leave.

"Happy?" His voice was soft and low.

"Very," she replied. "This was the best day of my life, Gabriel."

He laughed, the rumble of his chest causing her to raise her head.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked curiously.

"I guess our first night together was subpar, if today was so much better," he replied.

A trickle of jealousy moved through her, but she dismissed it, unwilling to think about the woman he'd slept with less than two weeks before. He thought it was her, and she couldn't tell him differently.

"I want every night to be like this," she proclaimed.

"I agree."

She returned her head to his chest. Did he still think they were dysfunctional, or was he as pleased as she was? She loved the feel of his warm skin against hers and breathed in his scent deeply.

"Thank you, Gabriel," she murmured.

"For what?"

"For taking a chance on me."

He squeezed her with his thick arms, and again she marveled at how he managed to be gentle with her when he was so strong. She never appreciated his strength or level of discipline, either, before this day.

"This is a good start," Gabriel said.

She propped her chin on his chest, unable to see his eyes in the night.

"We've got a long way to go."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Trust."

"Ah." She absently traced a hand down his shoulder and large bicep to the roped muscles of his forearm. "But it's possible, right? We'll be happy?"

"Of course."

She'd never heard such awesome words!

"We're kind of doing it backwards," he said with humor. "Normally, you build trust then sleep with someone."

"But we already loved each other. We're not starting from scratch," she pointed out. "We're starting in the middle."

"It's still something we will work on." There was firmness in his tone that threatened to pull her happiness down a notch.

"I don't want us to change this," she said. "What if trust does?"

"We'll deal with it. I won't lose you again. We won't spend our nights away from one another. Ever."

Guilt fluttered through her, making her cold on the inside.

"You're my mate, Deidre. I swear it on my duty as Death. I won't walk away from you, no matter how bad it is," he said softly.

She said nothing. She wasn't certain why her chest felt tight enough to hinder her breathing while her eyes were watering. Why was she sad? He swore to stay with her forever, just like she wanted him to, and she felt sorrow.

Deidre tried to sort through her emotions and rationalize them. It was impossible. She didn't know what to do to return to the heady high she'd been on.

"Do you love me Gabriel?" she asked.

"It's hard for me to respond to that," he replied.

"Why?"

He was quiet for a moment. One of his thumbs stroked the small of her back as he thought. Deidre waited, needing to know what it would take for him to love her. It was far more important than the bet with the human, but Deidre couldn't help thinking about her deal and Darkyn's threat to reveal everything to Gabriel.

It was the fourth day of their seven-day deal. She'd gone from hopeful to devastated in the course of the first two days. Right now, she felt like she was on the verge of an important break through with Gabriel. One that would result in her capturing Gabriel's heart and keeping her own soul.

"Because every time I start to love you, you betray me," he said at last.