Deidre's Death

"Do you have an outstanding debt to Darkyn?" he asked.

"None." This assertion was firm.

"I guess I can check the Oracle."

She tensed in his grip. "It was a private deal."

"Convenient."

"You don't trust me?"

"No."

Deidre pulled away enough to meet his gaze. She was frowning.

"I want Wynn to verify your tumor is gone," he added.

"You'd trust that Immortal over your mate?" she asked, anger flaring.

"You trusted Darkyn over me."

"He could do something you …"

It was Gabriel's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Care to finish that? Or maybe explain why you didn't even tell me before seeking him out? It's not like you didn't have the opportunity."

She pushed at him to try to move away. Gabriel didn't let go. Deidre appeared frustrated and wiggled again.

"Easy," he warned. "We're having a nice little chat about trust. Something neither of us does well."

"You didn't use to be like this," she snapped.

"You didn't used to be a weak, puny human."

"Son of a bitch!"

Gabriel chuckled. "Things have changed, Deidre."

"You're scaring me, Gabriel."

"You know I'll never do anything to hurt you."

When he refused to release her, she sighed and leaned against him. The warmth of her body made him not want to let go.

"Wynn is in Hell," she said at last. "We were both in the portal room. Darkyn sent me home, but Wynn didn't follow."

"He's still there?"

"I don't know. I didn't stay to find out."

"Why was Wynn there?"

"To make sure my … operation went well. Darkyn dragged him down to help, since it was his magic in my head," she replied.

"I didn't think Darkyn needed help with anything."

"I think Wynn was insurance, in case something went wrong. What Wynn did was really bad, Gabriel. I was going to die in a few days."

One arm tightened instinctively around her while he lifted the other to touch the soft skin of her neck. The scars from the demon attack were there. He rested his hand around her collar, disturbed by the scars. He found himself drawn to her again, almost too strongly to resist, and reminded himself something was off about her story. What if the tumor wasn't gone? He'd pushed her away in order to keep the tumor from growing.

If he wasn't able to find Wynn, there was always Andre, who could tell him if it was there. Maybe Andre could read the thoughts that were blocked to Gabriel.

Her breathing was quick, the pulse he felt in her neck flying. She was affected by his touch. He ran his hand down her arm and rested his hand at her lower back. He wanted to let his hand drift downwards but stopped himself.