"You and I have different takes on relationships," she said at last. "I'm not interested in an arrangement with you."
"Neither of us has a choice about being together. I'm simply choosing the terms."
Deidre bit her tongue to keep from saying what she wanted to, mainly that a relationship consisted of two people, and she was not about to be one of them.
As if sensing her thought, Gabriel reached out to her. He cupped the back of her neck with one large hand, brushing his thumb along her cheek. His gaze dropped to her lips, and his thumb followed, grazing the sensitive skin.
Deidre's body betrayed her, giving a full-form shudder at the rush of heat and energy. Her breath caught. She heard it and knew he did, too. It was so easy to agree and sink into his strength, let the scent of dark chocolate work its way into her skin as his hands moved over her. The idea of waking up to him each morning reminded her of how centered, energized and at peace she'd been after their first night together. She'd woken cradled in his arms. She could have that every night and morning. As long as she was willing to accept that was the only part of him she'd ever have.
No, easy was not something she was willing to accept, even if it meant caving to someone she craved, whose looks drove her crazy and whose touch made her feel more at home than she did in the mortal and Immortal worlds.
"If you're a tenth of the man everyone says you are, you'll stop when I ask you to," she whispered.
There was a pause. "Are you asking me to stop?"
She nodded.
His hand dropped. Deidre withdrew a few feet down the balcony, struggling with the heat streaking through her blood and scattering her rationale. She couldn't think straight when he was close and not at all when he touched her. He knew it, which meant he was counting on her caving at some point. She wasn't going to, anymore than she had to the tumor.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
She was quiet as she put form to her thoughts beyond the emotional turmoil. Her breathing steadied. Gabriel was waiting with the patience of Death, though he'd started to tense, indicating his guard was going up once more.
"I'm thinking I would've agreed three years ago," she replied. "I spent too long fighting to live on my terms to give in, even to you. Whether I have three months or an eternity, I'm not going to stop fighting to live on my terms. We could really have something, Gabriel. But not like this."