Gabriel's Hope (#1, Rhyn Eternal)

Wynn was an Immortal. As she watched, the black eye and bruised cheek healed themselves.

  “How do you … oh, god,” she whispered.

  “Dead-dead,” Toby managed.

  “I fucked something up, didn’t I?”

  “This was inevitable. I’m sorry I tricked you into bring me here,” Wynn replied. He approached Katie. “The half-demon’s mate. My first grandchild, I take it?”

  Deidre saw Katie swallow hard before she nodded. Katie didn’t move as Wynn placed a hand on her stomach.

  “Girl,” he said. “Healthy and happy. Very good.” He dropped his hand, and Katie eased away.

  “Why aren’t you dead-dead?” Toby exclaimed.

  “Before she crossed over, past-Deidre brought me back.”

  “Wynn, please tell me you’re …” Deidre started, horrified at the latest revelation of what she’d done in her past life. “I don’t know. Tell me something. Anything.” Her voice trembled.

  “I am the same friend you’ve had the past few years. I happen to be an Immortal rather than a human,” he said gently. There was warmth in his gaze. He touched her cheek. “You have to trust me.”

  “Not any Immortal,” Toby said. “The first Ancient.”

  “Rather than continue to distress you all, why don’t you take me to Rhyn, angel?” Wynn asked.

  Toby stood slowly and moved towards the door.

  “We’ll talk later,” Wynn promised Deidre, squeezing her arm. “A pleasure, Katie.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Katie replied.

  Deidre watched Toby lead Wynn to the door and out.

  “What just happened?” Deidre asked.

  “I’m not sure. The last time I saw him, he was in a tomb. This can’t be good,” Katie said.

  “Who is he?”

  “The father of the Council. Rhyn’s father.” Katie appeared as confused as Deidre felt. “I’ve never heard a good story about him, but he seemed … nice.”

  Deidre laughed, not caring about the note of hysteria in her voice. She’d just discovered her best friend was some sort of dead Immortal, one she’d raised from the grave after she fucked over Death to the point he hated the only mate he’d get the billions of years he was alive.

  “Katie, Deidre.” Gabriel’s quiet voice came from the doorway. “You okay?”

  “I told you so.” Katie grinned.

  “Not the normal greeting for Death.”

  “Congrats, Gabe. I’m going to give you a piece of advice you gave me a few months ago.” Katie paused for effect. “You’re fucked. Deal with it.”

  “I’m always right, aren’t I?”

  Deidre faced the door, not at all prepared to see Gabriel. Dressed in black, he was an imposing figure, even in the cavernous room. She felt his pull from the distance. There was a flicker of warmth in his gaze as he teased Katie, and he almost seemed approachable without the bulky trench coat lined with weapons. Not that he wasn’t armed; he wore a few sheaths strapped to his body. He was dressed as he had been the night before.

  She couldn’t remember seeing his chiseled features in full light without being drunk or terrified. With a low brow and piercing gaze, gravelly voice, a perfectly sculpted body and rugged features, Gabriel was the sexiest man she’d ever seen.

  “You have no idea how happy I am right now,” Katie said.

  “Out, woman.”

  “Fine. I’m two doors down, Deidre. Come find me later.”

  Gabriel held the door open for Katie, who took the hint and walked out. Deidre’s gaze fell to his shapely shoulder, thick bicep and roped forearm as he extended one arm high enough for Katie to walk under. His hands were large, his palms flat. She crossed her arms, too aware of how close to the bed she stood. He regarded her for a long moment, as if assessing if she was going to run or cry, then closed the door.

  “You’re in one piece,” he said after a tense silence.

  “That’s something, I guess,” she replied.

  “Rough day?”

  “You could say that. Yours?”

  “Nothing I couldn’t handle.” He lifted his chin towards the other side of the bedroom.

  Gazing at the muscular man who freely admitted to killing for a living, Deidre couldn’t help thinking she never wanted to see something he couldn’t handle.

  She turned where he indicated, noticing the double French doors for the first time. They led onto a balcony, but it was the eerie green glow beyond that caught her attention. Curious, Deidre crossed to the doors. She didn’t notice Gabriel follow and jumped as he leaned around her to open the door. His scent stirred her blood.

  Stepping quickly onto the patio, she was able to make out the shapes of tall pine trees. The air was crisp and fresh, the night sky clear.

  “What is it?” she asked, eyes on the green glow.

  “Lost souls.”

  Deidre gasped. “Are you serious?”

  He nodded once.

  “Did I do that, too?” she whispered, dismayed.

  “Not directly.” Gabriel met her gaze. She felt the shift in him. He was guarded again.

  “Never mind,” she replied, looking away fast.

  “Who told you what exactly?”

  “It scares me when you do that, Gabriel.”

  There was a pause. He wiped his face and sat facing her on the edge of the balcony’s railing, arms folded across his chest and legs crossed at the ankle. He made an effort to relax.

  “Better?” he asked.

  She nodded and moved forward to stand beside him, leaning her hips against the railing. It was too chilly for her to want to keep her distance from the incredibly attractive man. Immortal. Deity. She didn’t know what he was.

  “Katie and Toby told me what they knew,” she replied. “That I was Death for a zillion years and that I fucked you over bad then ran off and became a human.”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “And that you hate me pretty bad,” she added. She was afraid to ask if it was true what they’d said about him always loving her despite what past-Deidre did.

  “Hate is a strong word,” he said.

  “You have a good reason to use it.”

  “I don’t hate you, Deidre.”

  “You don’t hate me, and I’m dying soon,” she said ruefully. “Well then, we’re on our way to happiness ever after.”

  “It’s definitely complicated.”

  Deidre laughed despite herself. His dark, dry humor left her entertained – and baffled. He was studying her.

  “Thank you for not killing Wynn. Though in hindsight, I have no idea if that was good or not,” she said. “Did you know?”

  “When I left you last night, I went to see him. Figured it was no coincidence that a mysterious man named after a dead-dead Immortal just happened to fall into the life of a former deity,” Gabriel replied.

  “He’s helped me through a lot over the past few years.”

  “He’s dangerous, Deidre.”

  “You aren’t?”

  “Not to you.”

  “You kill people for a living and only get one mate for eternity that just happens to be someone who screwed you over for thousands of years who you can say with a straight face that at least you don’t hate her,” she summarized, aware of the hysteria creeping into her voice. “But you’re not a threat.”

  Gabriel chuckled. “You want to know why I came by tonight?”

  “Oh, god. Dare I ask?”

  “You remember the two rules I gave you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And the choice?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You’re not walking away from me anymore than I will from you,” he said firmly.

  “Katie said you’d figure that out,” Deidre murmured. “You really want to spend eternity with someone you resent?”

  “It doesn’t matter how I feel. You’re my mate. I’m obligated by divine law to protect you.”

  No reassurance he’d be able to get past their history, no expression of wanting to
be with her. She wasn’t sure why she expected either from him, except that she still held half a hope that she might live beyond three months. She wasn’t spending an eternity miserable.

  “That’s not good enough for me,” she heard herself saying.

  “It will have to be,” he replied. “I won’t make the mistake I made with you before.”

  She met his gaze, dreading his words.

  “I’ll never let myself feel anything for you,” he said.

  How did a proclamation from a virtual stranger hurt her more than anything anyone else had ever said? If he spoke with anger or frustration or anything other than the quiet, impassioned tone, she would’ve been able to handle the news better.

  “I guess we’re both lucky I’ll be dead soon,” she returned.

  “You won’t be. I will find a way to stop it, now that Wynn told me what’s wrong. In the meantime, I know how to slow the inevitable.”

  “Because spending eternity with someone who hates me is better than leaping off a building how?” she snapped.

  “Does it matter?” he returned, irritated. “You’ll find it hard to kill yourself when I’m the one who determines who lives and dies.”

  “You’ve made your point, Gabriel.” She didn’t believe for one minute he was going to find a way to prevent her from dying in three months. But if she challenged him on this point, she saw him making it impossible for her to die on her own terms.

  “My offer is good whether you expire in three months or an eternity. You can have everything I own, Deidre,” he said. “I won’t deny you my protection, assistance or my bed. It’s a better deal than you gave me the first time around.”

  “I’ll take your word on that, since I don’t remember,” she said. “What do you expect from me?”

  “Everything,” he said. “I want all of you. Mind, body, heart and soul.”

  “And I get what? Your body? A fourth of you? That’s not the way a functional relationship works,” she said, anger building.

  “It’s the way ours will.”

  He was so calm, as if they were negotiating over a car and not eternity together. Deidre sought some flicker of warmth in his dark gaze and saw none. He was wearing his poker face. No part of her thought he was bluffing beneath it. He was accepting his obligation to her while shutting off everything but the physical side of him.

  On the surface, what he offered her wasn’t bad. But she didn’t want to be in a loveless, emotionless relationship with anyone, especially one where she had no partner. With the bond between them all but shoving her into his arms, was it possible to deny their fates together for long?

  After a week of knowing him, she already had to concentrate hard to resist leaning into him whenever he was around. She ached to feel his warm embrace, to sink into his dark spices and let him take her where he would. Their one night together made her feel alive, and his dark gaze alone was enough to make her body hot from the inside out.

  If he felt the same, he gave no indication. He wanted her to surrender, because past-Deidre forced him to do the same. Eternity in such an unequal partnership wasn’t even worth considering.

  “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.”

  “Let me guess. On your terms.” The stormy note was back in his voice.

  “No. As equals.” She guessed what he’d say before he broke the thick silence between them.

  “I’m not willing to do that.”

  Rejection hurt. It was hard to remind herself she’d done absolutely nothing to earn it in this life. Gabriel didn’t like past-Deidre and wasn’t willing to give her a chance. Or, maybe he tried and couldn’t do it. It was a huge pill to try to swallow, knowing someone didn’t like her for reasons she couldn’t control.

  “Then I’m sorry, Gabriel,” she said.

  He walked away. Deidre sensed his anger, though his movements were as controlled and purposeful as usual. She heard the door to the bedroom close and retreated from the chilly spring air back into her room.

  Overwhelmed and upset, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to run or cry. Or maybe, just leave. Go back to the real world, where there were no demons or Immortals or the sexy man who wanted to claim her heart while offering her nothing in return beyond his bed. With his looks, he’d have no trouble finding company for the nights he wasn’t murdering people and stealing their souls.

  She hated the thought. Deidre felt both alone and claustrophobic in the huge room. There was nowhere else for her to go, no more friends for her to run to. She couldn’t return to her apartment, and her savings were almost gone. She’d withdrawn everything from her retirement account when she was diagnosed terminal. Determined to do what she wanted with her life, she’d been good with her money but didn’t save anything. Dead women didn’t need cash.

  Unless they didn’t die. She had no idea who was right: Wynn, who thought she was deteriorating, or Gabriel, who wasn’t going to let her die, so he could exact some sort of passive-aggressive revenge over eternity. Or Darkyn, whose offer seemed so much more objective than either Wynn’s or Gabriel’s.

  Was she a lost soul? Distressed by the idea, she found herself standing before the French doors again, looking at the green haze over the forest. It didn’t appear to be far, and it was hours before she’d be asleep on her side of the world.

  Anxious to be out of the Immortal stronghold, Deidre dug through her clothes to find the warmest she packed. She didn’t need much beyond jeans and jackets for an Atlanta winter. She had a cute hat she’d picked out and stuffed in one pocket of her backpack. Dressed warmly, she left her room and stood in the brig
htly lit, spacious hallway, not at all certain how to leave the stronghold.

  Not wanting anyone to interfere with her plan for air, she drew a deep breath and asked the portal system to take her outside the stone fortress. Crossing through, she emerged outside, in the forest, a short distance outside the low walls around the massive fortress. Deidre was astonished by the size of the stone stronghold. It towered twenty stories tall and sat in a clearing the size of two football fields. It was built on high ground, and the forest sloped downward and away from the fortress.

  Orienting herself, she caught sight of the green haze again and walked along the edge of the forest, seeking a path. Multiple dirt deer trails moved away. She needed the time to herself and hoped the connection to nature helped clear her head. She chose a trail that appeared to head in the general direction she wanted to go and began walking.

  The forest was cold, the rustle of pine trees against one another faint. A breeze swept over the tops of the trees to make them sway but didn’t reach the still air of the forest floor. Night animals stirred. Deidre listened to their rustling and distant cries and focused on placing her feet along the path. The outside world distracted her from her troubled thoughts. She forced herself to notice how dark the sky was, the rich scent of earth in the air, the tickle of the pine needles that brushed her skin.

  The path towards the lost souls was anything but direct. The twists and turns led her sometimes towards it, sometimes back the way she came. As she walked, the fear and helplessness uncoiled, loosening their grip on her chest. Her step grew less brisk. She began to marvel at the world around her again, something she hadn’t done in days. It calmed her to recall how beautiful and different nature was at night. The forest and darkness created a sense of cozy intimacy, one that held her without crushing her, unlike the rest of the world.

  Deidre was breathless and upbeat when the lake came into view over an hour later. It was roughly round with a narrow panhandle that was closest to the fortress. The lake glowed like it was radioactive.

  She stopped a dozen meters before the edge of the forest, wondering if there was any sort of hazard in being so close to whatever it was causing the lake to be green in the first place. A form melted from the shadows before her, and she held her breath.

  Dressed all in black with weapons strapped in places identical to where Gabriel wore his, the tall man was lean with cold eyes. He scrutinized her for a long moment, eyes narrowing, before he stepped aside to rejoin the shadows. Deidre stared into the forest where he’d disappeared. Nothing moved. He hadn’t spoken or drawn weapons on her. If he was a sentry guarding the lake, he’d deemed her not a threat.

  She inched closer to the point where he’d appeared then hurried by to the edge of the forest. She couldn’t see the far end of the lake from her viewpoint, but she was able to see across the narrow panhandle. The light from the water was bright enough to show who stood on the opposite shore, caught in what looked like a lover’s embrace.

  Gabriel. And another woman. Deidre stared. They were kissing, their bodies pressed together and arms around each other.

  The thought he had someone else – and this was the reason he couldn’t commit to her fully – never crossed her mind. Some relief trickled through her to know that his hatred of past-Deidre wasn’t the only reason he’d offered her the undesirable arrangement. He wasted no time finding himself a replacement when she refused his touch. At one point, she thought he cared for her a little. Not after this.

  “The truth comes out eventually.” Wynn’s voice was quiet. “I’m an Immortal, and Gabriel has moved on after thousands of years at your feet.”

  Deidre jumped. She faced the direction she’d come. Wynn’s gaze was on the figures across the lake, his impassive features bathed in green light.

  “Are you alright, my dear?” he asked.

  “Off and on,” she joked nervously. “Hard to keep track of what’s going on. Who to trust.”

  His attention shifted to her. “I’ll tell you when it’s safe to turn around.”

  “It’ll take more than that for me to trust you, Wynn.”

  “I apologize, Deidre. I didn’t think it appropriate to tell you who I was. Things changed when you were dragged back into the Immortal world,” he said.

  He always was able to soothe her. She found herself nodding, accepting his explanation more easily than even Gabriel’s.

  “So, who are you?” she ventured. “Or do I want to know?”

  “A friend to you. The rest is inconsequential.”

  “You were dead.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why did I or … I guess, the past-Deidre bring you back?”

  “You didn’t say.” He was amused. “I thought…” He considered her then looked across the lake again.

  “What?” she asked. “Were we friends?”

  “A little more than that.”

  “How many people was past-Deidre sleeping with?” she demanded.

  “You don’t want to know,” he said with a shake of his head. “Needless to say, you were efficient and dedicated at ensuring you always won.”

  Toby’s description of her as a mega-bitch was sounding more and more accurate. Deidre didn’t know what to do about the trail of broken hearts past-Deidre had left.

  “You think I brought you back because of that …er, relationship.”

  “At first,” he said. “But past-Deidre had motivations deeper than anything I could understand. Whatever her plan was, she probably didn’t expect to be reborn as what you are now.”

  “Someone who isn’t a sociopath,” she muttered. “I even fucked myself over, didn’t I?”

  Wynn laughed. She didn’t need him to answer. Wynn’s gentleness, Gabriel’s ultimatum, the radioactive lake. She was edgy again after the hour it took to relax.

  “You can look now,” he said, lifting his chin.

  “I don’t want to. I dumped him. He can do what he wants.”

  “It’s never so simple. Do you want to know how many times I walked away from past-Deidre?”

  “No. Wynn, I couldn’t even dump Logan, and I’d been meaning to for months. I can’t hurt anyone and knowing that I used to…” her chin trembled. She shook her head. “Someone told me I had a long line of enemies. How did I make it this far?”

  “Sometimes, I think that’s why you raised me from the dead-dead,” he admitted. “I’ve eliminated innumerable enemies of yours the past few years. I don’t know how you made it before that.”

  “You killed them?” she asked, startled.

  “Only to protect you.” His cool smile frightened her. Deidre crossed her arms. How many had she unknowingly killed since being reborn a human?

  “My karma is beyond reparable,” she said. “Wynn, is it true Gabriel can prevent me from dying now?”

  “You cannot die by his hand or the hand of nature,” Wynn said carefully. “The tumor is still growing, which means there is still a chance at cognitive deterioration.”

  “So can I kill myself?”

  “From what I know, yes. But, I am not Death,” Wynn added. “I cannot be certain what the result might be if you tried to kill yourself or if you died of unnatural causes.”

  “Unnatural causes,” she repeated. “I don’t think you mean getting hit by a car, do you?”

  “More like demon-induced death.”

  “Demon-induced!” she laughed. “Oh, god, I think I’m gonna go crazy sometime soon.”

  “What brings you to the lake?” Rhyn’s low growl was unmistakable.

  Deidre resisted the urge to shrink back as she turned. He and Gabriel stood nearby, their approach silent. Wynn would’ve seen them walking over but was unfazed by the two men who terrified her.

  “I wanted to go for a walk,” Deidre said. She avoided looking at Gabriel, not at all certain what to think after their exchange and seeing him with another woman. He wanted nothing to do with her, and she rejected him. Why did it hurt?

  “Not you,” Rhyn said.
/>
  “Curiosity. Most lakes don’t glow green,” Wynn said in a casual voice.

  All three of them were tense. Their energy made her skin tingle uncomfortably. Deidre moved towards the lake, away from the center of the triangle they formed. She didn’t want to be stuck in the middle when one of them snapped. Seeing Gabriel made her insides flutter and the world seem too small to be anywhere but his arms.

  But Death on guard was something else entirely, and she wasn’t going to be the second woman to revel in the heat of his arms this night.

  They were silent so long, she finally risked a look. Rhyn’s head was tilted, as if he was listening. She realized they weren’t totally in stare down mode; they were talking through their minds.

  Could they read minds?

  Her eyes went to Wynn. Was that how he always knew what to say when she was upset? How he gained her trust? And Gabriel, who she thought she’d bonded with on the beach their first night? He made her feel like she wasn’t alone for the first time in years. Was it all fake?

  The more she learned of this place, the angrier she became. Everyone was lying to her or manipulating her. Or out to kill her. What frustrated her most: they were all probably justified in how they treated her, based on what she knew about past-Deidre.

  But how did she deserve it? How obligated was she to make amends for something an entirely different person had done? The only thing they had in common was looks!

  Furious, confused, she peered into the lake waters. The bottom of the lake was lined with green gems, the source of the strange light. They were beautiful and tiny, some sort of geological anomaly.

  Immortals got their wealth from somewhere. That castle cost a fortune to build. If these were emeralds, it made sense that they sold these to build it.

  “Wow,” she murmured, gazing out over the lake. The entire thing glowed. How many emeralds did it take to fill a lake this size?

  She knelt on the beach area consisting of a stretch of pebbles and dirt. Some of the gems had been carried by gentle waves to the edges of the lake and deposited away from the bulk of the jewels. The glimmering lights were nestled among rocks and dirt.

  Deidre pulled up her sleeve to reach the closest one. The lake water was freezing. She grimaced and submerged her arm to the elbow to reach the twinkling gem. Cold energy traveled through her as she gripped the emerald. She thought it a result of the water, until she withdrew her hand and held the gem in her palm.

  She’d never seen a glowing emerald. Electricity whipped through her. Images flashed in her mind.

  A playground near a mall. Shoddy apartments and an image in the mirror of a dirty toddler in a diaper. Shouting as Mother and Father fought. Gunshots. Pain, white light, peace.

  She gasped and dropped it.

  “Don’t disturb the souls,” Gabriel ordered. “They’re stressed out enough right now.”

  She’d touched a soul. Not a geological anomaly, but the spirit of a child who died violently. Her eyes went over the lake again. There were millions, maybe even billions of the lost souls! What were they doing in a lake? Was this what awaited her? To be dropped into a lake while shady Immortals and an unfriendly Death argued silently nearby?

  Was this all there was after one died? If they were stressed out, that meant they were aware. Alive.

  The sense that nothing was real filled her again. She couldn’t fathom the enormity of a billion souls like the one she’d touched. A billion lives. A billion different stories and experiences. A billion consciences sitting under the serene surface of the water. Had past-Deidre lost them and condemned a billion souls to this existence? Were they scared? Trapped? Lonely?

  Deidre stood unsteadily. She was breathing hard; it was all she heard. No longer able to register the world around her, she walked numbly towards the first trail she saw.

  “Deidre,” Gabriel took her arm, halting her.

  “Don’t touch me,” she said.

  He released her. She entered the forest, and the darkness was crushing, suffocating her. A few steps past the tree line, she broke into a run, away from the souls, the Immortals, the nightmare her life had become a few days ago. Deidre bolted, neither aware nor concerned where she went or where she ended up. Trees whipped her body, but she drove herself forward.

  As fast as she ran, she couldn’t escape her horror, her hatred of past-Deidre, her helplessness. Tears blinded her, and her lungs burned. Her legs grew heavy, but she pushed herself onward into the forest, away from everything that could hurt her and everyone who could stop her from ending this nightmare tonight.

  The path neared a ravine then ran along it. Deidre’s pace slowed as she took in the area. There was no easy way to the edge of the ravine, and it looked too shallow along most places to make a jump pay off.

  She spotted the place down the path, a point overlooking the valley. A form melted from the shadows right before she reached it. She slid to a stop, panting and wild. Eyes blurred by tears, she nonetheless caught the flash of silver eyes.

  “Let’s just calm down and not jump off any cliffs,” Rhyn said, holding up his hands. “Okay? Calm?”

  Too panicked to care, Deidre whirled and smacked into something solid. It grabbed her, and a small part of her recognized Gabriel. She struggled. It was like throwing herself against a wall. He gripped her wrists and held them behind her back.

  “Deidre, stop.”

  Desperate and immobilized, she sobbed. Her body gave out. Gabriel wrapped his arms around her, his warmth, strength and scent all that anchored her to this world. He lifted her. Vaguely, she was aware of the cool shadow world followed by the warmth of indoors. She felt the plush comfort of a bed beneath her and curled onto her side, unable to stop crying. Gabriel lay in front of her and nudged her, until her body opened to him. His warmth cocooned her as he gathered her in his thick arms.

  A temporary sensation entered her mind, as if a breeze ruffled through her thoughts. It was followed by warm energy that Gabriel pushed into her body to calm her. Deidre clung to the clothing covering his chest. Unable to stop shaking, she at least was able to breathe again and pulled his rich scent into her lungs. Her forehead rested in the nape of his neck, and she focused on the steady, slow rhythm of his heartbeat. Gradually, his warmth sank into her skin, and she lay still, exhausted yet soothed by the heat of his body.

  He held her in silence. Fatigued, overwhelmed, Deidre was unable to summon the physical strength to move or the willpower to order him away. Her eyes closed, and she slept deeply, the first peaceful night of slumber since her last night with him.