Gabriel smiled.
"Aren't you worried?" she asked. "About the souls and your issues? I mean, why spend the day with me?"
"I'm where I need to be," he replied simply.
She studied him. He was no longer the conflicted man she'd met on a beach a few days before. Was he still the reluctant mate that didn't know what to do with her? She didn't ask for fear of discovering he was going to stop playing his keep-away game and offer her an arrangement she couldn't refuse. Deidre sighed and sank back into his arms.
"Did Andre figure anything out?" she asked in a level voice.
"We're working on it."
"You were bluffing? There was no option you were considering?" Anger fluttered through her.
"There is. But you were right to say what you did at the apartment. I need to respect you enough not to provide false hope. I can't be half-assed about this. I have to look at a few more angles before I can determine if the option we found is feasible." He spoke with thoughtfulness.
"I appreciate that," she murmured. "You realize if you save me, you'll have a much larger issue."
"I'm listening."
"You'll have to court me like a normal person."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," he said in a husky tone.
Her heart quickened. Was he capable of being genuinely interested in her as more than a duty? She wasn't willing to consider it, not when there was the issue of her pending demise between here and there.
"Gabriel, are the issues you're having with the underworld and souls and whatever, are those issues my fault?" she asked.
"Not directly."
"You said that before. What does it mean?"
"The deity you were in a past life started the chain of events that put us here by breaking laws from the time-before-time. The underworld cracked, and the demons came to claim the souls. Past-Deidre walked out and left me to clean up the mess, which I did poorly. I managed to get the demons out and repair the fissure. By that point, other things fell apart that I couldn't fix. I was exiled here," he explained. "I have to address the issues in my domain on the mortal world before I'll be allowed to return and finish repairing the underworld."
"That's a yes," she said, troubled. "I'm directly responsible for all of this."
"You aren't. Past-Deidre is."
"Is there really a difference? I mean, I thought there was … is there?"
"Absolutely. You are two separate people. You look alike, but you couldn't be more different."
"Then why is a crap ton of her bad karma killing me?"