not know the truth if he believes you are his mate.’’
My lips twitched as I tried to decide if I wanted to burst into laughter or tears.
‘‘That’s OK,’’ Jim said, leaning against me, leaving a little puddle of drool on the top of my shoe. ‘‘We won’t think bad of you just because no one’s ever parked the pink Plymouth in your garage of love.’’
‘‘Jim!’’ Aisling said, whapping it on the butt with the magazine.
‘‘What? I said it politely! Would you have preferred ‘ride the skin bus to Tuna Town’?’’
‘‘No!’’
I wondered if it would be possible to strangle a demon to death.
‘‘Windsurfing on Mount Baldy?’’
‘‘That’s it!’’ Aisling bellowed, pointing a finger at the demon. ‘‘One more euphemism, and you’re spending a week in the Akasha.’’
‘‘I think it’s time we leave,’’ I said at the same time, standing up to grab Cyrene’s arm.
‘‘I’m so sorry for Jim’s rudeness,’’ Aisling apologized.
‘‘Her twin started it,’’ the dog said, although it shut up quickly enough when Aisling shot it a look that promised retribution.
‘‘I don’t see what you’re so upset about,’’ Cyrene told me, frowning slightly. ‘‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of—’’
‘‘Cy!’’ I yelled, praying the ground would open up before me and swallow me whole.
‘‘May’s sexual experience, or lack of it, doesn’t matter at all,’’ Gabriel pronounced, his voice wrapping itself around me as he moved closer, not quite touching me, but close enough that I could feel his body heat again. ‘‘She is my mate regardless.’’
‘‘No, you don’t understand,’’ Cyrene interrupted, tugging his sleeve. ‘‘The problem isn’t that she hasn’t been with any men before . . . the problem is that she doesn’t like men.’’
You could have heard a feather drop in the silence that followed. Every single pair of eyes but Cyrene’s turned to me.
I groaned to myself and thought seriously of murdering my twin.
‘‘She . . . doesn’t?’’ Gabriel asked, disbelief rife in his voice.
‘‘No, she doesn’t. She told me so herself. But you know that she’s my twin, yes? My identical twin? An exact copy of me? So perhaps I’m the real mate, and you just got confused because May is so much like me.’’
Chapter Seven
‘‘So let me get this straight—May’s a virgin lesbian doppelganger wyvern’s mate?’’ Jim pursed its lips as it looked me over before turning to its demon lord. ‘‘I think she’s got even you beat, Ash.’’
I had finally had enough. I stood up and looked sternly at everyone present, but mostly at the man standing next to me. ‘‘I am not a virgin, nor a lesbian! I am a doppelganger, but the wyvern’s mate question is not proven.’’
‘‘You drank the dragon’s blood without any ill effect,’’ Drake mused, his arm around his wife.
‘‘I’m immortal. It can’t kill me like it could a mortal,’’ I pointed out.
‘‘Yes, but you kissed Gabriel without any problem,’’ Aisling said. ‘‘Even an immortal would have been affected if she wasn’t a mate. I’m afraid that’s a pretty good indicator.’’
Hrmph. ‘‘Do you mean to say that no other woman has ever survived a kiss from you?’’ I asked Gabriel, disbelief dripping from my voice.
‘‘On the contrary, I’ve never killed a woman I’ve kissed.’’ He leaned closer to me, his eyes blazing like sunlight off a polished mirror. ‘‘But there have been a few close calls.’’
Gods, but he smelled good. My body went into a full-fledged battle with my mind, the former wanting to grab his head and kiss that knowing half smile right off his face, the latter pointing out that one kiss could hardly be decisive.
‘‘You’re right,’’ he said, almost against my lips. ‘‘More is definitely better in this case.’’
‘‘Stop reading my mind,’’ I whispered, groaning to myself when his lips curved into a
My lips twitched as I tried to decide if I wanted to burst into laughter or tears.
‘‘That’s OK,’’ Jim said, leaning against me, leaving a little puddle of drool on the top of my shoe. ‘‘We won’t think bad of you just because no one’s ever parked the pink Plymouth in your garage of love.’’
‘‘Jim!’’ Aisling said, whapping it on the butt with the magazine.
‘‘What? I said it politely! Would you have preferred ‘ride the skin bus to Tuna Town’?’’
‘‘No!’’
I wondered if it would be possible to strangle a demon to death.
‘‘Windsurfing on Mount Baldy?’’
‘‘That’s it!’’ Aisling bellowed, pointing a finger at the demon. ‘‘One more euphemism, and you’re spending a week in the Akasha.’’
‘‘I think it’s time we leave,’’ I said at the same time, standing up to grab Cyrene’s arm.
‘‘I’m so sorry for Jim’s rudeness,’’ Aisling apologized.
‘‘Her twin started it,’’ the dog said, although it shut up quickly enough when Aisling shot it a look that promised retribution.
‘‘I don’t see what you’re so upset about,’’ Cyrene told me, frowning slightly. ‘‘It’s nothing to be ashamed of—’’
‘‘Cy!’’ I yelled, praying the ground would open up before me and swallow me whole.
‘‘May’s sexual experience, or lack of it, doesn’t matter at all,’’ Gabriel pronounced, his voice wrapping itself around me as he moved closer, not quite touching me, but close enough that I could feel his body heat again. ‘‘She is my mate regardless.’’
‘‘No, you don’t understand,’’ Cyrene interrupted, tugging his sleeve. ‘‘The problem isn’t that she hasn’t been with any men before . . . the problem is that she doesn’t like men.’’
You could have heard a feather drop in the silence that followed. Every single pair of eyes but Cyrene’s turned to me.
I groaned to myself and thought seriously of murdering my twin.
‘‘She . . . doesn’t?’’ Gabriel asked, disbelief rife in his voice.
‘‘No, she doesn’t. She told me so herself. But you know that she’s my twin, yes? My identical twin? An exact copy of me? So perhaps I’m the real mate, and you just got confused because May is so much like me.’’
Chapter Seven
‘‘So let me get this straight—May’s a virgin lesbian doppelganger wyvern’s mate?’’ Jim pursed its lips as it looked me over before turning to its demon lord. ‘‘I think she’s got even you beat, Ash.’’
I had finally had enough. I stood up and looked sternly at everyone present, but mostly at the man standing next to me. ‘‘I am not a virgin, nor a lesbian! I am a doppelganger, but the wyvern’s mate question is not proven.’’
‘‘You drank the dragon’s blood without any ill effect,’’ Drake mused, his arm around his wife.
‘‘I’m immortal. It can’t kill me like it could a mortal,’’ I pointed out.
‘‘Yes, but you kissed Gabriel without any problem,’’ Aisling said. ‘‘Even an immortal would have been affected if she wasn’t a mate. I’m afraid that’s a pretty good indicator.’’
Hrmph. ‘‘Do you mean to say that no other woman has ever survived a kiss from you?’’ I asked Gabriel, disbelief dripping from my voice.
‘‘On the contrary, I’ve never killed a woman I’ve kissed.’’ He leaned closer to me, his eyes blazing like sunlight off a polished mirror. ‘‘But there have been a few close calls.’’
Gods, but he smelled good. My body went into a full-fledged battle with my mind, the former wanting to grab his head and kiss that knowing half smile right off his face, the latter pointing out that one kiss could hardly be decisive.
‘‘You’re right,’’ he said, almost against my lips. ‘‘More is definitely better in this case.’’
‘‘Stop reading my mind,’’ I whispered, groaning to myself when his lips curved into a
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