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  She sniffed and shook her head. “Right. And I’m a fairy godmother.”

  “More of a demigod.” The demigod of death to be precise.

  Smiling, she shook her head again. “You’re a charming liar at the very least.”

  “I’m not a liar.”

  She tilted her head. “Are you gay?”

  In answer, he leaned forward and kissed her. Her surprised gasp provided the opportunity for him to deepen the kiss. Curling his palm around the nape of her neck, he brushed his tongue across hers. The frenetic tingles pelting his whole body that had plagued him for a decade now felt as if silk had settled across them in a cool caress. Peace. Certain parts of his body might beg to differ on the definition of peace, but they approved at the very least.

  Chandra moaned and leaned into the kiss. Her chopsticks clattered onto the table as she reached up to cradle his face with her hands. She opened her mouth wider and their spicy breath mingled as her tongue tangled with his. Her tentative exploration grew bolder and his heartbeat increased. She was getting a taste of the heightened energy he exuded. What had grown painful for him was probably arousing to her. He wanted to ask what it felt like—if it was good for her, but there’d be time for that later—there’d be time for a lot of things.

  His pulse pounding, he leaned back. Slow. Down. He couldn’t scare her. Couldn’t allow this to send her running. His fingers, twined in her thick hair, lingered as he withdrew them. So hard to quit, but it was just for now.

  Chandra’s closed eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him with something akin to wonder.

  “Does that settle the subject of whether I’m attracted to you?”

  As dark as her skin was, it flushed pink, and she dropped her hands, pulling back. Damn, he’d waited too long to stop. Gone too fast. Something. Her gaze fell to her half-empty plate. “Uhh. I, uhh, I’m not normally…”

  “I know.”

  “Maybe you are…”

  “I’m not.”

  Chandra’s mouth pursed and she looked up with a scolding frown.

  “What? You were going to say that you don’t normally move so fast or do this sort of thing. I know that. You were about to suggest again that I’m a player, and I’m not.” Aster held out his hands.

  Flustered, Chandra looked through the many plants on his back porch over the city. “I don’t… I don’t want… this.” She stood up abruptly. “I’m sorry. This isn’t like me and feeding me isn’t an invitation to…”

  He grabbed her hand. Damn. “I didn’t mean it that way.” Hell, too soon. Too overwhelming for a demigod of death. She was used to more suppressed energy. This was too intense to trust.

  Staring at his hand on hers, Chandra swallowed.

  “I’ll behave,” he promised. “We’ll just talk.”

  “Then I go back to my apartment and you stay in yours?”

  He held up his free hand. “I swear.” For now. For today.

  She sat back down, sliding her hand from his. “Okay.”

  “You should at least stay long enough to see the sunset.”

  She picked up her chopsticks. “Because it’s that much different from ten feet to the left?”

  “It really is. You’ll want to come over every night to see it from here.”

  She pursed her mouth, but didn’t deny it.

  Progress. Courting Death was quite the process. But at least they both knew they were compatible. Lit matches were less incendiary. After a few more “dates,” maybe he’d find an opening for explaining Chandra needed him so she wouldn’t kill everyone around her. It was bound to be a bit of a downer of a conversation. Maybe a fourth date conversation.

  Chapter Two

  Chandra pressed her face against the window and looked down.

  “I hope you’re not afraid of heights,” Aster said, his body nearly enveloping hers as he looked out the same side of the Ferris wheel’s gondola. Going on Seattle’s Great Wheel had been his idea, but she’d jumped at it. It’d been three days since he’d kissed her. Three long days. It was as if he was trying to go for some sort of record in abstaining from kissing. He hadn’t stopped touching her, though. His chest was flat up against her back and his biceps brushed her shoulders as he planted his hands on the glass window.

  “No. At least, not that I know of,” she said, sounding as breathless as she felt. Being with him was the equivalent to one long adrenaline rush to her attention-starved body. She’d never felt so alive. It was magical, and she didn’t even believe in magic. She might not be afraid of anything if Aster was nearby.

  How could this not be killing him?

  He was still attracted to her, wasn’t he?

  Next time she suggested to a guy that he was coming on too strong, she needed to give specifics. Within twenty minutes of meeting—possibly too soon to have your tongue in somebody’s else mouth. Three days later, it was game on. Plus, they’d spent so much time together it was like the equivalent of six or seven dates. As soon as they weren’t surrounded by other people, it might be time to take the initiative.

  Chandra cleared her throat. “How long is this ride again?”

  “Fifteen minutes, I think. Something like that.” Too long. Far too long.

  She looked around the gondola. It’s not like she’d see any of these people again and they were all adults. Besides, wasn’t it tradition to kiss when the gondola reached the peak of the wheel? It was like a New Year’s Eve sort of thing, only for every day.

  “Excuse me,” the woman across from them said, leaning toward Aster. “Are you Dr. Slone?”

  Leaning back, Aster turned to face the young woman. “I am. Do I know you?”

  A shiver whispered across Chandra’s skin. Her body always flushed with heat when she was this close to her neighbor. She’d never been warm like this before. She was nearly running a fever.

  The woman looked up at the man with his arm around her. “I told you. I told you it was him. I saw a news report about you online. They said you’re a miracle worker and the wait list to see you is over a year long.” Her sincere expression was heartfelt as both of them stared at Aster. “I called in, but they said you’re not taking new patients right now—that you’re on a leave of absence.”

  Aster frowned. “I am. I needed to move to a new place and get settled.”

  “When will you be back?”

  Chandra looked back and forth between the couple and Aster. Her neighbor had been home most of the time since he’d moved in. Aster could have unpacked several times over, and she hadn’t seen anything in boxes when she’d been there.

  Sitting back in the gondola, Aster sighed. “I don’t know. I’d left it open-ended just in case I needed more time. Possibly soon. If you’ll give me your name and phone number, I can fit you in for a consultation when I do return.”

  If Aster had handed her the moon on a platter, the other passenger wouldn’t have been happier. She was nearly radiant with joy.

  A darker emotion whispered into Chandra’s mind. Nobody ever looked at her like that. This was what her neighbor was accustomed to—this near hero-worship. Soon, Aster would be going back to work, and she’d just be the girl who lived beside him, the one he’d kissed once, and then not again.

  The woman searched through her purse for something to write on and then she and her husband both grinned like they’d won a prize as she wrote on the back of a receipt she’d dug out. “I can’t believe we ran into you. We actually only came out here because I’ve been so down lately.”

  Her husband smiled and hugged her. “I told her things have a way of working out.”

  Another dark emotion—envy—slithered through her. She’d never had anyone look at her like that before either, not the way the husband looked at his wife—tender but with a deep warmth. Love. He loved her—it was written all over his face and he didn’t mind others knowing that.

  Chandra’s relationships tended to be short and tepid. The heat and passion she already felt for Aster were new and amazing, but no
thing said they’d last. He’d go back to work, to performing miracles, and it’d be awkward living right next door. Aster said he’d been too busy to date. He’d most likely be too busy again. They’d pass each other in front of their apartments and duck their heads, pretending not to see the other. It couldn’t last. Nothing ever did with her.

  As if they were old friends, the couple chatted with Aster about the obstacles they’d had and what they’d seen on some news segment that he’d been on. Apparently, he’d helped a B-list celebrity who hadn’t hesitated to name him as her fertility magician. Up, up, and around the Ferris wheel went.

  It wasn’t until they were almost ready to disembark that the other woman gasped and said, “Oh, I’m so sorry. I interrupted your date and took all your time. Can we pay for your tickets to make up for it?”

  “No, no, it’s fine,” Chandra said, smiling stiffly. What was a fifteen-minute ride compared to a miracle?

  “It’s okay. We’re neighbors so we’ll see a lot of each other,” Aster said, pocketing the receipt with the couple’s information on it.

  Yeah. Neighbors. At least he hadn’t corrected her when she’d called it a “date.” It was a date… that had turned into a double date… with strangers, but that was fine. Really.

  The couple shook hands with him like they were old friends—though Aster had initiated it. The woman even spontaneously hugged Aster, which made them both uncomfortable.

  “Sorry about that,” Aster said, bumping his shoulder against Chandra’s as they walked away from the wheel. “I knew I shouldn’t have done that news report, but my, uhh, colleagues weren’t thrilled with this leave of absence, and it was a way to appease them.”

  Swallowing, Chandra shrugged. “It’s fine. I didn’t realize what a big deal you are.”

  He laughed. “In a very niche community.” Reaching out, he grabbed her hand, dispelling some of Chandra’s worries. Aster’s touch chased her doubts away. “How about with you? Am I big deal? I’d rather be a big deal with you.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t know. More of a medium deal.”

  Aster put a hand to his heart. “Cold and cruel.”

  The smile dropped from her mouth. Her last boyfriend had called her cold.

  Aster stopped, frowning. “What?”

  Chandra shook her head. “Nothing. I’m hungry. We should go grab some of the little donuts from Pike Place.”

  Tilting his head, Aster didn’t move. Narrowing his eyes, he examined her face. “You know, you’re driving me crazy.”

  Chandra’s jaw dropped. “What? How?” Why hadn’t he said something if she was bothering him?

  A slow sexy smile spread across his mouth as his arms dragged her closer into a loose hug. “In every way. The way you move—it’s so smooth like a ballet. Then, that little pause you take whenever I say something where you read me so suspiciously. I’d never thought that would be arousing but I’m like a naughty kid where even negative attention is good.”

  “Oh.” She was driving him crazy in that way.

  Aster’s eyebrows raised. “That’s all you have to say for yourself? I was having a terrible time concentrating in that gondola because you smell like sugar cookies. I’ve never had carnal thoughts involving sugar cookies, but being in a tight spot with someone dressed like you are, I am. I definitely am.”

  “What’s wrong with the way I’m dressed?”

  “I told you to wear a jacket, but that’s not a jacket.”

  “Technically, it’s a bolero jacket. It has jacket actually in the name.” It was cute. The jacket had taken way more of a paycheck than it should have, and Chandra had been dying for the right scenario to come along—the occasion that could justify its price tag. When Aster had mentioned the gondolas could get chilly, it was the perfect excuse to finally wear it. The tight, fitted jacket set off the reddish highlights in her hair. In her opinion.

  “Jackets aren’t supposed to be sexy. Sugar cookies aren’t supposed to be sexy. I think I agreed to personally deliver those people’s children for all of eternity because nodding whenever she paused for breath was about as much as my brain could manage.”

  A laugh slipped out.

  “It’s not funny.” He shook her lightly.

  “You looked like you were paying attention.” Even that had bothered her. Aster’s focus on the other couple had made her the tiniest bit jealous.

  “Are you kidding? I think,” he dug in his jacket and pulled out the receipt, “Amy and Trevor were only impressed because of my street cred. I very literally said nothing intelligent the entire time.” He tucked the receipt away again. Aster sniffed. “Why do you smell so good? Maybe it’s just as well they distracted me. I was about to press you up against the side of the gondola and check to see if you taste as sweet as you smell.”

  His words were a desert wind rushing through her—so hot they left her skin tingling and sensitive. Aster’s nose bumped against her neck as his breath fanned from his mouth.

  “It’s your neck. Like a body wash or…” His words should have been funny, but his lips feathered her skin with each syllable.

  “Mmm,” she breathed, swallowing thickly. Okay, she wasn’t hungry anymore. Not for food. Her hand twisted into his hair, holding his mouth against her skin. Fire. She was on fire. Electricity sparked along the wires of her nerves. She needed him. So much.

  “Mmm,” he agreed, his lips traveling up to her ear. “We should probably head back to the apartments.”

  It was still early enough in the day that a decent amount of people were around. They probably shouldn’t go at it on the Seattle pier. It might scandalize a bunch of strangers.

  “What if I still want donuts?”

  His arms tightened around Chandra, and Aster sighed. “It might kill me.”

  She laughed. Damn, it was so freeing. Chandra had never laughed like that in her life. She’d never been this confident. Aster really wanted her. Her. “I was kidding. Let’s get out of here.”

  The walk back to his car and the drive to their apartment building took ages. What did they even talk about? They talked about something. Her mouth moved. Words came out. All she kept thinking was this heady rush of exhilaration—this was so not her. Right now, this Chandra was exciting and sensual. She wasn’t the quiet introverted orphan who never managed to get past a second date. She was a whirlwind. Her pulse pounded, and she couldn’t catch her breath. It was wonderful.

  When he turned into his parking space, Chandra opened the door and got out before he’d pulled the parking brake. She ran toward the elevator, completely sure that Aster would chase her. His footfalls behind her made her laugh—a laugh too deep and seductive to be from her. He caught her around the waist as she pressed the up button for the elevator. Chandra wrapped her arms on top of Aster’s and leaned back into him.

  “You, Chandra, are a siren,” he murmured in her ear before kissing her temple. The huskiness of his voice made her grin. She’d done that.

  “Are there cameras in the elevators?” she asked as they spilled into it the moment the doors opened.

  “Yes. Maybe. Probably.” He kept her tucked up against him as he punched their floor level. “Why couldn’t we live on the second floor? We’d already be there. But, no, we had to be on the twelfth floor—the top floor. This is taking forever.”

  She slapped a hand over her mouth to cover a laugh, unsuccessfully.

  “I heard that,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

  “Mmm.” She tipped her head back against his shoulder. “Whose apartment are we going into?”

  “Uh, mine. I have my keys in my hand.”

  Had she ever smiled this much? No. Never. This was supposed to be what it was like. “You haven’t even kissed me since that night.”

  “Because I didn’t want to stop kissing you once we started. I already had to do that once.”

  “Oh.”

  He turned her in his arms. “I love the way you say, ‘Oh.’ Your brown eyes get all big and th
en that smile starts…” He traced her smile as it formed. Leaning in, he kissed her forehead. “Damn, why do we live so high up?”

  Another laugh escaped. “We’re almost there.”

  They watched the numbers count upwards. Anticipation built in her. Almost there.

  They ran, laughing, hand-in-hand down the hall. “Open it. Open it,” she said.

  His key seemed to skip around the lock. “I’m trying,” he said. “This is more pressure than…” It slid in. “Yes. Finally.” He hooked her elbow and yanked her in with him as the door swung open.

  “More pressure than what?” she asked, stepping into his arms.

  “What?” His eyebrows drew together as they stood in the open door.

  “You said opening the door was more pressure than…”

  “Hell if I know.” His gaze searched her face. “This is what you want, right? It’s not just the novelty of…?”

  “Of what?”

  Aster frowned.

  His hesitance was odd. “I have dated before. I’ve even been in relationships.”

  “But nobody like me.” There was a wrinkle between his eyebrows. He really, sincerely was saying this.

  “No. Not exactly like you.” She withdrew a few inches. “I don’t know where you’re going with this.”

  Sighing, Aster dropped his arms and stepped back. “I need to tell you something. Actually, two things.”

  She huffed out a laugh—that wasn’t at all funny. “Great. I love conversations that start like that.” She took a step back herself. “Never mind. I’m leaving. Whatever you have to tell me—I can guarantee I won’t want to hear it.” It’d been too good to be true—just as well she was finding this out now.

  Aster shut the door. “No, but you need to hear this—because it’s more about you than about me.”

  “I’m leaving.” She reached for the door handle.

  “You’re a demigod,” he said.

  She looked at him over her shoulder. “Come again?” He’d lost his mind.

  “You’re the demigod of death… or demigoddess—we just use the term ‘demigod’ normally.” He held both his hands out. “It’s part of why being with me makes you feel so alive. I didn’t want you going into this, without knowing that.”