‘‘Well . . .’’ He smiled. It was a particularly charming smile, one that held a good deal of humor in it, and I thought for a moment or two that if I’d never met Gabriel, I might have followed up on that smile to see what sort of a man was behind it. ‘‘There is the matter of that little offer you made me.’’

I froze again, this time horrified as the memory came back to me. ‘‘That has nothing to do with anything,’’ I said, glancing at Gabriel.

‘‘Oh, really?’’ His gaze flitted around the room, and I knew for certain what he was going to say before he said it. ‘‘You don’t think propositioning me in order to get me to let you go has any pertinence to this situation?’’

‘‘You’re a rat,’’ I told him. ‘‘That was downright mean.’’

‘‘I know,’’ he said, his smile widening. ‘‘But you have to admit, as rats go, I’m fairly charming.’’

Gabriel’s silver-eyed gaze shifted from Savian to me.

‘‘I don’t suppose you’d believe me if I said that I didn’t actually proposition him in order to get him to let me go?’’ I asked him.

‘‘I believe you,’’ he said without hesitation. ‘‘You are my mate. You would not be so if you did not respect and honor me as I do you.’’

An odd sort of constriction gripped my heart. His words were so heartfelt, they touched deep, dark parts of my soul.

‘‘I did proposition him,’’ I said, needing to admit the truth to him. ‘‘And he took me up on it, but I couldn’t go through with it.’’

Gabriel was silent for a moment, his eyes shadowed. Finally, he nodded. ‘‘I would expect you to try to use whatever method you had available to free yourself. That you did not betray me to do so does not, however, surprise me.’’

‘‘It was a close thing,’’ Savian said with a wicked grin.

‘‘Oh, it was not! I never even unbuttoned so much as one button! I couldn’t! Not when I thought of Gabriel.’’

‘‘You’re not going to start making declarations of eternal, undying love now, are you?’’ Savian asked, glancing at his watch. ‘‘I’m afraid I can only give you fifteen minutes, and then we’ll need to be on our way to catch the plane to Paris.’’

‘‘Do not leave this room,’’ Gabriel ordered.

I turned to him, surprised.

‘‘I will be with you in ten minutes,’’ he said. ‘‘Do not leave the room unless the authorities come. And do not proposition that . . . that . . . mortal again!’’

I couldn’t help but smile at the indignant look on his face, which faded along with the rest of him.

‘‘I take it that’s a ‘no’ on the declarations of love?’’ Savian asked.