“So? What kind of proof are we requiring?” he asked me jokingly, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. My legs were still hanging over his and, although he didn’t touch me otherwise, I still couldn’t move a single strand of hair. “Mariane, are you afraid of me?”

I don’t know if it was the power of my name in his voice, or the implications of that question. But somehow I was able to break through the cold fear that blocked my mind and relax a bit.

I raised a hand that wouldn’t stop shaking, almost thankful that that was my normal state when he was this close to me. The nervousness burning my stomach would have made me shiver anyway, which would have been even more embarrassing.

I touched his face as he watched me completely motionless and smiled. And then, as if my touch had the power to bring statues back to life, I saw him move slowly, leaning over me, until his lips touched my forehead. I lost my breath at the soft electric touch of his skin and heard him sigh.

“This is torture,” he muttered, but instead of pulling away, his lips slid down my face, caressing my skin, kissing me softly, making me gasp for air at every new touch.

The tips of his cold fingers slid trembling over my neck and the notion that he could probably feel the thunder that was my heartbeat made me even more nervous. As if he’d read my thoughts I heard him chuckle, and his lips touched my skin right below the curve of my chin.

I shuddered when he kissed me and my heart jumped when his kiss became more intense, unlike the other feather-like kisses he’d given me where he barely touched me. His mouth was opening and closing over my throat, his teeth occasionally scraping my skin, and my body caught on fire, as I dug my hands in his hair to keep him close. I opened my mouth, searching for words that my mind refused to formulate and my gasping breath became embarrassingly audible.

“Nyx,” I murmured, trying not to be swallowed by his intensity, and his cold fingers traced my clavicle, making me tingle at the contrast of his icy cold skin and his molting hot breath.

Gabriel raised his head to look at me, releasing me form his incandescent kiss, and I was lost in the feverish glow of his eyes. His fingers slid down my chest, making the small buttons open at his passage, and stopped as he found the band of my bra, softly caressing the skin there, leaving me breathless. It was only when his cold hand slid under my blouse that I was finally able to react, and with a trembling hand I held his with all my strength, making it stop.

I realized his feverish gaze was gone and his lips were softly kissing my bare chest. I pushed him back by one of his shoulders, even though I knew I would never be strong enough to do it, and the embarrassing moan that escaped my lips made me bite my tongue. His kiss was piercing me, as if he could really touch my heart, or even kiss my Soul. And my antagonist hand lost its strength and determination, freeing his and allowing his fingers to resume tracing lines of ice over my scalding skin.

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I felt completely lost, certainly unable to resist him, and, although I did long for his touch, the pain inside me made me sob. I knew I would be his right then, if he so wished, and I would be his of my own free will. And yet, fear coursed through my veins every time I wondered what would happen next, when he looked back at me and finally understood that, in the end, I was just as uninteresting as any other Human he’d met. Maybe he’d kill me then, and death didn’t sound all that bad. But, if he were to simply leave me behind, like how he’d done with Steph ...

Despair took over me and, since I couldn’t push him away, I threw my arms around him and held him with all my strength.

“Nyx! Stop. Please stop!” I sobbed, trying to coordinate my gasping breathing with words, and, at the sudden forced contact of my embrace, he pulled immediately away, supporting his weight on his hands; and I was sure he would be standing on the far side of my room if I had let go of his neck.

We were silent for a moment, my lonely sobs echoing all around us, and still I wouldn’t let go, knowing that if I did he’d go somewhere far away from me, just so I could calm down.

Finally his lips touched my cheek in a light kiss, which unexpectedly made me relax and, when I opened my eyes, his worried expression surprised me so much I even forgot to sob. He smiled, seeing I’d regained my self-control and I couldn’t help blush.

“I’m sorry, it was never my int ...” I placed a hand over his lips, silencing those words, and looked harshly at him.

“Don’t be! I don’t want anyone feeling sorry for anything!” I told him and he kissed my fingers, making me instinctively recoil my hand.

Gabriel laughed at my embarrassment and took a deep breath.

“Really, I amaze myself ... with this my new found ability to resist you, even when I want you this much,” he declared and I caressed his skin only for the pleasure of feeling its strange, fresh texture beneath my hands. “I guess that I really don’t want you to cry or suffer because of me, after all. I just wish time could stop. But since I know it can’t be done, I wonder, how long will I be allowed to stay by your side? And, if I do stay by your side, how long will you be able to bear my presence, knowing I’m straying you away from your destined path?”

“I'm the same. I also wonder how long you will find me ... interesting,” I confessed, using the word he so much appreciated. “I’m sure that there are many other Gaalgha out there, many much more attractive than I am. I ask myself what right do I have to keep you here, when staying here puts you in danger. Besides, time will pass for me, and I will grow old, but you, you will always be like this, inhumanely beautiful.”

“Even if you die, I will never allow you to leave! And if you do return to this world, I will look for you everywhere! And I will find you!” He spoke with such conviction that I couldn’t help laugh. It sounded like one of those promises that children make when they still believe effort and willpower will solve everything.