‘‘Why can’t she?’’ Cyrene looked at him as if he was insane. ‘‘Because she doesn’t like men, that’s why. She’s never had sex.’’

My face burned as I closed my eyes for a minute, fighting with the desire to shadow. ‘‘ Cyrene, no one is interested in this.’’

‘‘Well, I certainly think Gabriel is going to be interested if he’s under the delusion that you are his mate! I know it’s hard for you to be open about this, but evidently there is a major misunderstanding about you. We owe it to them to be truthful; these people are our friends, after all.’’

‘‘István broke your neck,’’ I pointed out, momentarily sidetracked from the hell my life had suddenly become.

‘‘Yes, but I’m sure he didn’t mean it,’’ she said, turning to him. ‘‘You didn’t, did you?’’

István nodded, frowned, then shook his head. ‘‘I thought you were attacking Jim.’’

‘‘There, you see? You know I would never want to put you on the spot, dear Mayling, but now is not the time for shyness. Do not be afraid to admit the truth.’’

‘‘Oh, gods,’’ I swore to myself, sinking into the nearest chair. Why me? my mind shrieked. Why did Cyrene pick now to bring up this issue?

‘‘I…’’ Gabriel looked as stupefied as just about everyone else. ‘‘Are you sure?’’ he finally asked Cyrene, his confused gaze on me.

‘‘Oh, yes,’’ Cyrene answered, taking up a position next to me in order, undoubtedly, to show support. ‘‘I’m quite sure. May’s never been with a man physically, even though more than a few have wanted her.’’

‘‘The things I miss while I’m in the bathroom,’’ Aisling murmured as she took her seat again.

I hunched over, dropping my head to my hands in mortification, regretting to the very depths of my being the day I had the bright idea of telling Cyrene that I had never had, and never would have, a sexual relationship with a man. ‘‘Please, Cyrene! No more!’’

‘‘So wait, she’s a virgin?’’ Jim asked in an awestruck voice, coming over to snuffle my hands. ‘‘Wow. I haven’t seen a professional virgin since we were in Hungary.’’

‘‘Well, not strictly speaking, because when she was created, I wasn’t… er…’’ Cyrene had a rare and lamentably late moment of circumspection, and thankfully stopped that line of thought before I died of embarrassment right there before her.

I could feel Gabriel’s speculative gaze on me. I peered at him through my fingers. He examined me for a moment, then winked.

I wanted to die all over again.

‘‘Well, that’s really… um… I’m not quite sure what to say to that,’’ Aisling said.

‘‘You said she hasn’t been with men, but you guys aren’t… you know, girlfriends, are you?’’ Jim asked, continuing to sniff me.

I smacked at its nose, glaring at it before I turned the look on my twin as she said in an indignant tone, ‘‘Of course we’re not lovers! I created her! Making love to her would be like… like… like having sex with my own clone!’’

‘‘Well, you know, some people might find that kind of kinky and yet oddly attractive. I, myself-ow!’’

‘‘Silence!’’ Aisling said, shaking a rolled-up magazine at the demon.

‘‘Cy, please!’’ I begged. ‘‘Now that you’ve shredded what remains of my dignity, can we move on?’’

She patted my hand. ‘‘I’m just trying to help clear things up. It’s not fair to Gabriel that he 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 smile.

‘‘No woman has ever taken my fire,’’ he murmured as I stared into those glorious eyes. I teetered on the brink of indecision, wanting more than anything else at that moment to taste him again, to feel his body pressed against mine, to revel in his closeness, but the sane corner of my mind worried that if I gave in, I’d have to face facts that I’d be much better off avoiding. ‘‘Tell me you want it.’’

I tilted my head just a smidgen, just enough to allow my lips to caress his. That’s all it took. With a low-pitched primal noise that seemed to emanate deep from within his chest, his mouth claimed mine, the fire pouring out of him and into me. His lips were hotter than I remembered, hotter than I thought possible, moving over mine in a fashion that left me both satisfied and craving more.