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“My prolonged touch is a death sentence.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

For a brief instant, their bodies touched from his movement, and he stepped back as if burned. “My brother’s first wife died of terminal cancer. Did you know that?”

She shook her head.

“Yeah, because his touch, even with his magic bound, was toxic. Like mine. Like my father before him. Like our grandfather before that.”

“But your father was married, right? And Simon has remarried Evelyn Thorne, if I’m not mistaken. He can’t be too worried about her.”

“True, but there’s extenuating circumstances for that last one.” Trevor’s head cocked, and a mocking smile curled his lips. “You’re discussing marriage. So not a dalliance girl, after all?”

“No!” Her skin burned, and she was sure the flush was not attractive. “I mean… I didn’t say I wasn’t a dalli… uh, well, you know.” With a wave of her hand, she tried for worldly, but her stuttering gave her away.

His smile widened, and his hypnotic blue eyes gleamed with unholy amusement.

Soleil lifted her chin and met his bold gaze. “I’m merely pointing out that others before you have had relationships. Successful marriages. Your argument isn’t valid.”

“Wrong, my dear Dalli. My grandmother passed away within ten years of giving birth to my father. Her only child, by the by.” His expression sobered. “My mother was a powerful witch in her own right, but she was the victim of my father’s reckless decisions. As for Simon’s wife, she was mortal, yes, which made her disease ten times worse. It ravaged her body until she was unrecognizable.” He grimaced. “If you don’t believe me, feel free to research my family tree. Whether by accident, design, or disease, a Death Dealer’s bride is marked from the moment she says ‘I do’ and is destined to die within ten years.”

Trevor crowded closer and ran the tips of his fingers down her cheek. “You deserve more than to wait for sand to trickle from an hourglass, counting down the minutes of your life.”

“What about your past girlfriends and lovers? The ones you gave a time limit or sent away?” she asked him, watching the play of emotions cross his sad face. “Are they cursed?”

“Doubtful. There was only one I even considered staying with, and she left me high and dry. Maybe she was the one who got scared.”

“I wouldn’t get scared,” she said softly. “Not if the reward was a great love.”

A curtain fell over Trevor and his thoughts, blocking her from seeing behind the cool mask he now presented. “Even if I did fall in love with you, Dalli, which I won’t, I don’t believe in happily ever afters. I’ll leave that to you and Ms. Bateman.”

Stepping back, he purposely closed the connecting door in her face.

Soleil wanted to beat on it with her fists. To chew him out for assuming she was nothing but a romantic fool. But wasn’t she?

One minute she was assuring him she was sophisticated enough for a dalliance, and the next, she was pleading a case for love and marriage. A sex-savvy woman seeking short-term pleasure from him wouldn’t have argued the possibility of more.

“Way to make yourself look like a ninny, Lei,” she muttered to herself.

As she settled under the covers, she sighed her regret. A man of Trevor Blane’s experience would’ve definitely rocked her world.

“You can believe it, Dalli.”

“Get out of my head!”

“It’s free entertainment until you learn to cloak your thoughts better.”

“Dick.”

“Can’t stop thinking about sex with me, huh?”

“I think I hate you.”

But she was smiling as she turned off the light. Pausing, she frowned and glanced at the closed door.

“Mr. Blane?”

Silence greeted her.

“Mr. Blane?”