Tell me you do not want me.’ “‘I can’t,’ I whispered. ‘God help me, I can’t.’ “‘Then take me, Gabriel.’ She lifted her chin, fierce and furious. ‘Take me, and God and Mothermaid and Martyrs be damned with us both.’ “And there was nothing left then: no restraint, no law, no vow that could have held me anchored through her storm. I kissed her, hungry and hard, and in that kiss, I knew salvation and damnation. A vow I could truly keep. “On this fire, I would burn.
