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Polly felt vindicated at the same time as her stomach dropped. She wanted him to have a better reason why he hid the truth, and she was disappointed when he didn’t.
She shook her head. “Just… move, yeah? I need to be alone.”
Finally, he stepped aside. As soon as she went past him, though, she saw him tuck his wings out of sight before he caught up with her in a few strides. “I understand why you’re upset, and we can talk about that later, but you said you’d help us with the key. Can we at least turn our attention to that?”
He had to be kidding.
“Didn’t I already make it a point to tell you that I won’t work with anyone I can’t trust? Deal’s off.”
If she thought she could brush Death off as easily as that, she had another think coming. As Polly entered the building, Sam was right on her ass, and not even the guy at the desk was going to stop the bristling angel from chasing after her.
As they stepped into the elevator, the light over their head began to buzz, then blink.
Sam’s celestial aura was strong enough to affect the lights, and when the elevator started the climb up to her apartment, it groaned.
Stepping away from him, she braced herself against the inside of the car. “What are you doing, Ace?”
Sam scowled. “I’m just fucking up left and right. I knew this wasn’t warded and I came inside anyway. Hold tight, Polly. We’re almost there.”
As soon as the door opened, thankfully with the elevator car in one piece, she fled out into the hall. Sam continued to follow, though there was a hesitation to his forceful step that hadn’t been there before.
Feeling conflicted, Polly sighed, then held her front door open for him.
Sam nodded as he slipped past her. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I changed my mind about not talking about this. You said we could talk later. Well, it’s later. And I want to know why, if I’m really your soulmate, you thought it was a good idea to try to buy me off with twenty-five grand. I know angels are ancient as fuck, but if that’s how you thought you might get me to agree to this fated mates crap, you’re wrong.”
Sam froze a few steps inside of her apartment. Slowly, he turned to face her, his black eyes blazing with an emotion that had her heart skipping a beat.
“It’s never been about that.”
Polly raised her eyebrows at him. “I thought it was. You made it pretty obvious that you thought you could buy me.”
“Not you,” he corrected hurriedly. “If I thought I could buy your affection with riches, I’d give you every dime I have. And I’ve been alive for a very long time. That’s a lot of dimes I saved. But when it comes to you… you’re not for sale. I never thought you were.”
“25K says otherwise, Ace.”
“I offered you ten to get the key for me. Twenty-five because I knew I had to pay to get a front row look at what you do. But that’s not for you, Polly. That’s just your skills. Your… I guess you could call them… your services.”
* * *
Much later, when he was alone again and marveling over every step he took with Polly, Sam would pinpoint that exact moment as the one where he inadvertently got it right. Sure, he’d screwed up countless times since he first met his soulmate, but all it took was being honest and… well, she responded.
It was like a shield coming down. The hints of her emotions that he caught became undeniable as Polly’s green eyes shadowed over before she looked up at him through the fringe of her eyelashes.
She grinned, taking a few steps closer to him. He ached to grab her, to hold her close, and only the sudden knowledge that she was no longer coldly furious had him keeping his hands to himself.
Gulping, he grated, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you get it.”
“I… I do?”
She nodded. “You know, I’ve been at this a long time. And, sure, maybe my long time means fifteen years while yours means fifteen centuries, but I’ve been doing this nearly half my life. I think you’re one of the first guys who gets that.”
He still didn’t understand. “Gets what, baby?”
The term of endearment just slipped out. He couldn’t take it back, and when she seemed to preen when she heard it, he decided he would use it on her whenever he got the chance.
