Page 46 of Vexed
“How did you find it?” I breathed, my voice hoarse.
She just shrugged, a strand of hair falling across her face. “I followed the feeling. Plus, it’s not exactly inconspicuous.”
I chuckled softly, rubbing a thumb across the smooth, obsidian blade. “Thank you, Lily. You have more bravery than I give yourself credit for.”
“How did you get out?” she asked, tilting her head. “Out of that cell, I mean.”
“Adimus,” I replied. “He helped me.”
We settled on the dusty floor of the cave, the silence broken only by the dripping of water from the unseen corners. The weight of the scythe in my grasp was comforting, but the weight in my chest was heavier. Lily was here, in the Underworld, because of me.
After a while, she spoke, her voice soft. “Why are there graves in the Underworld?” I sighed, the sound echoing in the confined space.
“It’s a long story,” I began, running a hand through my hair. “Over nine hundred years ago, there was another Grim Reaper.He broke the rules. Fell in love with a human.” Lily’s eyes widened.
“He did what no Reaper is allowed to do,” I continued, my voice low. “He tried to alter fate for her, tried to keep her from her appointed time. Inserting himself into her life. It started a war among all the Reapers. Those graves—that’s the Gloom Planes. The graves of fallen Reapers. And the broken Cathedral that stands there, has been there from the beginning like a silent watchman.”
She stared at me, her expression a mixture of comprehension and dawning horror. “That Reaper,” she said slowly, her voice barely a whisper. “He did what you’ve been doing with me, didn’t he?”
I nodded, the weight of the truth crushing me. I deserved her anger, her judgement, her rejection.
“Will there be another war because of us?” she asked, her voice tight.
“Probably,” I admitted. “But I promise you, Lily. I’ll get you home before that can happen.” I intend to keep my promise, even if it brings me to my fallen death.
We stared at each other, the silence stretching between us. Then, before I could brace myself, her hands cupped my face, her thumbs tracing the line of my jaw, and then she pressed her lips against mine. Not a tentative peck, not a hesitant brush of lips, but a full-blown, passionate assault that stole my breath and sent my senses reeling.
I forgot about the war, about the Gloom Planes, about the dangers lurking in the shadows. In that moment, all that mattered was her, her soft lips on mine, her hands holding me captive.
I kissed her back, pouring all my fear, my longing, my desperate hope into that single, earth-shattering kiss. The consequences could wait. For now, there was only us.
She hastily climbed on my lap and pressed further into me, deepening the kiss. I don’t waste time grabbing her hips tightly, slipping my tongue past her lips, she gasps when I roll my hips against her. That amazing sensation overwhelms me yet again as I feel her tongue brushing against mine.
Her hands slip from my face and she rips my shirt open. She breaks the kiss, staring down at my bare skin, her hands gliding down my chest and abs.
“Has anyone ever told you how fucking hot you are?” She purrs.
Jesus. Fuck. I’ve never been so flustered in my entire life. I let out a chuckle, unable to find any words.
“You have tattoos?” she asks softly, tracing her fingers over the black lines wrapping around my entire torso. She’s never seen me without clothing. Even when I fucked her, I remained clothed while I stripped her completely naked.
Something about it just made me feel powerful and dominant, besides, submission looks so fucking good on her.
“No, darling. That’s my shadows. They dwell under my human form.” I say, and she locks her gaze with mine.
“Right, you’re not human,” she trails off. Her eyes scanned my face and I knew exactly what she wanted without her having to say it.
A tingling sensation prickles across my face as I force the half of my face’s human skin to fade from the bone. Her eyes light up as she watches me.
“This is what you wanted, huh?” I ask, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, nodding slowly.
She leans forward and catches me by surprise as her tongue darts out and she licks across my agape lips and over my exposed teeth, causing a shiver to run down my spine. A distorted groanrumbles through my chest before her hand drops between us and she starts to unfasten my pants.
Her eyes flick briefly to mine and a smirk pulls at her mouth, “Don’t go and shake the ground beneath us again and get us killed.” She says jokingly, her fingers grazing the tip of my cock as she pulls it free, “We have to be quiet, can you do that, Mr Death?” Her seductive tone now barely above a whisper.
My cock twitches in her delicate hand as she wraps her fingers around it.
“Yes, little human,” I mutter, my words sounding more desperate than intended.
