Page 43 of Death and Divination
Her lips twitched. “She’ll tell you if it’s crossing a line. Otherwise go with it. As for sex, you should take charge, which I understand might be hard for you since I doubt reapers did much in the boom-chicka-wow-wow department. Pay attention, and if she’s reacting enthusiastically to something you’re doing, then you’re on the right track.”
“Did I mention I watched a lot of adult television the other night?” I asked.
Sylvie rolled her eyes. “Go with your instincts before you start recreating porno movies. That stuff is all fake. Take your time. Pay attention to what her body is telling you.”
I stood. “Thank you so much for these pointers.”
“Always go with your instincts. If you feel like you should kiss her, kiss her. If you feel like you should do more than kiss her, then do more. And if she says stop, you need to stop right then and there and not proceed until she tells you otherwise. Got it?”
“Got it.” I reached out to shake Sylvie’s hand, then bent down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you. And I hope you make a full recovery soon.”
“I hope so too, because Cassie is going to take me to her house and make me stay on her sofa until she’s convinced I’m okay. I might need to organize a jail break.” She waved me off. “Now get out of here before she comes back and wants to know who you are and why you’re hanging out in my hospital room.”
I fled, realizing that Ophelia’s older sister wasn’t someone I wanted interrogating me. On my way down the hall, I waved at the nurse from the night before, then hesitated in the elevator, hitting the button for the basement. While I was here, I might as well visit the morgue, just in case there were any souls of the departed who might need my assistance.
There was no one down the hallway or in the morgue—well, no one except a short, curvy, blonde werewolf. Everyone employed by the hospital seemed to have uniforms with bright colored pants and shirts paired with jackets with plenty of pockets. This werewolf was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black tank top. Perhaps the morgue had a different dress code?
The werewolf didn’t appear to be working. All the bodies were stored out of sight and she was lingering over by a shiny metal table, fidgeting with a silver bowl. I was happy to realize that all their souls had departed and was about to leave when she turned to me. Her eyes widened and her nostrils flared.
“You…are you here to kill me? Your smell…you smell like death.”
She was the second person to make that comment since I’d “died.” Since neither Ophelia nor her sister had mentioned any strange odor, I was going to assume it was just a werewolf thing.
“I’m Nash. A reaper. Well, sort of a reaper. A retired reaper?” I walked forward and held out my hand.
She backed up, holding the bowl in front of her.
“Did Dallas send you?” There was a strangely hopeful note in her voice.
“No. I just came down to see if the dead needed any help.”
“Good.” She stamped her foot, gripping the silver bowl tightly. “Because if he wants me back, then he needs to come himself and not send some death-smelling lackey. Actually, he shouldn’t bother because I’m not coming back. Or maybe I’m coming back, but I’m not going to mate with him. He’s a pig and I changed my mind.”
I stared at her. “Okay.”
She put down the bowl and started to pace the room. “I figured I could hide here, that being underground with all these refrigeration units and dead people might make it harder for him to track me down. Are they looking for me? The other werewolves? Did you see them looking for me?”
“No.” I had no idea what this woman was talking about. “Do you want them to be looking for you?”
“No! He’ll kill me if he finds me. Make me go through with the mating ceremony or kill me. I’ve humiliated him and he’ll kill me. Or my mother will kill me. Or I’ll be exiled and have to live in this town for the rest of my life, so I might as well die.”
“Um, is there something I could do to help you?” Ophelia had said she was going up to the werewolf compound to talk to them about a personal matter. I was beginning to put the puzzle pieces together and get the idea that whatever was going on, this woman was in the middle of it all.
“Don’t tell anyone I’m here,” she urged. “Forget you saw me. If they know, my life will be in danger.”
“I have to tell Ophelia,” I told her because I couldn’t promise to keep her secret, not from the one woman who I needed to be completely honest with.
“No!” She ran toward me and grabbed my arm. “You can’t tell any of the witches. They’ll storm up there and get in Dallas’ face and I’ll end up exiled. I don’t know what I want to do yet. I know I don’t want to go through with the mating ceremony, but I don’t like the idea of living my life as a lone wolf. Promise me you won’t tell anyone.”
“I promise.” The lie came far easier than I’d ever thought it would. “You stay here and hide. I’ll keep your secret and make sure you’re safe.”
With that, I left and headed back over to the firehouse, determined to tell Ophelia the moment she returned from the werewolf compound.
