Page 4 of Right Hand Of The Reaper
“Well, isn’t that a shitter. Maybe you should take this as a life lesson.” Then I punched him in the face and knocked him out cold. His body went limp in my arms, and I called the shadows to me again. I had a vampire king to see, and he happened to be the biggest douchebag in the world.
I materialised outside Chateau Noir and sighed. I really hated this guy. Magnus Beauchard. King of the vampires and ruler of this territory, Midnight. He ruled with an iron fist, was devastatingly handsome, and just happened to be my ex.
I looked down at Frank who was still out cold. Best get this over with.
I trudged up the steps and rang the doorbell. Normally Reapers didn’t get involved in peacekeeping topside but recently there’d been an increase in criminal activity, and we’d been roped in by the Guild to lend a helping hand on occasion. I also had a strong tendency to help those weaker than me which, to the annoyance of my boss Thane, usually landed me in heaps of trouble. Like this one that was no doubt going to earn me a reprimand from Thane.
The large wooden door opened, and I was faced with a short, fat vampire with thinning hair and a grim disposition. His face instantly soured when he saw me.
“Hello Foster. I need to see Magnus.” I swanned across the threshold to the tutting sound of the butler’s disapproval. He’d never liked me.
“His majesty is currently occupied and will be for the rest of the evening.” He peered down his nose at Frank. “I suggest you come back tomorrow evening.”
Well, that wasn’t going to happen. I wanted my martini, dammit.
“Magnus! Get your butt down here!”
Foster growled. “I must insist you leave at once.”
I stomped to the stairs and started heading up to the first floor. “Magnus, get your fangs and your dick out of your blood whore and come and talk to me.”
I strolled down the hallway, annoyed at the fact I remembered the way without thinking about it, and slammed open the door to his bedroom.
There was a yelp followed by a thud as someone fell out of bed. The girl stood up, took one look at me and screamed. Bloody humans. Honestly, supes had been out of the closet for years but they just couldn’t get used to us Reapers. There weren’t many of us, unlike vampires who seemed to be spreading like a bloody virus. I figured that humans didn’t like us because they always assumed we were here to claim their soul. It wasn’t like that was the only thing I did. Sometimes there were days when I just did boring old paperwork.
The girl bolted out the room completely butt naked.
Foster entered behind me. “I’m sorry your majesty. I tried to stop her—”
“That’s quite alright, Foster. I will deal with the intruder.”
Intruder? Seriously?
“As you wish, sire.” Then Foster bowed and left me alone with the king.
Magnus stepped out of the bed and into the rays of moonlight streaming through the window. He was shirtless and his silk bottoms were slung deliciously low on his narrow hips.
Damn, he looked good. Hair as black as pitch, eyes bright ruby red, a jaw sharp enough to cut glass and fuck… I’d forgotten how magnificent his torso was. Nights of tracing those abs with my tongue flashed before my eyes and my traitorous body flushed at the memories.
“Hello, Roux. It’s been a while.” His voice was a deep sultry rumble. The perfect tone for whispering dirty words low in your ear. “You’re looking… vicious.” His eyes flashed in the low light, the wicked gleam causing my heart to thud a little bit harder. A wolfish smirk caressed his mouth. He knew exactly what he was doing to me.
He strolled closer and I got an eyeful of the blood dripping down his chin.
“You saving that for later?”
He swiped his thumb across his bottom lip before dipping it into his mouth. The red in his eyes darkened and a moan left his mouth. Such a wicked noise…
Focus woman!
Magnus stopped in front of me and placed his hands in his pockets. “You’d better have a good reason for interrupting my dinner.”
“Oh, sorry. How rude of me,” I drawled.
His eyes trailed my face, and I remembered that I was still in my true form. I let go of my shadows and felt my skin slither back over my exposed bones. Still wasn’t used to that sensation. I’d been a Reaper for years, but that sensation still creeped me out.
“Still fighting your true nature.” He shook his head at me. “Still hiding behind your thin veil of humanity.”
“That’s not a bad thing, Magnus. We can’t all be monsters like you.”
