Page 37 of Fear the Reaper
“Reaper?”
He didn’t look at me. “Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
Reaper set the laptop on the bed beside him and scooted up. He folded his arms behind his head and leveled his beautiful brown eyes on me.
“I’m frustrated, Reaper. My house is gone. The car my father rebuilt with his own two hands—the only thing I had left of—all of it, gone. And I’m tired of feeling helpless. Like everyone else is controlling my world and I’m…”
“Star, come here.”
I wasn’t sure what to expect but I approached him. At the bed, he scooped me into his lap and cuddled me into his chest. Six took the moment to rest his head against my stomach and I sighed. I may be homeless but as I settled into Reaper’s embrace, I couldn’t feel any more at home.
“I may not mean anything to you, Nova. And when this is over you’ll go back to your world. But it would kill me if anything happened to you.”
“I take it you’re not a fan of the plan, then?”
“No. But, Swede made a great point. You need your life back and this is the best way right now.” Reaper kissed my head. “This is doubly hard because I now have to put my trust and your life in the hands of these men and…”
“They are not your old squad, Reaper,” I reminded him. “I know it’s your kneejerk reaction to this but you have to know Kujo and Swede would never let anything happen to me or you. You need to trust again.”
“Can this lesson come at a time when your life isn’t in danger?”
I smiled and eased up so I could frame his face. He pouted at me. I kissed his lips softly then settled back to caress Six’s head. There might be chaos soon, but this moment with Reaper was perfection.
“I could get used to this.” I confessed. “Lying in your arms while our dog snuggles into me seems like the perfect way to end a day. After a while, we make love then eat dinner together, naked on the floor.”
“You’ve thought about this, huh?” Reaper asked, bowing his head to nuzzle my throat.
“A little bit.” I blushed. “Only a little. I’m scared, Maverick.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want to be homeless anymore.”
“I know you have insurance,” Reaper said. “All you have to do is rebuild. It’s not going to be easy, but you can do this.”
I sighed.
We remained in our own world—my sins forgiven—in total silence. Six must have sensed our unease for he didn’t move. In fact, he seemed to have fallen asleep. In the safety of Reaper’s arms and the warmth of Six’s body, I wasn’t homeless. My entire world had not exploded behind me with the towering perfection of Reaper’s frame protecting me from harm. Right then, no one wanted my head on a spike and I was free to roam.
By the time Kujo and Swede returned, night was falling over the Crazy Mountains once more. While they gathered around to talk, I started making myself fancy. There wasn’t much to pick from—Molly had sent over a few pieces for me to chose from but with my curves, her clothes seemed to be a lot more revealing than they should. I settled on a short black dress that hugged my body, with a peek-a-boo back, red ruby earrings and a pair of heels that looked as though they had never been worn.
My hair was a bigger issue. Since I hadn’t really been focused enough to do much with it, it was a tangled mess. I used Reapers brush to work out as much of the knots I could, then braid it and wrapped it around in a bun for a high ponytail.
When I was finished I made my way back into the room and took a breath. “So—am I ready?” I asked.
All three guys looked up and smiled. Kujo whistled. Reaper smacked his shoulder and Swede laughed out loud.
“What Reaper is trying to say,” Swede said. “Is that you look—” He made a catcall whistle.
I giggled. “Aww, thanks guys.”
Reaper said nothing. He rose from his seat and picked up a gun from the table. He did the same thing he’d always done—checked it then shove it into the holster strapped around his very, sexy thigh. Kujo handed him another and after doing the same routine, he stuck that one down the back of his pants before hauling on a black trench coat. “Let’s do this.”
There was something different about him but I didn’t have time to question it. Soon, we piled into a SUV and was heading away from the ranch. I turned in the seat, watching the house for as long as I could. I stuck my hand back to absentmindedly stroke Six’s nose as he settled into the very back seat.
When I turned, Swede had been speaking.
