Page 48 of Down from the Tower

My head flies back, a gruntle moan slipping from my lips. Zarev is so different from the two men I’ve bedded before, and it makes me want more of him.

His lips find my throat, biting and kissing at the skin. I feel little pokes as he devours me, and I think of the razor-sharp teeth I saw last night.

I should pull back and use some common sense. But he feels too good, and my pussy is wet enough I’m sure he could take me right here and I’d gladly bend over. I’m not usually this free, but when Death is ready to fuck you, there isn’t a whole lot to fear finding you.

The soft, sinful feel of the shadows skates up my legs, like being caressed by darkness itself. I gasp when I feel them brushing at the apex of my thighs, one long wisp brushing over my center when Zarev grinds against me.

He chuckles darkly in my ear, making my body throb with need. “You know the benefit of playing with the dark, Golden Girl? The shadows let me fill any hole I want.”

I shriek, his lips finding mine to swallow the noise when I feel his shadow magic pulling my legs further apart, one daring shadow shifting to feel more like a cock, and the strange, exhilarating pressure pushes inside me.

It pulses, opening me wider, and I scrape my nails up and down his arms, forgetting all about holding him in place with my hair.

He releases my lips again to speak. “If you think I can’t fill every hole of yours to watch you fuck my shadows, you’re in for a surprise, Princess.”

My eyes widen at the thought, and when he grins, those teeth are sharpened again. I want them back on my skin, to feel the thrill of what he could do to me, the dangerous game I want to play with the embodiment of death -

Zarev’s shadows stop pulsing inside me, his neck snapping to one side, his hand coming to slam over my lips. His red-orange eyes glance all around us, and I can’t help wondering what he senses that I can’t.

I look past him, hoping to get some idea of what’s going on, when my eyes land on the missing spirit from last night. I clamp my leg tighter to Zarev when I realize Modred is watching us in the trees, but the Reaper's attention is focused elsewhere.

Squirming, it takes several more moments for Zarev to unfreeze. The shadows teasing me pull back, the one pulsing inside me leaving me unsatisfied as he abandons the task. Zarev sets me down without acknowledging Modred, tugging at the neckline of my shift and smoothing out my hair.

“It’s not safe to play here,” he grumbles, still looking out into the dense trees over my head. “It’s too easy to be attacked here. We must move.”

He sets me down, pushing my dress in place before releasing me. His eyes snap to Modred, who only looks angry as he watches. He adjusts my top again, refusing to look away from the spirit.

“He’s being a creep,” Zarev says, shaking his head as he turns back to grasp my chin to tilt my gaze upward. I meet his eyes, and they are oddly stormy. “Do not be embarrassed around me, Princess, or by what others think when they watch you. You’re safe so long as we stay together in Sherwood.”

I lick my lips, trying to push all my depraved thoughts from my mind. He’s worked me up, and I can feel the hardness of his cock through his clothes. I hate that he’s stopping because of me, but if there is something out in the woods, getting killed isn’t going to help us.

“We should get moving then,” I say briskly, sliding out from beneath his arm. I smooth my skirts, trying to seem unaffected by the sudden shift. “You should tell me what to watch for out here. I wouldn’t want to be misled.”

Zarev raises a brow, and I’m sure he catches my underlying meaning. With a roll of his eyes he adjusts his pants, kicking my corset away with his boot. I scowl at that, glaring up at him. “Everything.”

“That’s too vague. Give me things to watch out for.”

He looks towards Modred again, but the spirit isn’t coming any closer and my Reaper doesn’t seem interested in going to get him. “Flowers that are too tall. People who act strange. Everything, Princess. There’s a lot of thieving and horror that takes place in Sherwood close to the border of Ravens Wood, and the further north you travel towards The Barrens and the Red Woods, the paths become more and more dangerous.”

“I don’t know those places,” I remind him, just as he begins to walk. I sigh and stoop down, unwilling to part with my corset in case I need it later, and snag my shoes as Zarev passes them.

“Just stay with me. Lots of monsters travel through Sherwood, and trying to describe all of them to you will just get confusing. Hopefully we can manage to stay together for two days without separating.”

There it is, the question of what to do next floating in the air between us. “Where are you taking me?”

“The Missing Shoe, of course,” he replies, raising a brow as we walk. I wouldn’t call this a path, but it’s a bit clearer than some of the openings between the trees. “It’s a tavern that Dahlia owns. You’ll meet her, she’s a kind woman. Her children help her run the place. It’s a common stop for refugees and travelers alike. The place is pretty much always full.”

“And you think it’s a good idea for me to go there,” I ask, surprised. “Won’t I stick out?”

“How,” he replies, his blade appearing in his hand. It wasn’t on him when he was playing with me at the tree, and I assume his shadow magic lets him call it back to his person when needed. “No one knows what the princess of Tressa looks like. You’re rumored at best. Keep that hair tied up, don’t make it glow and you’ll blend right in.”

“And what should I do after that?” I breathe, unsure where this is going. “I’m not a member of Sherwood. I don’t know who to speak with or what to do outside of the tower. You can’t just leave me there.”

“No one said I was leaving you. Dahlia is an old friend of mine. Her son and I are very close. He’s another Reaper.”

My footsteps falter. “He is?”

“Yes, Raymundo. He might meet us in about a day and a half. He’s traveling faster than we are, but he was out working when I spoke to him last night. If he arrives we can shadow hop the rest of the way to the tavern and avoid running into anyone else.”

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