Page 38 of Hot Ghoul Summer

“She’s going to die if someone doesn’t intervene. I can do it, or you can do it through the proper channels. I’m documenting that I asked for help first.”

“Asked for help first makes it sound as if you’re going to take matters into your own hands second!” The angel sounds alarmed.

“Yes, it does sound like that, doesn’t it?” The phrase “I can neither confirm nor deny” rolls through my head but does not leave my mouth.

“We’ll get back to you. Sit tight.”

HOURS PASS. NO CONTACT. I know that every mortal on the planet has a soul, and so I try to be patient. There are millions being born and millions dying. There’s a lot happening in that department, and G.A.s are not just around at the end of life. They have a full-time job, chasing toddlers out of the path of light sockets and angry dogs, misplacing someone’s keys so they stay in the house and off the road for five extra minutes and thus avoid a fatal crash...

Be calm. Be grateful. Molly’s here. She’s safe. For now.

And she...

She’s still upstairs, but I can feel the memory of her body wrapped around mine like I’m living it now. It was the best I’ve ever had, the only lovemaking that’s ever meant anything to me, and I hate knowing that it wasn’t done out of mutual love. On her part, it was vulnerability and a need for comfort amped up by a misplaced desire to have one last sexual hurrah in case Theo Cross gets her. In case I fail.

It’s easy to be lost in my own head, beating myself up for giving in to my carnal desires.

I never consider that Molly might be doing the same until she slinks into the kitchen in a pink sundress, face down, eyes avoiding mine.

“Moll?”

“Hi.”

I rush to be next to her. “Are you okay? I let you rest. I was... I was doing Reaper business. Trying to get Theo Cross taken care of without having to go ‘hands on.’” I dare to place one hand on her arm.

Molly looks at me, face changing from tense to relieved. “Oh. Thank God!”

“Well, I haven’t gotten it cleared yet, but—”

“I was worried I made a total fool of myself, and you were... I don’t know. I’ve had a lot of guys ghost me after they get what they want—and I know you weren’t pressuring me to give you anything!” She defends herself before I can even speak. Her eyes are sparks of anger, and her arms cross over her chest, under those gorgeous breasts that I suddenly want to suck into my mouth.

Bad time to think with my other scythe, but there you have it.

I put my hands on her hips, feeling suddenly far more confident than I have any right to be. I don’t speak, just touch, moving slowly until we press together. Molly gasps when she feels what she’s done to me.

“I’m a Reaper. Not a ghost. Ghosting isn’t going to happen. I’m yours as long as you want me,” I inform her in a low voice, lips seeking her temple.

She smells so good, like clean things and flowers. I breathe in the scent of her hair and her shampoo as she lets her forehead rest under my chin.

“No guy has ever said they’d stick around that long. I don’t even know how long that is.”

“I know you don’t know yet. But I hope you figure it out soon, because I already know. Maybe you should trust me on this. You trust me on other things.”

“Mm. Maybe.” Her arms finally shift, moving around my middle to return my embrace.

“This is the best thing ever. Having someone to hold who holds you back,” I sigh.

“A lot of guys would disagree. They’d say what we did upstairs is the best part of a relationship.”

I chuckle, but I’m not making fun of her. “They’ve all been horny young mortals, haven’t they?”

“If I dated someone who was secretly the bogeyman, he didn’t mention it,” she quips back. “At least you’re honest. That’s a big plus.”

“Then believe me when I say that having someone to love and hold you is better than having someone who can fuck your brains out.” My tone is harsher than I intend, but I pull myself together, trying not to think of all the men who have used Molly, even if they didn’t intend to make her feel that way, even if they didn’t intend to give her all the bricks to build a skeptical fortress around her heart. I continue in a gentler voice, “These bodies fade. Sicken. Wither. Souls last. I want you for your heart and soul, not just the gorgeous package it's in.”

I LOVE THE WAY IT FEELS when Toby holds me. Safe. Protected. Serious. I’m still scared, I still don’t like the situation we’re in, but he makes me aware of all the things I’ve been looking for in a partner and haven’t found in my numerous hook-ups and failed three-month relationships.

But should I be worried about the comment, “I want you for your heart and soul”? Isn’t that a little worrisome coming from a Reaper?

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