Page 128 of Death is My Ride or Die

He flicked a strand of my hair.

“Let me guess,” I said, whirling around to face him. “You want to deflower the virgin before you kick the bucket.”

“You think so little of me.” He lowered his head slightly, looking at me from under his lashes in a mischievous way. “Maybe I want to spend time with you.”

“Naked in the shower?”

His sinister laugh made my stomach tingle. “It was a joke; don’t get your panties in a twist. Like you’d ever strip down and take a bath with me.”

“Ah, the ol’ reverse psychology trick,” I said. “I thought cats didn’t like baths.”

“I do. I like to soak.” The way a piece of his wavy black hair had fallen into his eyes was driving me insane. “You’re looking a little rosy, Lamp Girl. I haven’t even said anything that dirty. But the night is still young.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m going to go take a shower, and then I’m heading to bed.Alone.”

Death manifested and blocked my way again, sprawling lazily against the hallway wall with sin pooling in his mismatched eyes. “Honestly, cupcake, lighten up. Everybody gets a little panicked about being naked with someone else for the first time. Except for me, of course, but that’s because of my very sad, very rare condition. TBDS.”

“You know what I’m thinking right now?” I asked.

“Crickets chirping?”

“I think you need to find a hobby outside of getting under my skin and talking about your manhood like it’s the Great Bambino of dicks.”

I brushed past him, and he grabbed my hand.

“Wait.” When I looked back at Death, he slid his hand from mine and into the pocket of his sweatpants. “Never deny that slice of me inside your soul. It belongs to you. Light is your hope, and darkness is your strength to make the choices nobody else can.”

My throat felt tight. Nodding once because I didn’t know what to say, I shut the guest room door behind me and braced my back against it.

The thought of losing Death made me feel like I was drowning above water. He’d become the angel before the fall, the darkness I’d forgotten how to live without, and we both stood on the edge of the night with everything to lose. Waiting for the inevitable meant we had time. Time, instead of the threat of destiny and a crooked hourglass ticking away our last few grains of sand.

I took a long, leisurely shower to wash off all the blood and loosen up my sore muscles. Then I pulled on a pair of shorts, soft knee-high socks, and a baggy band T-shirt and paced back and forth. It took a long internal pep talk to muster up the courage to exit the guest room.

Wandering around the penthouse, I sought him out again. Past his gym on the bottom floor of the penthouse was a decked-out man cave. Two pinball machines, a pool table, Skee-Ball, and a dual-shot basketball arcade game. Various old photos of celebrities and a popcorn machine.

I passed a flashing neon-pink silhouette of the Grim Reaper cutting off someone’s head on the wall and rolled my eyes. Past the two side-by-side doors was an explosion of gunfire from an action film. Death sat on an enormous black leather couch in front of a large flat-screen TV.

I padded across the room and peered at him from the side, admiring his sinfully handsome profile.

Taking a deep breath, I came around the U-shaped couch to sit. Death’s eyes shifted away from the movie and snagged on my bare legs as I tucked them into my chest.

He paused the movie.

What are you doing?he asked, but his mouth did not move.

Keeping you company, I replied in my thoughts.But you already know that.

“How many tattoos do you have?” I asked out loud.

“They’re not tattoos.” He seemed to hesitate before he pushed up his T-shirt sleeve and laid his forearm on my bent legs. Turning his palm over, he displayed the tribal-like designs from his fingertips all the way up his tan bicep. “They started showing up after I was cursed by Ahrimad, then more when I fell from Heaven. I used to only see them when I was in my full form, but now they’ve become permanent, shifting around every so often. I’ve been told they’re relics, remnants of old magic or something.”

I leaned forward, outlining the curve of one of the markings with my finger. His skin was hot to the touch. “Do you know what they mean?”

He shook his head, jaw tight. “No. I don’t want to know.”

“Why?”

“Don’t care.”

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