Page 60 of Guarded By the Reaper

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Grim

She led me upstairs, to her bedroom, swaying her hips enticingly. She closed the door behind us and locked it to make sure we wouldn’t be interrupted. Always paying attention to the details, my Millie. She took both my hands in hers and pulled me to her, then playfully pushed me away. I stood in the middle of the room, looking at her with confusion. I’d already left my scythe propped against the wall, not wanting the sharp blade anywhere near her soft skin.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

She giggled. “Nothing. I was just thinking...”

“About what?”

“About how I know that you love me, and you know that I love you, and how... it’s time for me to see you naked. Completely naked.”

I froze. It was a sunny day, and the light streamed through the windows unhindered. Without the Poppets stalking, there was no point in keeping the curtains drawn anymore. While I’d been gone this morning, Millie had opened all of them, and the house shimmered in the warm light. It wasn’t like a tomb anymore. It felt vibrant and alive.

“Millie...”

“Nuh-ugh.” She stepped closer and pressed a long, perfect finger to my mouth. “Shh... Not a word. If I’m going to marry you, I’ll have to see you naked first.”

Had I had breath, she would’ve taken it away right now.

“You would... marry me?” It was suddenly hard to speak.

She shrugged. “If you asked...”

I would’ve never thought... never dreamed of asking... I felt dizzy, and I staggered back before I could catch myself and plant my feet firmly on the floor. I must’ve looked ridiculous, like alost little boy. She giggled, amused by my reaction. I needed to get a grip, before she changed her mind.

But she loved me... I realized then that she wanted me to ask her to marry me. She wasn’t going to change her mind.

“I’ll ask,” I said. “I’ll ask you right now.”

I was about to fall to one knee before she laughed and clung to my cloak, pulling me close again.

“No, not right now. We’re doing something else now.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she lifted herself on her toes and kissed me. “Ask me later. With a ring and all.”

I nodded. I was such an idiot. Of course I needed to get a ring first. The biggest diamond ring I could find. She started working on my buttons, and I tensed up, but then did my best to relax. She wanted to see me naked. In the full light of day. She was my future wife, and I couldn’t say no to her.

I let her undo my cloak. Before slipping it down my shoulders, she cupped my skull face with her soft, warm hands, and gently removed my hood. I stared at her, my dark pits searching her eyes for any sign of regret. There was none. She truly wanted me in her life. She wanted to be bound to a skeleton. It was time for me to stop questioning her and her feelings for me. The fact that I was insecure had nothing to do with her. The cloak pooled around my feet, and I felt incredibly exposed. Since the Breathless had turned me into one of their reapers, I hadn’t taken it off. There had been no reason to do it. I hadn’t changed it, either. It was laced with magic, so it never got dirty or smelly. The fact that I was letting Millie undress me was unprecedented. But I had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the last time.

She unbuttoned my shirt and pulled it off my shoulders. I removed it and dropped it to the floor, on top of my cloak.

“You wear too many clothes,” she said. “It’s not like you’re ever cold.”

“I didn’t use to wear a shirt before you decided to run after me on the MSA rooftop and grab my cloak.”

She laughed. “I guess I wanted to undress you the moment I saw you.”

She traced my marred skin with the tips of her fingers. She was so gentle that I felt the need to reassure her that the scars didn’t hurt anymore. My skin was pale, my flesh wrinkled and melted in places. Where I had no skin, darkness held me together. My bones glowed as Millie explored them one by one. She ran her hands over my collarbone, my breastbone, and my ribs. I fought the urge to step back and cover myself. She wasn’t frightened, and she wasn’t disgusted. She studied my body with curiosity, like she was unwrapping a present that had been promised but kept from her.

Her fingers went to my belt. I was already hard and throbbing to be inside her. She pulled my pants down, and I helped by stepping out of them and removing my heavy boots. And I was finally bare – utterly and completely – before her. There was so much light in the room, and my darkness seemed to swallow it, but today, the sun was too potent, so it won.

Millie took a step back and looked at me. My rock-hard cock stood up proudly, pointing at her, darkness seeping from the slit. It coated the engorged head and dripped to the floor, dissipating before it hit the plush rug.

“Grim,” she said. “I wouldn’t have any other man. I want you to know that.”

“And I wouldn’t have any other woman.”

I closed the distance between us, suddenly feeling confident. I pulled her in my arms, sunk my hand into her long, dark hair, and kissed her fiercely, tugging her head back. She responded with urgency, pressing herself against me. Now she was the one wearing too many clothes. I pulled at them in a frenzy, and she matched my energy. Before they fell on the floor and she wasnaked in my arms, a few of them most likely had holes in them from the sharp bones that I had for fingers. No matter. I would buy her a whole new wardrobe. It was time to stop donating the money I made working for Monster Security Agency and invest it in my wife.

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