Page 70 of Death Wish

“Oh yeah…” A low rumble came from the bottom of his throat, but Cole didn’t slow.

The sound of our bodies pounding against each other was enough to make my head fog. The dresser underneath me crashed against the wall in time with every thrust, and it wasn’t long before my body was climbing again toward another climax.

Faster. Faster. Faster.

He was relentless.

This time, when I came undone, he did along with me.

We stayed like that for a while, his face buried in my neck as I clung to him, both of us breathing hard.

After a few moments passed, he whispered, “You make me feel so…human.” His breath tickled my skin. “How stupid is that?”

It didn’t sound stupid at all, because in all honesty, I was thinking the same thing.

My heart was pounding against my rib cage. Sweat dripped down my spine. Everything tingled, and there was a deep ache between my legs that I loved. But I was the farthest thing from human. I wasn’t even alive.

And he was half demon, forever inching closer to the corrupted blood taking over fully.

Okay, maybe it did sound silly when I thought about it, but the fact that Cole could not only see me, but we could touch each other, even in my spirit state, gave me a piece of life I felt like I was missing for so long.

“I’d settle for ironic instead of stupid,” I said.

He snorted a laugh as he pulled away from me, rebuttoning his pants.

“That’s a nicer way to put it.” Red kissed his cheeks, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was from the sex or if he was a bit embarrassed by what he’d revealed to me. Cole wasn’t exactly an emotional guy.

He ran his fingers through his blond hair, an attempt to regain his typical blasé front. “I’m sorry about the lack of foreplay. It’s not really my style.”

I slid off the dresser and fixed my clothes. “I’m not complaining, am I?”

And if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t care—not in the least. When I glanced at him again and saw how he was looking me over hungrily, desire reignited in my chest. Heat spread across my skin.

“Maybe next time,” I teased.

“You got it.” He gave me a wolfish grin. “For you, I’ll make an exception.”

That was a promise I was looking forward to.

Cole plopped onto the bed, settling against the pillows, and placed his hands behind his head. His muscled chest glistened with sweat and aloe, and it took everything in me not to join him on the bed and try for a round two.

Readjusting my tank top, I moved toward the room’s small mirror. When nothing appeared in the reflection, I frowned. All the giddiness I’d been feeling drained out my toes, leaving me empty.

Spirits didn’t cast shadows or reflections.

The reality of what I really was smacked me across the face. No matter how Cole had made me feel in the moment, the truth was that I was still dead. I could never have a relationship of any kind. Once this mission was over and Kay was safe, I had to return to the afterlife and my job at Styx.

And if this cure worked for Cole… Well, he would want to live his new life as normally as possible.

When I turned around, I found Cole fast asleep in the same position, mouth slightly open and a soft snore rolling past his lips. So peaceful.

So alive.

My heart tugged in my chest. As much as I might have wanted to be, I knew I couldn’t be a part of this world the way I wanted. Only a passing phantom. That’s all I was. It’d be foolish to think anything else was possible.

Suddenly feeling too confined in the small space, I walked through the motel room’s door and left Cole alone with his dreams.

Hopefully they were ones that didn’t include me in them.

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