Page 54 of Death Trap

He stared at me, unamused. “I’ll just stay here.” He glanced down at the lumpy futon and two plastic lawn chairs. “On the…couch.”

Rubbing my lips together, not sure what else to say, I turned and headed for the bathroom. Like every other room in the apartment, the bathroom was teeny tiny. Just big enough for me to move around in. The shower, on the other hand, was a walk-in, and big enough to throw a party in (if you were into that sort of thing). Besides my bed, it was probably my favorite spot in the house, tiled from floor to ceiling and with a high-pressure showerhead that massaged all the right places.

At least whoever handled housing placement in the afterlife had gotten this part right for me.

I turned on the water and stripped off my clothes in a flash. Time to wash the tomato and cheese smells off me. The instant the hot water—probably too hot for the living—touched my skin, I actually moaned out loud.

It was heavenly.

I closed my eyes and let the sound and feel of the water cascading over my skin take me away to somewhere else. Where things weren’t so screwed up and I wasn’t a total mess.

As I usually did when I daydreamed, I imagined what my life could have been like before my death and becoming a reaper. I liked to think I lived in Fairport in the downtown area I loved so much, maybe even near Kay in one of those big Victorian houses along the water. I could have worked as a waitress or a barista or something, even though I was terrible at the constant pleasant demeanor a job like that entailed.

I smiled as a scene played out behind my closed lids. Me, fumbling with a tray of food in some cheesy-looking uniform. Maybe I was terrible at my living job, too, just like I was with this reaper one. I believed that one.

And when I walked over to the table I was serving and put down the food, there was Cole Masters, the half demon, sitting there with his goofy smirk and breathtaking, icy blue eyes.

Okay, this wasn’t a daydream about the past anymore, but I couldn’t stop it now. Seeing him again still caused my heart to flutter with a seesaw of mixed emotions. Part of me wanted to sit on his lap, and the other wanted to pour one of the hot coffees on my tray down his shirt.

Even his stupid grungy-looking backpack was there in the booth seat next to him.

Man, I hated the way he made me feel. Mostly angry that after all this time, I still couldn’t stop thinking about him.

He’d even found a way to wiggle into my daydreams. The bastard.

When he opened his mouth and said my name, his voice was muffled. Contorted. It didn’t sound like him at all.

He stared at me, confused. “Jade?Jade?”

But still, my name sounded different coming from his lips. Like it didn’t belong.

Then, there was a hard jab against my shoulder, like someone was tapping me from behind. It took a moment to realize it wasn’t part of the daydream. It was real, and that meant someone was in the shower with me.

Throwing my elbow back, I hit the assailant in the stomach. The person let out a loud “Ooph” and stumbled back some. That’s when I swung that same elbow up, catching him in the face. The blow cracked something—I heard it—and when I spun around, ready to go into full-on attack mode, every one of my muscles tensed in shock.

It was Eli standing in the shower with me, now clutching his nose. Not Azrael or some deranged Halfling creature.

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” I tried to pull his hand away from his face so I could get a better look. I scrambled with my words. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was—”

That’s when I realized I was standing in front of him stark naked, and he was in the pulsing water and steam with me, still wearing his illusion pants.

I quickly slapped my arms across my breasts and lady region. Of course it wasn’t easy to cover it all, but I did the best I could, shifting my body into an awkward position to shield myself from his view.

My temper flared. “What the actual fuck, Eli?” I yelled. What was he, some kind of perv? “You just can’t come in here all willy-nilly! I told you I was taking a shower. I don’t know what kind of shit you angels do up there, but down here, there’s such a thing as privacy.”

Eli rubbed his nose. It wasn’t broken—at least, if it was, it had already healed because of the whole spirit thing. There was no blood or anything for the same reasons, but it must have hurt a good deal because his eyes were glossy with tears.

“You know what? I take that back. I’m not sorry. You deserved that,” I snapped. “Maybe even a lot more for sneaking up on me.”

He held up his hand and backed up to the very rear of the shower. “You’re right. You’re right. Let me apologize…”

Still standing in front of him completely naked, I shifted uncomfortably to keep all my no-no bits hidden.

“Why are you in here?” I said, tone needle sharp. “Are we under attack by something? Is there a reason you snuck up on me?”

For the first time since I’d met him, he seemed flustered. His mouth opened and shut, as if he struggled to find the right words.

“Well?”

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