Page 36 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

This game we were playing was too intriguing to admit that I wanted him, so instead, I gave him a shy smile and whispered, “You can touch me.”

The unsure look on his face vanished, instantly replaced with the arrogant one I found equal parts annoying and arousing. “Innocent little pet. You should have run.”

He didn’t give me a chance to respond before his fingers stroked along my slit. Clenching my fists so tight my fingers left tiny half-moons in my palms, I fought to keep myself from reacting.

Lifting an eyebrow in challenge, I waited for his next move.

Spurred on by my defiance, he shifted slightly so he could trail kisses across my collarbone and shoulders. Inch by slow inch, his mouth moved lower until his lips found the hardened peak of my nipple.

There was no hiding my gasp as his mouth sucked and teased my breast through the thin shirt fabric, sending tiny zaps of pleasure shooting straight to my core. The wanton part of me longed to rip off my shirt so I could feel his lips on my skin, but with my hands still above my head, I couldn’t do anything without asking him for permission. And I was far too stubborn to do that.

“Your body betrays you,” he murmured. “Admit you have lost.”

“You’ll never take me alive,” I hissed, belatedly adding, “well, dead. You know what I mean.”

His laughter sent delicious vibrations through me. “You’re something special.”

I was saved from another idiotic response by his finger suddenly burying itself inside me. Stars sparkled in my vision and, despite my best efforts, my hips bucked.

As his finger continued to thrust inside me, quickly finding the perfect angle to pleasure me, he watched my face. It was a look I couldn’t fully decipher. He wanted to hear me say the words, but it was more than that.

With my body still worked up from his dance, my climax built far too quickly. He somehow knew exactly how I longed to be stroked… like I was meant to be his.

I was seconds from falling apart when his hand stilled. Blinking, I tried to clear the lust from my mind.

“Tell me,” he ordered, his rough voice sending a fresh wave of heat rushing to coat his finger.

I tried to rock my hips, but he pinned my legs with one of his, trapping me beneath him.

His finger disappeared, leaving an emptiness inside me that was far bigger than just a desire to get laid. I wanted him. I wanted to belong to him.

Lifting his hand to his mouth, I watched in shock as he licked his finger clean with the thoroughness of a cat cleaning its paw. When he finished, he looked down at me with a wicked smile that set my world on fire.

The lights in the room buzzed and the lightbulb in the lamp nearest the bed popped. This time, it wasn’t from embarrassment.

“You’re mine.” The words tumbled from my lips before I’d had time to think them through. “I mean, you’re my type. You win. Are you happy now?”

I was rambling, desperately trying to distract him from what I’d accidentally confessed. Humans never mentioned getting married on the first date, and here I was declaring I was going to haunt his butt for the rest of eternity.

It must have worked, because rather than running away in panic, his grin grew. Slipping first one finger and then a second into my tight heat, he stretched me as he found that perfect rhythm again.

“Come for me, pet.”

I obeyed and let myself fall… trusting this stranger would catch me.

Eventually,I came back to my senses. Feeling absolutely boneless on the mattress, I waited to see what Saul’s next move would be. He’d won the bet, and that meant I would be spending the night in his bed.

Only it couldn’t be anywhere close to night since the library hadn’t even been open when I’d tried to hide from the men and had somehow landed in the reaper’s lair. Glancing around the room, I found an open set of balcony doors that led out onto a marble porch. A tiny slice of deep navy sky was visible.

Itwasnight. But how was that possible? It wasn’t uncommon for me to lose track of time when I was reading a good book and miss several hours, but I’d never lost an entire day. How long had Saul’s dance been?

Catching the confusion on my face as I stared at the open doors, Saul explained, “You are on the other side of the world. It’s almost midnight here.”

I cleared my throat and asked, “Where am I, and how did I get here?”

“You’re in my home, and for now, I’m going to keep the exact location to myself. As for how you got here, I don’t have ananswer for you.” Taking my hands, he gently pulled me into a sitting position as he spoke. “You shouldn’t be able to walk into the reaper plane, and you shouldn’t have been able to teleport to a location you had no way of knowing even existed.”

“Hmm,” I murmured, my brain working overtime as I tried to put together the pieces. “So when I’ve hidden myself in the past, do you think I’ve been going into the reaper realm, or plane, each time?”

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