Page 38 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

I knew collectors were cool with sharing, at least to some extent, but I had zero idea of how reaper society functioned. Even if it was possible to have him in my life, would he be willing to share me with them?

He would have to be because I was drawn to the three collectors just as much as to him. We were an all-or-nothing sort of deal.

“Yes. If I couldn’t be the one to touch you, then I wanted to watch your beautiful face as you found your release with him.” His tongue swirled around my nipple, causing me to whimper.

Abruptly, Saul stood, sweeping me up into his arms. He moved to the head of the bed and, cradling me against his chest with one arm, he pulled down the comforter and sheet.

Yes! He was finally going to stop teasing me and get to the main event.

Saul lowered me onto the bed and then slid in behind me. His muscular arm wrapped around my waist, tucking me into the heat of his body. It felt incredible, but not as incredible as it would feel when he used his wiener-wand to clear the cobwebs from the crypt between my thighs?—

“Are you sure you’re a ghost?”

Despite the fact that we spoke the same language, it took an embarrassingly long time to process what he had asked. It was something I blamed him for, since he was keeping me all hot and bothered.

“What? Of course I’m a ghost. I have a gravestone to prove it. Well, technically, it doesn’t prove it since it doesn’t have my actual name on it, but my flesh-and-blood body is buried under it.” Annoyance flashed through me and the lights in the room flickered.

“Ghosts don’t survive long on the human plane, and they definitely don’t cross into the reapers’ territory,” Saul mused, not accusing me of anything, simply working through his thoughts out-loud. “We need to find a way to keep you from fading.”

“Aw. You don’t want me to disappear?” I cooed, shocking myself that I felt so relaxed in the company of the being that almost everyone in the world feared.

“You’re mine, pet.” Saul nuzzled my neck. “Tell me, how did you die and when did it happen?”

“I was in a charity boxing match with the Easter Bunny. He took me out with a mean roundhouse kick in the second round.” I clicked my tongue against my teeth as though disappointed with myself.

“You have a strange sense of humor.” Saul’s teeth nipped the curve of my ear. “Now, how did you die?”

“Alright. It’s just that I hate telling anyone because it’s so stupid, it’s humiliating. You see, Cupid had gotten in trouble fordrunk flying and was caught with his pants—er, diaper—down. Literally. Thankfully, there wasn’t much to see, but the court ordered him to take mandatory archery lessons at the facility where I worked. Let’s just say he showed up sloshed, and I caught a stray arrow in the back.” I sighed theatrically. “I was struck down by a weapon of love.”

Saul growled, and his hand slid down to pinch my butt. “Enough with the nonsense. If you won’t tell me the truth of how you died, then tell me when you died.”

I would give him that much. “About three years ago.”

Saul rose onto his elbow, rolling me to my back so that I looked up at him. “Is that the truth, pet? You’ve been a ghost for three years?”

“Yes,” I whispered. “It’s the truth.”

“You are a miracle.” His purple eyes searched my face as though trying to figure out what made me different. “No ghost can survive that long without fading, yet your energy is stable.”

I nodded.

Saul lowered his forehead until it pressed against mine, and again his energy surged forward. This time, instead of washing through me like a tsunami, it moved with purpose. Wispy tendrils of his power poked and prodded, searching for who knew what.

When at last he pulled away, his face was hard and his pupils had narrowed to thin, cat-like slits. “Your body is capable of storing an impressive amount of energy, but you have barely enough to function right now.”

Unsure of what he wanted me to say, I bit my tongue and remained silent.

“You fed all three of the collectors, didn’t you? Even though you knew your reserves were low.” All signs of teasing had gone from his tone. Saul was angry, and I couldn’t grasp why.

“They were in worse shape than me. My energy will replenish itself. You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my body.” Clamping my teeth together, I glared up at him in defiance.

Saul’s eyes glowed, the thin slits of his pupils making him appear even more dangerous. The room grew dark as shadows leaked like ink from him to swirl around the bed, almost wrapping us in a cocoon. He moved over me, his large frame pinning me to the bed.

“You are mine, pet.” The fingers of his right hand wrapped around my throat, caressing the skin as he tightened his grip just enough so that I felt his power. “And since I am Death, there isn’t a thing in this world that is going to take you from me.”

If I were a strong independent ghost, I would’ve told him he didn’t own me. But frankly, Saul was freaking terrifying and a total hottie when he went all angry Grim Reaper. And why deny the truth?

Leaning down, so that our faces were inches apart, he hissed, “If you want to feed your collectors, then you will ask me for help. I don’t care if I have to give you energy while the four of you bang to your hearts’ content and I am forced to watch. But you will not allow them to feed back-to-back from you unless I am there. Do you understand me?”

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