Page 40 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

My cock, which had been engorged since the minx had appeared in my chambers dressed in nothing but a flimsy white shirt and smelling of sex, throbbed painfully. Once more, Iquestioned if the pleasure of orgasming could be worth enduring hours of discomfort. Not wanting her to wake and find me staring at her like a complete pervert, I gently tucked the blanket around her neck.

At least the worry in my heart over her wellbeing had been satisfied. After the confrontation with Zacharias, I’d been unable to rest, needing to assure myself she was safe. And knowing the power Zacharias wielded and how much damage he’d done to the three collectors, I worried she’d been hiding injuries beneath her clothes.

Hoping to ease the chaos in my mind, I’d gone to find her. But when I’d teleported to the library, it had been quiet and empty.

It was easy to guess where she was, who she was with, and what they were doing. That knowledge had added to my sour mood.

When she’d healed Evander, their tender moment had turned erotic. I wanted to kill him for touching her, but I also wanted to watch her beautiful face as she gave in to her desire.

It had taken all of my willpower to leave, but I wasn’t a demon. And being there for such an intimate moment without an invitation had seemed like a breach of the trust I wanted to build with her.

When she’d asked me how much I’d witnessed, it had been a relief that I could tell her truthfully that I had respected her privacy and left. She’d appeared relieved, but something else had flashed across her face—disappointment, and maybe even a hint of lust.

Which was perfect for my plans. If she was already imagining me as part of her circle, it would be far easier to convince her we belonged together. I would tolerate the collectors if it meant I got to keep my beautiful little pet.

As long as they didn’t hurt her, they would live. If they made her shed a single sorrowful tear, there was nowhere they could hide from Death.

I just needed to wrap up some loose ends and then I could focus my full attention on her. My brother’s murderer had to be dealt with before I could close that chapter of my life, and like it or not, Zacharias’ plan was the best one so far. But with my newfound suspicions about Zacharias’ true character, the one he’d kept hidden from me, I needed to do some investigating. Blindly following his lead would not work for me any longer.

Remembering how hard she’d tried to hide her injuries and her waning energy sent a fresh surge of fury through me. Why had those idiot collectors allowed her to follow them into a battle with a reaper? Why had Zacharias chosen to engage with them rather than simply hiding in the reaper plane? Nothing in that chamber had been worth killing over. No part of our plan would have been exposed.

The moment she’d appeared, I’d wanted to strip off her clothes and reassure myself she was uninjured. But that would have scared her away. So I’d taken my time, checking her face, hands, then neck.

When I’d told her to stand in front of me, I’d half expected her to argue. Her trusting and sweet submission as she obeyed me had caused my erection to strain against the seams. It had very nearly been my undoing. I’d wanted to take her hard, make her scream my name and tell me who she belonged to.

While she had arrived smelling of sex, it had been only her alluring fragrance that I’d breathed in. The collectors had pleasured her, but they hadn’t mated with her. I’d witnessed the bond they shared and knew she would never give the collectors up.

That was fine.

But a jealous, primal part of me wanted to be the first to claim her body with mine. Instead, I’d focused on healing her injuries. Four of her ribs were bruised, and one was broken. She also had two torn muscles and a small internal laceration likely caused by the shattered rib.

It was a miracle she hadn’t been hurt worse after grabbing a scythe, tasting a reaper’s blood, and being tossed around the room like a doll. Ghosts faced very few dangers, as not much could hurt them or even touch them.

Reapers and collectors were the exception.

What had worried me most were the dark circles beneath her eyes. When I’d sent my power drifting through her, I’d barely hidden my shock at what I discovered. She was a ghost, but unlike any ghost I’d ever encountered.

When a human died, they had a finite amount of energy. Once they burned through it, it was gone and they faded—unless they were helped to the beyond by a reaper or collector first. But the mysterious little beauty was making her own energy. Her reserves had been dangerously low, but even then, they were at a far higher level than any other ghost I’d encountered. Given time to recover, she would have replaced the energy she’d used to feed her collectors.

Still, she was injured and exhausted… and they still fed from her. And yes, I knew they had been on the brink of death—Hades, I’d had to forcefully put one back together. And without a reaper’s abilities, they had no way of knowing her true levels. But I didn’t care about logic at that moment. And facts would not appease my rage.

She was going to feed them whether I wanted her to or not. It was something I had to accept. But I would make sure I was there to replenish everything they took from her, even if it meant holding her on my lap while they fed.

As if sensing my irritation, my sleeping beauty scooted closer to me, pressing her lips against my chest and hooking her leg over my hip. This new position caused her to press against the painfully rigid bulge in my boxers.

Stifling a hiss, I clamped my eyes closed and focused on steadying my breathing.

How long were erections supposed to last? Even the men who died after blue pill marathons didn’t last for twelve hours.

Maybe the bet had been a bad idea. I’d been desperate to find a reason for her to stay with me willingly. I wanted to check her injuries. I didn’t want her to be with the men. I wanted to know she was safe. I wanted to hold her.

And so I’d done the one thing I had sworn never to do.

I’d used what I’d learned in the stupid dance classes my brother had forced me to attend with him to seduce her.

At the beginning of the dance, her expression had been one of absolute confusion, but that had quickly shifted to shock, and then it had morphed into the one I was waiting for. Lust.

She had continued to deny her attraction to me, even though I’d felt the wet arousal she’d left on my pants. But as I danced, the way she kept licking her parted lips and the raw hunger in her dilated pupils told me I had won.

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