Page 48 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

I had no plans to battle a reaper, but despite my irritation with Saul, I was still intrigued by the idea of engaging with him… in bed.

Rhodes kneeled in front of me, taking my hands in his. “Please be careful, Axelle. I’d prefer to keep you hidden away here in the house until this whole mess is over, but I know you’re too independent to go along with it. You need to understand that a reaper has never attacked a collector before. We are in uncharted waters and I don’t know what kind of danger that could put you in.”

I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his check. “Don’t look so worried. I’ll be careful. Besides, I spend most of my day hiding in the archive room reading. How much trouble could one ghost actually get into?”

My laugh was met with three grim expressions.

“By the time you see Saul, you are already in grave danger.” Rhodes’ grip tightened on my fingers. “Do whatever you must in order to escape, but do not antagonize him.”

I thought back over my time with Saul and winced. Too late.

His warning had come a little late. But were we even talking about the same Saul? I was having trouble reconciling the man who’d danced for me, healed my injuries, gave me his energy,rocked my world, and then held me while I’d slept with the unstable, violent man the collectors seemed to fear.

I was going to have some questions for the sexy reaper the next time I found him.

“Okay, I think that’s enough depressing talk for the evening. Let’s watch a movie. I’ll get the popcorn!” Evander winked and headed into the kitchen.

“I have some reports I need to read first. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room.” Rhodes grabbed his laptop from the kitchen counter and disappeared up the stairs.

Evander returned less than four minutes later, plopping down on the couch beside me.

I peeked at Lochlan from beneath my lashes, hoping he was going to excuse himself, too. The arrogant man knew I was watching him. Raising a brow in challenge, he grabbed the remote and sat down on the couch.

The heat of his body seeped into my left arm and hip, instantly sending a sense of reassuring calm through me as it always did when the men touched me. Not in the mood for catching any feelings off him, I scooted closer to Evander, pressing myself against his side.

“Hey. Don’t fret, Axe. I know you’ve had a rough few days, but you’re safe here with us. Relax and enjoy the movie.” Evander dropped a soft kiss on my forehead.

My heart melted at the faint blush spreading across his face. Saul, Rhodes, and Lochlan were all alpha men who walked with confidence and sucked the oxygen from every room they were in. Evander wasn’t a small man, but there was a gentleness to him that was equally attractive.

Lochlan flicked through the streaming menu, hitting the play button on a brand-new horror movie. I’d rather have watched a ten-hour marathon of the worst sequels of all time than a scary movie, but I kept my mouth closed.

I was a ghost. Scary stuff was our bread and butter. Besides, how bad could it be?

Within five minutes, I was clinging to Evander’s arm so tightly I was cutting off the blood flow.

Thirty minutes in, I was shrieking louder than the poltergeist who kept jumping at the screen every five seconds.

I made it forty-five minutes before clambering onto Evander’s lap and clinging to him with the ferocity Rose should’ve used to hold on to Jack.

“We can turn it off if you’re scared, boo,” Lochlan teased.

“No need,” I said between clenched teeth. “I love horror movies.”

It probably would’ve been more convincing if I hadn’t been stuck to Evander’s chest like an octopus. I expected Lochlan to call me out on my boo-crap, but when I peeked in his direction, I was surprised to find all his usual mischievousness had been replaced by sadness.

He’d seemed happy this morning at the café, so what had changed?

Turning back toward the television, I watched as the blonde who hadn’t died yet arrived on a college campus. The campus’ initials were UT, and a flash of inspiration hit me.

I’d just figured out how to ask my second question without raising suspicion.

“That’s funny! I saw something with the initials UG recently. I wonder which college it stands for.”

“Not a university. UG is the UnderGrave.” Evander popped a piece of buttery popcorn in my mouth.

Food hadn’t tasted good since my demise, and since I hadn’t needed to eat for survival, I’d opted to skip it all together. But those fluffy pieces of popcorn tasted incredible when they were being fed to me.

“What’s that? A funeral service?” I giggled, trying to act as though I didn’t really care about the answer.

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