Page 54 of TBR: Dead But Well Read

“Thanks for the help, but I didn’t come here to see you. I’m here to have a night off and enjoy myself.” The lie didn’t roll off my tongue the way I hoped, and Saul’s smirk told me he wasn’t buying what I was selling, either.

“You’re going to come sit with me so I can keep you out of trouble,” he stated, clearly expecting me to fall in line and behave.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he guided me toward a velvet booth at the back of the bar.

I gritted my teeth. “You aren’t the boss of me, Saul.”

“Tonight is not the night to try me, pet.” He smiled at me, but his tone carried a warning.

“Listen, just because I have a soft spot for you and I go weak in the knees every time you touch me…” I trailed off, realizing I’d gone off track. Wrangling my free-ranging brain cells, I tried again. “Just because you’re hot doesn’t mean I’m going to be your toy.”

Not as powerful as I’d hoped, but he should still get the point.

One minute, I was digging my heels in and staring up at him defiantly, and the next, I was on his lap in the booth at the back of the bar. His lips captured mine in a panty-melting kiss, and his fingers trailed up my leg and exposed hip.

When the kiss ended, he leaned back against the booth and twirled one of my curls around his finger. “You’ve got things backwards, beautiful. I’m your toy to use however you desire.”

Heat rushed between my thighs and I tried to think about anything except how much I wanted this man.

Centipedes. Tampons. Pea-green baby food.

It didn’t work. I’d been drawn to him the first time I saw him, but with each encounter and soft touch, my attraction to him grew and my desire to have him as mine became more demanding.

What had started as fate screwing with me had turned to something more. Could it be that I was falling for him?

“You aren’t going to like what I’m about to say, but I need you to listen to me.” Saul’s teasing expression was gone and an expressionless mask was fixed firmly in its place. “I need you to remember that things aren’t as they seem. To keep you safe, I’m going to ask you to obey me without argument until I can get you away without drawing suspicion.”

The urgency in his words had my stomach flopping around like a fish out of water. “What’s going on?”

“I will tell you everything later, but right now, I need you to do as I say.” Gripping my hips, he shifted me on his lap so that I was straddling him instead of sitting across his thighs.

He tugged down my dress as best as he could and used one of his hands to hold it in place over my butt.

Leaning forward, his lips brushed my ear as he whispered, “Pet, I need you to remember that nothing I say or do in the next few minutes is how I feel about you.”

“I don’t understand.” Leaning away from him, I searched his eyes for answers.

“Trust me. Please,” he whispered.

“Saul! You got here early!” a male voice boomed from behind me.

I started to turn, but Saul caught my chin between his fingers and held me in place.

“I’m always early, Zacharias.” Saul rolled his eyes at the other reaper. “You have always been chronically late.”

“Truer words have never been spoken,” Zacharias laughed. “Although, I wish I’d been a few minutes earlier tonight. I heard chatter as I came in that you caused a scene among the other paranormals.”

Saul lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. “A drunk was acting up, and I dealt with it.”

“Now I’m even more intrigued. You never dirty your hands by getting involved in matters that aren’t reaper related.” Zacharias wasn’t going to let it go, and I caught the slight twitch of annoyance at the corner of Saul’s right eye. “They are saying it was over a woman. Is it this one?”

“Yes,” Saul answered in a bored tone. “Did you invite me out to quiz me about my love life? If so, I’m going to head home because I have better things to do.”

“Of course not. I just find it funny that you finally lowered your standards to have sex for the first time, and you’re already looking for your next lay. I never thought I’d see the day when Death would be gathering broken hearts instead of souls.”

Saul scoffed. “I think you’ve confused me with someone who cares about hearts and emotions. We both know that’s not me. Sex was entertaining, that’s all. Tonight, I grew bored while waiting, and I decided to try a different flavor.”

Sitting on Saul’s lap, mere feet from Zacharias, my mission as a spy was going better than expected. So why did I feel like someone was stomping on my grave and grinding my soul to dust? My heart ached at his callousness. Is that why he was at the club? To find someone to get him off because I’d ghosted him and left him with a bad case of boo-balls?

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