Page 19 of Taken to the Deadlands

Her words caused heat to flood my face. I wasn’t normally a bashful girl, but god, that sounded dirty coming from her mouth. I expected her to remain unaffected, which seemed to be mostly on par for her except for when she bit me, but her eyes got a faraway look in them, and she ended her sentence breathlessly.

So sex would be… difficult.

“Then how are you going to require me to have sex with you if you can’t handle it?” I asked, nervousness filling me.

She paused, allowing silence to fall over us.

“I don’trequiresex from you, human.” She spat it out like she was offended I even mentioned it to begin with.

My blood froze.Wait, she doesn’t? Then… why?

I shot up, pushing the blankets off me.

“Why did you let me jump you like that then?!” I all but shrieked. She cringed at my volume, her lips twisting into a grimace.

“Youwere the one who said it was your payment for helping me.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. Humiliation burned at my face.

I realized why she hesitated then. I started taking off my clothes before she had even finished telling me what she wanted. I was the one who came on to her.

Jesus Christ, Mia. How fucking horny are you?

“So then… Why did you buy me?”

She let out a heavy sigh and placed her hands on her hips, looking down at the floor, as if trying to decide whether the task of explaining herself was worth it.

When her eyes met mine again, my heart stopped in my chest.

“Because you see ghosts, and I need to contact someone. The…humanwho was here before you.”

I sat back on the bed and forced my mouth shut.

So many thoughts were running through my mind and at a million miles per second, but it really came down to one thing.

I just jumped a demon without knowing what she wanted from me, and now I have to tell her I can’t see ghosts.

She would throw me out. Or worse, really eatme this time.

“That’s it?” I asked, my voice rising an octave. “You just need to make contact, then I can… go home?”

She gave me a stiff nod.

“I planned to pay you for your work while you were here, but I underestimated how I would react to touching a human again.”

Again. Touching a human… again.

“Oh no,” I whispered, rubbing my hand over my face. “And this human… You were… together?”

And for some reason the idea of her with this other human was bother me.

When she didn’t answer, I snuck a peek up at her, but she wasn’t looking at me. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the window.

“I bought her like I did you,” she explained. “But back then I had been looking for a companion. And well…” She shook her head as if trying to force the thoughts out. “I need you to contact her ghost. I’m hoping it’s still here.”

I didn’t know what to think. I was left with the feeling that I had fucked up horribly. That she had been desperate to get me to contact her ex… lover? Human pet? And I had thrown myself at her, thinking she wanted to fuck me.

“I—I didn’t realize.”

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