Page 34 of Virgin Lust

“Can’t I want the same things you do?” I asked.

Prudence tucked her hair behind her ear. “Don’t,” she warned.

“Don’t what?”

“I don’t know. Your presence is confusing me. You’re not what I expected in a soul reaper.”

“I hope I’m better than you imagined.”

With a reluctant smile, she nodded. “Yes.You’re tolerable.”

“Tolerable?” I waggled my brows. “Surely, I’m more than that.”

“You lose a lot of points because of your vermin.”

I laughed. “They grow on you.”

“You’re delusional, too. Let’s subtract some more points.”

I placed my hands in my front pockets. “You came to me a day ago. I took care of you, remember? Plus, there’s the little matter of you entering my memories the other night.”

Her smiled waned. “I remember.”

“You keep coming to me.”

“I know.”

“Let me be the one to take care of you all the time.”

She worried her lower lip for a moment and then said, “Shepherd.”

“I can’t go on without you, Princess.”

“You don’t even know me,” she began.

“But I want to.” Her nose crinkled as her cheeks reddened. “I’m serious.” My eyes raked over cloak. Her hands trembled underneath my intense stare, and she clasped them together. “I can’t live without seeing or touching you. I probably won’t be able to stop myself unless you kill me, Princess. Not that I want you to kill me.”

“I don’t understand…”

As dread weighed down my shoulders, I knew it was time to tell her the truth. Exhaling, I raked a hand through my hair. “It appears my soul has found a mate in yours. For soul reapers, an unhealthy compulsion forms.”

“Unhealthy? How can soulmates be a bad thing?”

“We obsess over them. My feelings for you keep intensifying.”

“How?”

Rubbing my neck, I continued, “The bond lets me know where you are at all times. It’s taking a great deal of restraint not to stalk you. If this keeps up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep my distance.”

“And you hate it?” Prudence asked softly.

“No, but I’m afraid of what I might do if I stay away from you.” If Prudence rejected me, who knew what kind of monster I’d become.

“There’s something you’re not saying.” Prudence crossed her arms.

Some soul reapers devoured their soulmate. I refused to let those primal instincts win. I could do better, and I would for Prudence.

“There’s this too,” I said, lifting my shirt. “Do you know what it is?”

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