Page 64 of Virgin Lust

My brows furrowed as I recalled some of Prudence’s evasive answers. Most importantly, something she said earlier, “There’s so much I’ve yet to tell you.”

My heart pounded.Impossible.I was a soul reaper. There was nothing I possessed that could make me a Reaper.

But…

I rubbed my chest and tried to keep the smile off my face. Giddiness flooded my stomach.Don’t get too excited.

I didn’t know exactly what Grim meant, but I was ready to find out what I could do. Hopefully, Prudence wouldn’t take too long to tell me what I needed to know.

Nineteen

Prudence

I bit the inside of my cheek and sighed. Instead of awakening to Shepherd, I came face to face with three gremlins. Dirk saidhis sirehad something he needed to figure out, but the imp wouldn’t tell me what it was. It had to be important to make the soul reaper leave my side.

The events of the day prior still freaked me out. I didn’t have the courage to ask my family. Considering no one spoke about it, maybe it was nothing to worry about.

Because of my curse, I’d always been a loner, even around my family. It was different with my soulmate. Shepherd’s absence weighed heavily on my heart. Not that I was actually alone. All three of his fiends followed me while I worked with Payne. And that was apainitself. I’d never seen him so grumpy.

“I don’t like him,” Dirk stated, glowering at Payne.

“You don’t like anyone,” I replied.

What in Hades was going on with Payne? He hadn’t been happy when I told him we’d have to work together for the day. Frankly, I wasn’t happy about the situation either, but with Shepherd gone, I had to have someone with me to keep Dad from losing his shit.

Lately, there had been something creepy about Payne. He’d been prowling the ballroom when I found him. But that was earlier. At the moment, moisture gleamed off his skin, giving him an unnaturally shiny appearance. Everything about him was rigid. With his eyes slanted and nostrils flaring, he seemed so angry. Any time I approached Payne, I did so carefully.

“Want to talk about what’s eating you?” I asked.

Scowling, he ported without me. That wasn’t like him. It took a lot to get him upset, and he was always good about responding with a smart remark.

“I don’t like how he looks,” Dirk said again. “There’s somethingoffabout him.” I couldn’t deny his assessment about Payne, so I didn’t say anything at all.

Since I could only fade one person at a time, I used a portal chip to bring the three gremlins along. When we arrived, Payne was tearing into an ogre. I froze as I watched his hand go through the monster’s chest. Ogres had extremely tough flesh. For as long as I’d known Payne, I’d never seen him do that. While Payne was faster and stronger than a human, the maneuver should have broken his hand. Over the decades, I’d watched him get injured enough to know that something wasn’t right. The realization made me shudder.

“Is he always so sweaty?” Wallis asked.

“Payne…”

“Reaper!” another ogre yelled. Before I could help, Payne turned. The ogre cried and swung his gigantic fist. Eyes darkening, Payne gave an eerie smile and raised his arm, then punched straight through the ogre’s chest.

Blood shot from the ogre’s mouth as Payne’s arm twisted. Bones cracked and popped as fluids gushed around his wrist.

I wasn’t squeamish. After all, Barron and August were showy with their kills too. But Payne’s actions made my limbs shake. Given his personality, it seemed so unnatural.

I stepped forward. “You’re not using your weapons,” I said. Actually, I wanted to ask when did he gain the ability to punch through bones and ogre flesh.I was immortal and couldn’t do that. Kitty, Barron, and August, on the other hand, could crush skulls and bones easily. But Payne was something different. He suffered mortal wounds but had never behaved like an immortal. Did his ability have anything to do with the steam billowing from his nose?

Payne cocked his head before yanking his fist from the gaping hole. The massive demon dropped to the ground with a thud. Payne’s eyes bulged when he glanced at his hand, and then he frantically wiped the gore on his cloak.

“How did you do that?” I asked.

He didn’t respond. He kept desperately rubbing his hand.

“Payne?”

He twitched and glanced at me briefly. “It was nothing.”

“Nothing? I can’t punch my hand through someone’s chest without hurting myself.”

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