Page 69 of Virgin Lust

A massive heart attack would take her from this world. As I stared at her wrinkled face, sadness overwhelmed me. Being there felt too personal. Backing away, I headed toward the door. I’d been through too many of Shepherd’s memories. I didn’t want to watch her die. This woman knew nothing about me, but I knew a good deal about her.

His purple eyes brightened as I slipped into the hallway. His form was pulsing erratically, letting me know how much he hated the situation.

There were no words for that moment. Silently, I reached out, and he created a hand for me within his shadows. His grip was strong.

We waited ten long, silent minutes outside before I sensed her lifeline ending abruptly. Death claimed her. The urge to set her soul free from that world grew. That was a part of a Reaper’s life. Dying was expected for everyone but for us. I’d grown so used to my family’s immortality that I didn’t know how to say goodbye to loved ones. Through Shepherd, I finally felt what it meant to lose someone. It was like a knife in the chest. The pain shortened my breath and left me with a sadness I couldn’t shake.

My stomach quivered with anguish, and I squeezed his ghostly hand. “Go on,” I urged.

Without a word, he slipped through the door.

Leaning against the wall, I covered my face and exhaled.

Death.It might claim my family after all. Bile rose in my throat as I remembered what the bird woman had said to me.

I smell mortal.

Twenty-One

Shepherd

Ghost Tiffany stepped away from her body. Trepidation held me as I waited. I wasn’t sure how, or when I should break the silence. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to choose when she saw me.

Gasping, she clutched her chest.

“It’s okay, Tiffany,” I blurted. “It’s me.” Her eyes grew large as they took in my shadows, so I quickly shifted into my human form.

“Shepherd?”

“It’s me.” I wanted to smile, to assure her, but I was afraid. Frozen in place, I gave her all the time she needed.

“You’ve grown a lot. Changed so much.” She stepped closer and then paused. “And you don’t look a day over thirty!” She tried touching her face, but her fingers slipped through. She huffed before saying, “You’re the firstborn, but I’m the one who looks older!”

Her words broke me. It was such a typical reaction from her—getting angry with me for looking younger without asking why.

With everything she could have said after sixty years, she acted exactly like the little sister I knew. My body relaxed.

“You’re not going to ask why I look the way I do?”

“Shepherd…” She dropped her hands and fidgeted with the hem of her white gown. “I’ve waited for an explanation all these years. I can hold off another minute for you to tell me.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I delayed until I had one last chance.”

“Yes, well, at least I’ll get my goodbye this time.” She beamed so brightly, her wrinkles becoming more pronounced. “I’ve been waiting.”

My voice cracked as I told Tiffany my story, leaving out the ugly parts about killing people and what I ate to survive. Something told me my sister knew the pieces of the story I didn’t tell her about our father and all the other fools I ate because of her. When I said that I was the one who put money into her checking account all those years, she laughed and said she knew. She smiled so much as I spoke. I knew it was all for me because they would be the final ones I’d ever hear from her.

“Look after my family, will you?” she asked, but then batted the air with her hand. “I don’t even know why I asked.” She tried grasping my hands and sighed when she couldn’t. “Man, being a ghost sucks, but not having all those aches and pains is rather nice.”

I shook my head.

“Be well, brother. Be kind.” Her gaze drifted behind me. “I think someone is here to take me to be with my husband.”

Prudence slipped through the door and placed her hand on my shoulder. I caught Tiffany tilting her head at us. “You two know each other? Shepherd, you know the Grim Reaper?”

“I’m not the Grim Reaper,” Prudence said.

“You’re not?” Tiffany’s forehead crinkled as she shrugged. “The word Reaper entered my head, and that’s what it made me think of.”

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