Shade Read online

  “You … shift forms. Is that how you usually travel? In Reaper form?”

  “Usually.”

  “What other things can you do? You said vampires can alter human memories. Do you Favored Reapers have special abilities aside from transporting souls and being human?”

  “I can cook really well.”

  A laugh burst from me, and Shade bit down on his bottom lip as he smiled. “I see you’re talented at being a smart-ass too.”

  He nodded with a shrug. “Well, we can see and sense most souls and understand a general idea about them. Touch them directly if we need to read them. Also confuse them or strip them.”

  That was definitely notable. “Strip them?”

  “Sometimes it’s necessary, sometimes it’s punishment. It’s like erasing a mind of memories only it’s the feelings connected to those memories that are stripped from a soul, leaving only emptiness.”

  “Remind me not to get on your bad side.” I glanced around again, staring at his bed. “So Bone couldn’t read my soul. Is that not normal?”

  “No, not with contact. We can all sense your soul, see it, but not read it that way like most others. Touching is the way we’re able to get more information if we want it. But no, he couldn’t read yours. That’s why we wanted to know more about your death, try to understand why we can’t read you. We know you’re giving energy, that you’re Marked. Not much else.”

  “I wish I remembered more from that night.”

  “We’ll find out more somehow. Books, psychic … someone else touching your soul might even work. Blood doesn’t count,” he quipped.

  “Such a soul charmer.” I smirked with a head shake. “And you lead normal lives? Like have driver’s licenses? A deed for the house?” It was all so strange to consider.

  “We each take certain responsibilities to keep appearances, but we’re never bothered by anyone, especially in recent years where people are less inquisitive and keep to themselves.”

  “And your human forms … Is this how you looked before?”

  “I think so, but I don’t really know for sure. None of us do. We have changed some over the recent years, though, our appearance adjusting to fit in with the world around us. It makes our purpose easier, whenever we need to deal with issues in this form.”

  “Hmm.” My thoughts jumped to myself. How did I fit in all this? I was technically human. Aging and mortal. I instantly scolded myself for the thought. It wasn’t as if they’d invited me to stay forever. Why would I assume I was? They wanted to protect me for the time being. There was no talk of anything long-term. Sure Bone had professed his worry for me, how he’d felt when they thought Tucker would kill me, and in turn, wouldn’t let me leave anytime soon. But that was a far cry from forever.

  “What are you thinking about?” Shade asked, running a hand through the top length of his sweaty hair.

  “I’m just grateful to be here. I’m sure I am messing your lives up, and I’m not sure I fit—”

  “You fit. We want you here.” He closed the distance between us and ran his bent fingers beneath my chin, drawing my eyes up to his. “We need you here. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  I twirled the bottom of Bone’s shirt in my fingers.

  Seeing me fidget, he said, “No need to think about any of that now. But there is something I need to admit to you.”

  I welcomed a change of subject. His tone had remained serious, though, not helping to lessen my worry.

  “I grabbed everything you wanted last night. From your place. I also couldn’t help but look around more.”

  Oh. That was it? Embarrassment or shame about my stuff was nowhere on my list of concerns, especially after almost dying. “It’s okay,” I admitted, reaching out to touch his hand. “It doesn’t bother me. There isn’t much to look at …” My small apartment. My thrift-store goods.

  “No,” he said, catching my fingers in his. “I went back mainly to search for more information, about Tucker but also about you, anything that might help. But when you texted for your things, I couldn’t stop myself.” He released my hand and grabbed a bag on the floor beside his bed, one of my worn totes. He set it on the mattress and waited for me to walk over.

  I opened it, noticing he’d packed way more than what I had asked. Instead of sorting through the bag, I turned it over and dumped it onto his bed.

  Lacy underwear and nighties—I was thankful not to see my period panties—spilled out, along with jeans, sweats, and T-shirts. Then came bathing products and … Big Blue. My dildo.

  I gasped and covered my eyes with both hands. “Oh my God! You searched my underwear drawer.”

  Shade chuckled beside me. “I would tell you I only did it because you asked me to, but that would be a lie. I went through it all, curiously and … thoroughly.”

  I peeked through my fingers at him, completely flustered.

  “I thought you’d like to have it, you know, in case you stay a while.”

  “Shut up!” I smacked his arm. “This is embarrassing.”

  “I find it sexy, actually. Of course, I pictured you using it on yourself, lying across the kitchen island, maybe across my bed.”

  “Oh, God!”

  “What? You don’t like that idea?” His eyes pinned on me and he stepped closer.

  “No, not … It’s not something …” I stuttered. The coolness washed through me, and he moaned lightly in his throat. “I just … I prefer the real thing.”

  “I do, too,” he replied with a smile, then ran a hand down my arm. “Because even though I was lying in your bed last night, surrounded by the smell of you, my hand was definitely not good enough.”

  Oh, fuck. He had masturbated … in my bed … thinking of me. And he was admitting it proudly.

  “I think that shower has to wait … unless you find me too repulsive.”

  “You are definitely not repulsive. You are …” I touched his chest again, flattening my palm against him, feeling his heart beating fast. I was enamored by him. By all of them. There was a connection between us, one unseen and undeniable. I was never the type to even think of multiple partners, especially within the span of a few days. It wasn’t like I’d ever had the opportunity anyway. But this connection, this pull had me doing things with little thought or reason. And it didn’t help that they were … that he was … “Irresistible.”

  3

  His lips crashed into mine. There was no question about opening for him, no need for him to coax me. It was automatic, and he knew well enough. His tongue thrust inside as his arms pulled me flush against his solid body. The kiss was fevered and frantic, taking every bit I was giving and demanding more. His hands dipped down lower over my ass, his fingers digging in, spreading my cheeks apart.

  And then I was up off my feet, in his arms, and we were moving. My back hit the wall beside the dresser, and he ground his hardness against me with a moan.

  I echoed one in return, smoothing my hands over his shoulders, lifting them to his scruffy face, then threading them into his longer hair and tugging lightly.

  “Damn, you are so delicious,” he said, between breaks, his mouth turning desperately from side to side like he couldn’t get enough.

  “You too,” I managed to respond because, holy shit, he was tasty.

  In the next moment, I was on the floor, wobbling on my unsteady feet as Shade gripped Bone’s shirt and tugged it over my head. His mouth was on me again, fast and hot, licking one breast as his hand caressed the other.

  “There’s a sweetness to you. Sugar. Honey.” He bathed my nipple with his flattened tongue. “So good.”

  I squirmed, rubbing my thighs together, my clit already pulsing and anxious.

  “You want more?”

  I sighed an airy “Yes” in response. My thoughts were too scrambled to form solid words.

  His fingers snagged the roll in Bone’s shorts and slowly guided them down. On his knees, he leaned forward, gently pushing my shins, backing me up to step out. My ass ch
eeks pressed against the cool wall.

  “I need to taste you here too,” he said, his hands splaying and sliding up my thighs. “Spread for me.”

  I did as he requested, scooting my feet apart, one heel hitting the baseboard.

  “Such a pretty pussy.” His hands stopped at the top of my thighs and his thumbs ran over my lips, hooking them and spreading them open.

  I felt so exposed, on full display as he took a closeup view. But it was also painfully arousing, the anticipation of what would come next had me ready to beg, my muscles clenching.

  “Mmm,” he moaned, finally sliding a finger along me and looking up to meet my eyes. “I’ve wanted this view since I saw you in the kitchen. I wanted to see this up close, to feel you …” That finger circled my clit expertly. I panted and closed my eyes tight, the sensation making my thighs shake. “To taste you …” His mouth made contact, his tongue licking fully before circling as his finger had.

  “Ahh,” I cried out, my body jerking at the intensity, my clit sensitive from all the attention it had been receiving.

  “Yes,” he said, lifting one of my legs and resting it on his shoulder. He settled his body lower and positioned his face closer, opening his mouth wide to cover me fully.

  I leaned my back against the wall for more support then rocked my hips. One of his hands moved to the back of my ass, pulling me to his face, guiding me with the movements. I tipped my head back and reached out to the dresser, grasping for something more steady as my legs began to shake with excitement.

  Suddenly, he shifted my other leg over his opposite shoulder, locked his hands beneath my ass, and lifted me off the floor. I swayed and let out a noise between a squeak and a scream, shocked by the action but also by his mouth continuing to move as he hoisted me up. I was on his shoulders. Backward. I palmed the top of his head for nothing else then the illusion of needing stability because he had utter control of my weight. One of his hands braced higher up my back and the other pressed under my ass, tipping my pelvis to keep me against his mouth.

  His tongue thrust into me, and my legs kicked out into the air while my head fell backward, almost throwing us off balance. He kept his hold, leaning back himself to equalize our weight.

  “Ah, ah. Shade. Oh fuhh-ck,” I mumbled as his mouth continued its assault. It was so much. So much. My body seized, muscles clenching tightly as I came.

  He moaned as I pulsed against his mouth, his tongue slowing. With a few steps, we were at the bed and he lowered me down, finally lifting his mouth from me as soon as I was sitting on the soft mattress with my knees propped up. He stood upright at the edge of the bed, looking down at me spread wide, my legs heavy, my thighs still quivering.

  “My God, you are a vision. And this position …” He hooked his thumbs into the waist of his shorts, stretched the material over his cock, then dropped them to the floor. He gripped himself in one hand and wiped his other hand over his mouth, his fingers dragging over his lips as he stared at me. “This is so much better than I imagined last night. Fuck.” He slid his hand down his thickness, pumping slowly.

  I licked my lips, watching. I’d only seen the imprint of him when we’d first met, when he’d gotten hard because of my reaction to Bone and had to adjust himself. Seeing him do that over his sweats had been sexy enough, but this was well beyond. “I know what you mean,” I admitted, squirming my ass on his soft blankets, my fingers fisting them. There was a moment I was lost in his gaze, loving how he stared at me. But I needed his dick, wanted to taste it, wanted to fuck it. So I sat up onto my knees and moved to the edge of the bed then grabbed hold of him. I sighed when I wrapped him in my hands, feeling his hardness and its throb.

  “God damn, Misha. Your soul. That coolness. Ahh.” He groaned and tipped my face up with his fingers, staring into my eyes as I stroked him. “I want you in the worst way. I want you in every way.”

  “I want you too. So badly. Feel me,” I said, my soul calling out for the connection. I could feel the need inside, the yearning to be touched by him.

  He grabbed my face and bent to me, releasing a breath onto my waiting lips as my hand stroked him slowly. He moaned and shifted his hips, pushing his length into my hand as I pumped him. Finally he pressed his lips to mine and swept his tongue inside.

  It was so erotic, so passionate—him letting me work him, surrendering to the feeling, losing control.

  His mouth unlocked from mine and the wisps appeared between us, our souls coiling and locking together. I sighed as all the emotions hit me, the connection seeming stronger, more palpable than ever before. There was both ache and contentment drifting through me, down deep into my body, splintering, searching.

  “Ohh.” The whisper escaped my lips, flowing out to meet the wisps between us. There was more I felt with him. But I still didn’t know what it meant, how to interpret all the feelings rushing through me. Everything went hazy for several moments.

  Shade’s hands braced my jaw and brought our lips together again. “Misha.” He said my name like a prayer before kissing me again.

  I gripped his cock and pushed down his length, more than ready to feel him inside.

  “Mmm.” He smiled against my lips, making me smile too. “You want me sweaty again, don’t you?”

  I chuckled as he pulled back just enough to look me in the eye. He caught his bottom lip between his teeth, and I stroked him harder.

  “How many times, Misha.” He pushed his hips forward anxiously. “How many times can you come?”

  “I … uh …”

  “Oh?” he said with a smile, dropping his hands to my chest, his fingers trailing lightly over my skin, tracing my scars before teasing my nipples. “I want to fuck you so much, fuck you so hard. But first I want to take you slow. After feeling your soul, I want to feel everything else, even more with you.”

  He bent down and crawled forward, backing me up farther. When I stopped in the center of the bed, leaning back onto my elbows, his face dipped to my neck. His lips roamed over my skin, his tongue followed, licking me. “I can’t get enough of you. And last night, when I thought Tucker … I thought I’d lost a piece of me, one I’d never known.”

  I was speechless, arrested by his words, the feeling behind them. Reaching a hand up and threading my fingers into his hair, I admitted, “I was afraid the true life I’d only just come to know was being snatched away, that I was losing all of you.”

  His soft, full lips spread open over my skin. The touch was exquisite, my body shivering in response. “I don’t care whether it’s the Mark or maybe something more. I know I don’t want to lose what I feel for you.”

  He reached down between us, grabbed himself, and ran his tip over my clit.

  I let my head fall back, and he kissed my throat. He pressed his whole length against me, sliding back and forth several times before pushing into me slowly.

  We both sighed at the sensation. I collapsed onto my back and he followed me down, connecting us, our skin flush together. His ass pulled away, his dick retreating for a moment before flexing back into me.

  “Ah, yes,” I whispered, wrapping my hands around his tight back, gripping hard.

  His mouth kissed my neck then he lifted his head up enough to look into my eyes. “This is … dangerous. I’m already addicted to you. Your taste, your soul … your pussy.” He smiled wickedly and when I smiled with a soft chuckle, he thrusted hard inside making me gasp. “All of you.” His mouth captured mine, his eyes still open and his hips increased his tempo, pumping into me.

  He kissed me hard as his body moved, and I dug my fingers into his back and whimpered into his mouth, drawing closer to climax as he made love to me. And that’s what it truly felt like. Love making. He was cherishing every touch, making sure I felt everything with him, taking time to build the connection, extending the pleasure.

  I was lost in him. He had said it in the gym, that he had a hard time controlling himself, that he was getting lost in me. That we could get lost together.

 
“Oh, Shade. Ahh,” I cried out when his lips released mine and his body moved faster, pushed deeper. I tucked my hips up to meet him, matching his rhythm. A sheen of sweat coated his back, his shoulders, but he didn’t look tired at all. He looked as if he could go on for hours.

  “Misha,” he said through quick breaths.

  “Yes, yes, God, yes!”

  Pounding came from the door, making me jump, my whole body stiffen. A voice followed. “Shade!”

  “No, no,” Shade spoke to me, kissing my lips a couple times between his thrusts. “Don’t you lose that, Misha. You will come again. I don’t care who’s out there.”

  I looked at the door, seeing the shadow of feet under the crack along the wooden floor. “But …” I couldn’t curb that natural reaction.

  “Shade, we all need to talk.” It sounded like Bone.

  “Not now,” he yelled, trying hard not to grunt and failing. He smiled at me and I chuckled a little at his reaction, at how funny the situation was—fucking while someone was standing right outside. Though, he had walked in on Bone and me in the kitchen so …

  The shadows disappeared from below the door.

  He slammed into me hard.

  “Ah!”

  And again, and again.

  “Ah! Ah!” My smile was gone, my orgasm close.

  “Yes, Misha, let me feel it,” he urged, pounding harder.

  I whimpered as a pulse rippled through me, my entire body shaking in response.

  “Oh, fuck yes,” he said as my pussy clenched around him. He kneed up and worked his hips, staring down at me with so much lust I could combust again under the heat of his look alone.

  His fingers moved up my thighs and dug into my hips, grasping me hard, continuing his mind-blowing pace until his face tipped toward the ceiling with his eyes clenched tight. Short, sexy moans escaped his lips then he looked back down to me with heavy, sated eyes as his pace slowed. “You are so beautiful, and that was so fucking perfect.”