by K. D. Worth
“Oh, Max,” he said in a rush, folding me into his arms. “I can’t be killed, because I’m already dead.”
I squeezed his thin waist and buried my face in his chest, eyes tightly closed. “That’s not funny.”
“It kinda is.”
“No!” I squeezed him tighter. “That thing hurt you. It took every ounce of concentration for me to give you back the strength you needed. How am I supposed to do that and shoot the wraiths? And make a shield? You’re the most important thing in the world to me. What if I’m not strong enough?”
When my voice cracked, Kody kissed the top of my head, and tipped my chin so I faced him. He was smiling. “I think the whole point of you being able to shoot them is so they don’t touch me.”
“Shoot first, ask questions later?” I tried to make a joke, because inside, terror held me in its grip.
He kissed my lips. “Yes, and then we’ll both leave. Isn’t that the game plan?”
I nodded as he repeated what Slade had told me, “‘If you encounter a shade, don’t engage it. If a wraith shows up, blast it if you have to but then get your asses out of there.’ The rest of the team is training to defend us too,” Kody went on. “And you can blast lightning and make a shield now.”
Though proud of how far I’d come, and liking that Kody believed in me, I played it down because I knew the truth of how much further I had to go. “Not a very big shield. What if those had been wraiths?”
“But they weren’t.” Kody swayed us, and I could feel his love inside me, tangible and calm.
Warm and wonderful.
“I love you, Kody,” I whispered, running my hands across his back, relishing how he made my reaper form warm, alive.
“I love you too.”
Our eyes met, and any humor faded from his lips as a familiar look crossed his face.
Maybe it was my emotions, the fear thrumming inside me from the encounter, or all the what-ifs about our future and Kody’s safety, but suddenly I needed him.
I needed to feel him, to know he was still here, alive and in my arms. Safe.
Desperate for his touch, his reassurance, I cupped the back of his head, twining my fingers in his black hair. I yanked him into a kiss, and he let out a startled sound before he willingly joined in. I drove my tongue into his mouth, grabbing at his shirt with my free hand. “Clothes off, now.”
“Are you trying to change the subject?”
“Yes,” I said, pulling his shirt out of his jeans. “I need to forget everything… just for a minute… please.”
“Anything for you.”
We’d been in this exact moment before, but the tables had been turned—Kody using intimacy to make me stop asking about his suicide note. I pushed that memory away as fast as it came.
Why was everything in our romance centered on me losing Kody?
“Please,” I pleaded again, caressing his arms and gazing up into blue eyes I wanted to drown in forever.
Kody pulled his shirt off and gave me that sleepy sexy smile that never ceased to send a thrill through me. “But it’s the middle of the day.”
“I don’t even care,” I said honestly. We were always careful during the day, but after the terrifying incident at the hospice facility, I needed to distract myself from the constant worry that Kody would disappear from my life one day.
The thought hurt so badly I just couldn’t face it.
We both stepped back and shed our clothing. Kody stripped to his boxers and went to check the door. We had no lock, but a chair in front of it was a good-enough warning system. Not that it could prevent someone from materializing into our room, but we reapers had too much respect for each other’s privacy to just pop in on someone. Barging into a room, however, yeah, that had happened a time or two. Especially by our nosy house cat, Herman.
But all those thoughts vanished the second Kody tugged off his boxers and faced me. I never tired of looking at Kody’s long lean body, the glistening white skin, the light dusting of black hair on his chest and lower belly. His long cock lying across his thigh made my mouth water.
I struggled out of my T-shirt. Two seconds before I fell to my knees to taste Kody, he wrapped his arms around me, kissing me deep.
“Today scared me,” I whispered around kisses.
“Shhh.” He sounded so much older and more mature than me that, for a moment, I believed him when he whispered, “Everything’s gonna be all right. Trust me.”
I always had.
We fell onto the bed in a mass of tangled limbs, kissing. We wound up on our sides, legs coiled, hands roaming. Around the breathless gasps and hisses of pleasure, I heard the snapping of a bottle open.
I shivered in anticipation.
Oh, lube made everything so much better.
To my shock, Kody smeared it in between my buttcheeks.
I tensed. “Kody…?”
Our eyes met and he smiled. “I won’t go in, I promise. I just have an idea. I wanna try something. Trust me?”
“Always.”
“Roll onto your other side, with your back facing me,” he whispered, voice heady.
Trusting Kody explicitly, I obeyed him, and he curled up behind me. To my surprise and delight, he ran the tip of his erection between my cheeks.
“Oh,” I murmured when he slipped his length snugly in between my thighs.
“Yeah? You like?” He arched over me to study my face while he rhythmically began to move against my surprisingly sensitive skin.
I shivered but managed to nod.
“I’m not pushing you too much, am I?” he questioned.
I shook my head and smiled, loving how he took charge. That scared, weak boy I found on the bridge that night was nowhere to be seen when Kody and I were like this. He was confident, and I let him take care of us. I had so much on my plate, so many expectations about being his protector, that only in moments like this, giving myself over to Kody, was I able to be healed of all my worry.
He knew I needed to be distracted, and maybe he did too.
His face was above and behind my shoulder, and I craned to look at him. “No, I like it. It’s nice,” I whispered, my face burning even though I was smiling.
Kody grinned wide and we kissed. Then he shifted us, pushing my top knee up and pressing his long shaft fully in between, like a hot dog nestled in a bun.
I giggled.
“Why are you laughing?” he wanted to know, stilling his hips.
“It’s like a hot dog in a bun,” I said, giggling again.
“It’s a lot bigger than a hot dog,” Kody bragged, sliding over my sensitive skin and making all humor die on my lips.
Then one wet hand gripped my butt, squeezing my cheeks together. I squeezed my thighs to make it better for him, and was surprised how much I liked that too.
“Ooh… oh.” I let my head drop back on his chest, savoring this new sensation, and surprised by all the wonderful things it did to me. He’d been pressed against my butt dozens of times before, but never like this. I couldn’t believe how good it felt!
Wouldn’t it be better still if he were all the way inside me?
I trembled at the mere idea, both in fear and wanting.
Then Kody’s hand left my hip and took hold of my hardness. I gasped as he stroked me in rhythm with his thrusts, the weight of his body and his fervor pushing me forward until I was almost on my stomach, my knee supporting us. With a gasp, he shook and held still. I felt his passion, hot and wet, on my balls and his pleasure triggered mine.
Along with the natural release, a rush of power fled my body and funneled into Kody.
Panting, Kody kissed my neck, his breath sultry against me. “That was… so awesome.”
“Yeah, it was pretty good,” I admitted, collapsing on my belly and loving the weight of him on my back. I glanced at the pillow, and my pinky finger sparked for a second, then faded out. “It even lit up my hands.”
“It did? That’s new.” Then Kody rolled me over, eyes searching my face. �
�So you liked it?”
My sweet Kody, always thinking of others first. I touched his cheek and heat flickered again, a faint light sparking. “I liked it. Did you?”
His eyes widened. “Oh yeah. Might be my favorite so far.”
Hand still on his cheek, I smiled. “Then we’ll add it to the list.”
“For sure.”
Feeling absolutely loved, I lay still and let our bodies be joined like our souls. For now at least, everything was as it should be.
MAX—Chapter 7
“FINALLY WE get to train together,” I said to Kody, excited about the day’s plan. After the incident during Brady’s crossover, I was eager to begin our joint training sessions. I wanted to make sure Kody was prepared—for whatever was coming his way.
Even if I didn’t like it.
Kody looked in awe at the mountain view. “So this is where you practice.”
“Come and sit, guys.” Wearing a white gi, Slade already sat cross-legged by the open doorway, his blond hair fluttering in the wind. Again, he had no tattoos when he was here in his studio.
Kody reached out and took my hand, offering me a smile. We joined Slade and sat cross-legged facing him, the vast chasm of mountains on our left. My Japanese pajamas were blue, Kody’s red. The red looked good on him.
With his shiny black hair, fair skin, and brilliant blue eyes, everything looked good on Kody.
Especially nothing.
Not that I was partial, or anything.
“I’m proud of you two,” Slade said, with a rare tender smile. “For how you handled Brady’s crossover.”
“Thanks,” I said, suddenly perturbed despite the compliment. “But we wanted to talk to you about that nine-minute BS. They found Kody in less than four minutes.”
“Do you know why?”
“Why?” we intoned.
“What was different about this crossover, Kody?”
“Because it was a kid,” he said cautiously, as if it was a trick question.
Slade shook his head. “No, Kody, there’s something else you’re not telling me. Maybe you don’t realize what it is. I need you to think really hard, because Max and I can’t help you unless you’re 100 percent honest.”
“I am being honest,” he cried, looking back and forth between the two of us.
Slade’s statement surprised me too, and I came to Kody’s defense immediately. “It wasn’t any different—wait!” Then I looked at Kody and tipped my head to the side, prompting him with a nod.
“What?” he asked.
“You were crying.” I glanced guiltily at Slade, and then winced at Kody. “I’m sorry, but that was different.”
Slade remained quiet for a moment, smiling as if I’d stumbled upon an amazing discovery.
“Seriously, Brady was a little kid. I’m only human.” Kody quickly shook his head and raised his hands to stop any snarky comments. “You know what I mean. I felt bad he was so young. I just wanted to take all his pain away and make him better, but I couldn’t.”
“Couldn’t you?” Slade challenged.
Kody pondered that. “Well, I guess I kinda did. I mean, he went to heaven to be with God.”
“Did you feel drained when you delivered the Touch?” Slade asked.
Kody squirmed and looked at me. “Well, um… Max actually did it.”
“Why did you do that?” Slade asked, glaring at me.
Undaunted, I jutted out my chin. “Because he asked me to.”
“If he asked you to jump off a bridge, would you?”
My temper spiked, and I pointed a warning finger at an archangel of death. “That is not funny. At all.”
Slade looked at Kody, ignoring me simmering.
What the hell kinda crappy thing was that to say to me?
Ever the peacekeeper, Kody held up his hands. “Look, Slade, I asked Max, and he did it because he wanted to help me. Don’t be mad at him.”
“But he’s not helping you.”
“Yes, he is,” Kody argued. “The family was so upset, it was hard for me to think, and I was afraid Brady would resist… so I asked Max to do it.”
I should’ve obeyed Slade, but the fear and worry in Kody’s eyes, my innate need to protect him, had taken over. I would always do anything to stop his pain. He’d been so sad, even crying when I delivered the Touch, that his emotions had burned hot inside me. He’d been in turmoil and, “I just wanted to help him,” I said out loud, knowing Slade heard everything else.
“I know, Max, but this isn’t helping him,” Slade repeated. He looked at Kody. “I know that was a sad case, Kody, but the emotions are clouding your mind.”
“I can’t help how I feel,” Kody argued, surprising me with the show of attitude. Usually Kody was so meek and timid. I kinda liked seeing him challenge Slade.
It was sexy.
Slade frowned at me, then returned to addressing Kody. “Yes, but it wasn’t all your feelings, it never is. You’re an empath. You were experiencing your own emotions and those of everyone in that room. What I suspected, and what I believe was proven yesterday, is that the more heightened your emotions are, the easier the shades trace you. You’re out there wishing you could help your charges, feeding off their fears and those of their grieving loved ones—and even Max’s emotions—then you’re amplifying all of it like a signal.”
Kody said nothing, but this made total sense to me.
After all, I had felt Kody’s emotions in that hospice room too. If he was absorbing everyone’s emotions and projecting them, no wonder the shades found him so fast!
Whoa, that was some intense stuff.
Slade pointed his fingers at me like a gun and dropped the hammer. “Bingo.”
All of this was shocking, yet it explained how Kody always seemed to know when I was upset. He’d been sympathetic and understanding with Tristen, and even sensed Kelli’s sadness and placed Herman in her lap. If he felt the grief of Brady’s family—shit, we’d been in a hospice facility! Had all the mourners in that building drained him of his healing energy or just the ones in the room? No wonder he’d been crying and afraid! And that pain, his natural desire to help, had been like a homing beacon for the wraiths.
How was I supposed to stop all that?
Slade winked at me. “You’ll see.”
While my mind reeled, Slade continued to address Kody.
“I sent you with the other reapers on very specific cases to judge how you would feel. For instance, you don’t feel as drained or sad when it’s an old person who’s led a wonderful life. But when you reap an accidental or abrupt death, the spirit’s fears and your natural empathy go into overdrive, enhancing everything and creating a signal the shades can sense. This leaves an opening for the newly dead spirit to drain you as they struggle with crossing over too. Brady’s case was especially difficult for you, because of how many people were in the room.”
“They were all so sad,” Kody whispered, face down, his dejected posture breaking my heart. “It was all I could think about… all I could feel.”
I reached out and took his hand, pushing my strength into him. The more he took of my love, the more the warmth inside me grew, until it sparked on the hand holding his.
Kody offered me a thankful smile, but then our attention returned to those wise gray eyes.
“It’s not easy carrying around more emotions than just your own,” Slade said with great sympathy. “Now that you’re a supernatural being, you’re even more absorbent, if you will. That’s where Max’s gift comes in.” Smiling, he looked at me. “You give Kody the strength to make his healing energy more potent. And the shield you can make? It’s not a mere tool to keep wraiths away from Kody or from desecrating bodies. Its most important use is shielding Kody’s heart.” He smiled at Kody next. “But all of that is moot if you’re afraid to deliver the Touch on an ordinary charge.”
Kody squirmed again, saying nothing.
“But that was yesterday,” Slade said offhandedly. “This is today. Now that you’
re aware of the physicality of the energy exchange that’s happening, you can learn to stop it from weakening you. When you do that, you’ll be able to help the shades, just like you helped Britany.”
“How?” we both asked, a deep sense of urgency making me jumpy.
“It all starts with love, always has and always will. Love is how you helped your sister’s spirit calm down after her deathbed confession, remember?”
Kody nodded and leaned forward, as if his whole being clung to Slade’s every word. I recalled that night, Kody drawing power from me and pushing it into Britany. I hadn’t realized it at the time, but he’d been healing her so she could let go of her mortal ties and move on.
But Kody couldn’t do that if he was being overwhelmed by other people’s feelings.
“Exactly,” Slade said only to me. “Love is the greatest power in the universe. That’s why Max’s light is so strong for you, Kody. The charges and shades, on the other hand, are sucking up your healing energy, with no ability to give back in return. As you know, a wraith can take even more.”
“You don’t say,” Kody said with a Max-sized dose of sarcasm, if I did say so myself.
“None of this is new to you,” Slade went on. “I’m just defining it.”
Kody nodded. “I gave power to Britany and she didn’t drain me. Then even Brady didn’t drain me—once I stopped letting his family confuse me, that is,” he said. “And when I hugged Heather the other day, I gave her my energy too, but—”
“You what?” I cried.
Kody frowned at me. “Not like that. She was sad about her and Tristen, so I gave her a hug. I pushed my energy into her, and I could feel her taking my love, my philia, but I actually felt stronger. We both felt better after the hug. Kinda like how I feel with Max, but not nearly as strong.”
I scoffed. “I should hope not.”
This time I got a pair of frowns.
“What?” I threw out my hands, having no defense for my constant jealous thoughts.
“Heather is a true friend and a supernatural being. Unlike Britany and Brady, who didn’t have the power to reciprocate when you gave them your healing energy, Heather can return that power, the love. That’s why you both felt better.”