The Lost Souls

by K. D. Worth

  Well, I’d noticed that Kody had noticed, but I’d just chalked it up to his innate goodness and Kelli’s overall sourpuss attitude. But in light of what we’d just learned about Kody’s empathetic powers, he must’ve been feeling her sadness. Not being able to help her charge get to heaven would explain it.

  “Yeah, I guess I noticed.”

  I’d read Ed Carter’s journal and saw how it had affected him. And like a self-absorbed jerk, I’d not bothered to notice or ask Kelli if she was okay, just like I hadn’t done with Dan. Or any of my fellow reapers since Meegan left.

  Hell, I really needed to be a better person.

  “Eh, you’re not so bad,” Slade said with a casual shrug.

  I frowned. “Can’t you shut off your eavesdropping for one second?”

  He ignored that—of course.

  “When Kody’s feeling better, Kelli will take you guys to her lost soul, and he’ll help her take the man to heaven.”

  I studied Kody again, his lips open slightly as he slept. “Will he be strong enough?”

  “That’s up to you,” he said offhandedly.

  I didn’t say anything for a moment, then thought about how true that was. If I was strong, Kody was strong. If I panicked, Kody felt it and he, in turn, panicked. We couldn’t have one without the other.

  “Look, kid, I have to go,” he told me, looking nonplussed over my boyfriend asleep in our bed. “Gotta meet Tristen in Hong Kong.”

  “Hong Kong?”

  He winked at me. “I know you only think this is about you and Kody, but you have a whole group of friends who will be right by your side.”

  “When war comes?”

  “Later, Max,” Slade said, then disappeared.

  Asshole, I thought irritably.

  “I heard that, Max.”

  I only felt a teensy bit of remorse.

  But Slade and his natural evasiveness weren’t a priority right now.

  I studied Kody.

  He didn’t look drained, sick, or hurt. In fact, visions of Sleeping Beauty flitted through my mind. He looked so at peace.

  Well, it worked in the movie….

  I bent over and kissed him.

  A sleepy smile crossed Kody’s face, and he purred a little in his sleep.

  Drawing on my power, I kissed him again, funneling my strength into him through the union of our lips.

  I should’ve been more panicked, scared by the way Kody had passed out. But Slade didn’t seem bothered one iota. Needing to be close to Kody, I climbed into bed with him. I raised his arm and snuggled deep into him.

  “I love you, Kody,” I whispered.

  Laying my hand on his chest, I conjured the light over his heart. Once more that sparkling glow emanated from my fingers, creeping and crawling out across Kody’s chest like a warm, glowing blanket. The more I gave to him, the more I loved him, the easier it all became. The power within me was almost as effortless to use as it was to love Kody.

  Under my hand, Kody stirred.

  I kept giving him my light, wrapping his heart figuratively and literally in a safe cocoon, filling him with my love. I could feel his body absorbing it, siphoning it all inside him. And just like the last time, the more he took, the stronger I felt.

  “Kody?” I questioned.

  “Hmmm?”

  My stomach leaped. “You okay?” I said excitedly.

  Those brilliant blue eyes opened, his face alight with my aura glowing over his heart. “Max,” he said happily. “You’re here.”

  I let out a trembling cry. “Yes, of course I’m here.”

  There was clarity in his eyes, no sign of pain or weakness. Raising his head slightly, he looked down at my hand where the light illuminated his chest. “How are you doing that? It feels… different than before.”

  “I don’t know,” I said honestly.

  “That’s good,” he said, dropping his head back heavily. “We always let our heads get in the way, don’t we?”

  Bursting with a sudden need to touch him, I threw my arms around him and kissed him for all I was worth.

  He responded at once, kissing me back and pulling me close.

  The light I had created didn’t need my hands. It swelled between our chests, bright and luminescent.

  I pulled back, breathless, and gazed at Kody. The aura brightened his face, and he looked so peaceful. I’d never truly seen him look so beautiful. Sure, he let his guard down and looked all sleepy and content after we made love. That I had once believed was my favorite way to see him.

  But this?

  This was truly breathtaking.

  I caressed his face. “Are you really okay?”

  His face scrunched, and he shifted me until I was lying between his thighs and on top of him. He stroked my back and smiled at me. “Yeah, surprisingly I feel perfectly fine. Actually, I feel good.”

  “You scared me,” I said in a tiny voice.

  “I kinda scared myself,” he admitted.

  I kissed him again. “You’re really okay? You’re not keeping anything from me?”

  Chuckling, he shook his head. “No, I don’t wanna do that ever again, Max. Honestly, I feel great. Like I finally know exactly what we’re meant to do. And that we can do it.”

  “Yeah, you were awesome,” I agreed. I still couldn’t wrap my head around how amazing and brave Kody had been today. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  We kissed again and the world slipped away.

  Finally we had succeeded in our purpose, and he hadn’t been hurt. Since I’d first laid eyes on Kody, all I’d ever wanted to do was to keep him safe, to protect him. Had I known then what I know now, I may have been too afraid, too panicked to keep him safe. Now, on this side of the proverbial bridge, I knew Kody was a lot stronger than he’d ever let on, far more than he ever knew.

  “You were amazing out there,” I said again. “Do you think you can do it again, though? Without Slade? With more shades?”

  “Today was intense,” Kody said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

  “But we were able to work together as a team,” I said, feeling scared, elated, and proud all at once. “We gave that man Laurence a second chance.”

  “Could you see him too?”

  I scrunched my face, thinking of that last crossover. It had started as a typical shade, dark and shadowy, icy cold. And I’d been two seconds away from grabbing Kody and teleporting out of there, Slade and any higher purpose be damned.

  But then something happened.

  “Well, I felt you actively taking my power, and if I’m being honest, it scared me,” I tried to explain. “Then it was like I suddenly saw what you saw. Not like I was you or anything, but like I could see what you saw and what I saw. I saw a shade, but you saw a man. And you were calm, so I calmed down. Then it was kinda like, I could see the man too, but I wasn’t seeing him with my eyes, but through you. Does that make any sense at all?”

  “Kinda,” he answered, and I wondered if me being able to see things through his eyes was just another evolution of our unique connection.

  We were quiet then, embracing close, both feeling accomplished and me more than a bit unsure. Yes, today had been a success, but it was just a baby step in the grand scheme of things.

  Could we take on more?

  Would we be strong enough to help all the Ninevites?

  “Do you think Slade will help me with some more shades before he lets us go out again?” Kody mused.

  “Actually, he’s sending us out with Kelli as soon as you’re up to it.” I shifted until we were looking at each other. “She had a charge turn into a shade.”

  Kody looked stricken. “Poor Kelli! No wonder she’s been so sad.”

  I stroked his face until it softened. “I love your tender heart.”

  With an amused sniff, Kody pecked the tip of my nose. “That’s all you love?”

  “I love how brave you are,” I told him sincerely, hiding a smile. �
�Among other things.”

  “I have a feeling I know what those might be,” he teased. Then he settled back on his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. “Do you think he’ll turn a wraith loose on us after that?”

  “I hope not!”

  “We’ll have to face them eventually,” Kody reasoned, sounding far calmer than I felt. His hand lazily trailed up and down my back, his expression thoughtful.

  I nestled closer, cheek on his chest. “Slade hinted that we’ll probably start seeing wraiths too, not just shades. Said he’d send us on cases at all hours.”

  “Yeah, no more easy cases after today,” Kody said, still contemplative. “Well, if we see wraiths, I suppose we should offer them the chance to move on. They’re human too, just on the wrong path.”

  “So while they’re swirling above us, all creepy and cold, and looking for human vessels to possess, you plan on just asking them if they want a second chance?” I asked, incredulous. I tried to rein in my worry, knowing now how much my emotions affected him.

  Kody shrugged. “Yeah, why not?” Just then, he seemed more confident than I’d ever seen him, and I couldn’t help but be simultaneously proud and worried. “We’ll help the shades and then wait for the wraiths to show up. You’ll protect our charges’ bodies while I ask them if they want to move on. If they say yes, then we’ll need all your strength to keep my emotions protected from theirs so we can help them.”

  “If they say no?” I countered, unsure if I agreed with his far-too-logical and way-too-dangerous idea. We’d seen the horrors wraiths were capable of doing!

  He flashed a grin, his blue eyes sparkling. “You can blast them to kingdom come, and we’ll get the hell outta there.”

  Though I had serious doubts, I laughed at that, the sound rolling the tension off my body. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. “That it? You don’t want me to invite them over for a game of Monopoly?”

  “No way,” Kody said, very serious all of a sudden. “Monopoly takes way too long to finish a game, and they would overstay their welcome. Interrupt my plans for the evening.”

  “And what would those plans be?”

  The smile he gave me was an impish one. “I don’t know. Any suggestions?”

  “Tickling!” I cried, digging my fingers into his side.

  He let out a squeal of laughter and squirmed and writhed beneath me, trying to escape my expert tickling.

  He was bigger and stronger than me, and I didn’t really resist when he flipped me onto my back, pinning my hands over my head.

  His cheeks were flushed, his hair askew and eyes wide and stern. “No tickling.”

  “Okay, no tickling,” I agreed, voice husky from the way he had me pinned, his long lean body stretched over mine. I shifted my leg, never looking away from his face. He raised his leg in answer, repositioning our lower halves so his hips rested in between my thighs.

  “It’s going to work out, Max,” he promised, voice soft and low. “You’ll see.”

  “Pinky swear?”

  Smiling, he released one of my hands and held up his little finger. “Pinky swear.”

  I hooked our fingers, gripping hard and never looking away. I wanted to vow, then and there, to do everything to keep Kody safe, but it was both unnecessary and impossible. He already knew the depth of my devotion, and my throat was too tight to speak.

  When we uncoiled our fingers, Kody pushed my hand back above my head and I let him. Our breathing synced and his face softened, eyes hooded with desire. His gaze dropped to my lips, and the grip on my wrists pulsed.

  I held my breath and raised my chin, delighting in the feel of his heartbeat against my chest, the way he held me secure. A soft breath escaped me the second before our lips met. It was not a wild kiss, no tongue at all. It was soft, and radiated love and kindness.

  While I marveled at Kody’s surprising new confidence, my own doubts and fears lingered in the corners of my mind. I forced them away. In this moment, I wanted nothing but to feel the touch of the person I loved more than anything in the world.

  More proof Kody could sense and understand my feelings came when he took the kiss deeper, lingering—just like I wanted.

  “I love you, Max,” he whispered, raining soft tiny kisses on my lips, cheeks, chin, and then across my brow.

  I trembled from such tender attentions. My breaths were coming faster now, and my eyes fluttered closed before he kissed each eyelid tenderly. “I love you,” I told him. “So very much.”

  Then our mouths came together. Kody’s tongue slipped past my lips, finding and swirling with mine. I opened for him, letting him fill me with his love just as his very existence filled my heart. He released my hands, and I wound my fingers in his hair, tipping my head to the side. The kiss became hungry, faster, and suddenly more urgent.

  Kody ran a hand down my side, stopping at the waist of my jeans. He raised his head, grinning as I gulped for air. “We should get rid of these, what do you think?”

  Chewing my lower lip, I nodded. “You’re sure you feel up to it?”

  His grin widened, and he ground his hips into me. “What do you think?’

  “That’s not what I meant, but I’ll take it as a sign that you really are feeling okay.”

  “Never better.” He slipped off me, stood, and then shimmied out of his clothing. I did the same but was much faster. When he sat back on the bed to kick his jeans off, I straddled his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him for everything I was worth.

  “I’m so proud of you. The way you handled everything today. I know you were scared; I was too.” I cupped his face and made him look at me. “You were so brave. So….” I gulped in a breath and blinked, overcome with my emotions and my sudden blinding love for him. “So damn sexy.”

  When I whispered the last word, he gave me a wolfish grin. “I was, eh?”

  Licking and rolling my lips, I could only nod, overwhelmed with desire, anticipation, fear, and pride, but mostly love. Was I feeling some of Kody’s emotions just then, like the way I saw through his eyes before? I didn’t know. All I knew was that my love for him had never been stronger.

  Fingers spread wide, Kody glided one hand up my spine to cup the back of my head and the other to my hip as he kissed me deep. Our bodies fit together perfectly like this, me in Kody’s lap, my legs tight around him, and his long erection beneath me.

  Kody withdrew from the kiss and stretched his arm toward the nightstand. I leaned with him, knowing what he sought. He inched open the drawer and withdrew a bottle. When he squirted some in his hand, the squishing sound sent a jolt of anticipation through me.

  He used his thumb to warm the lube on his fingers, then slipped that hand to my bottom, all the while watching my face. Could he truly feel what I wanted? Our gazes locked, and I laid my heart bare, completely open to him.

  “Okay?” Kody whispered.

  I could only nod.

  Wrapped up in the flames of desire, I wanted to look away, but Kody knew everything about me, even this most intimate act. Panting, I tried to contain the trembles when he ran his fingers over me. I shifted to make it easier, eagerness making me flush from head to toe. Beneath my bottom I heard the wet sounds of him slicking himself up and then felt the wetness of his hand on my skin.

  Kissing me, Kody pressed his hardness into my crack like he had last time, and I groaned when he moved. One slick hand clung to my hip. The other hand he pressed flat to keep himself in between my cheeks, sliding back and forth over my sensitive flesh. My entire body shivered from the intimate sensation. It had been easier to stay snug against him when Kody’s weight held me down last time, but Kody pressed in while I joined in the gliding. I clung to his shoulders and we moved together. Kody’s eyes closed, his black lashes fluttering. The break in eye contact freed something inside me—a reprieve from the intensity, maybe—and I kissed him hard as indescribable pleasure swept over me.

  Caught up, and so close to being in that place only we shared, I fl
inched when something popped into me.

  Kody stiffened and our gazes locked. Wide-eyed, he stared back at me in surprise. Then he groaned, and my entire body tensed when I realized what was happening.

  “Oh gosh….” Kody gasped. “Should we… can I?”

  Muttering “yes,” I nodded frantically.

  Then fingers clenched at my hips. Kody closed his eyes and groaned again, thrusting up and pulling me down. I hissed as a sharp pain went through me.

  “You’re so warm,” he murmured. “And tight… oh-oh!” Kody drew out and then back up. He gripped both my hips and went a little deeper.

  Wincing in pain, I clung to him, gripping his hair in my fists. We pressed our foreheads together, and I rasped for breath. He thrust one more time.

  “Oh, Max!” he exhaled. Then his head fell back, mouth open, and his fingers dug into my hips. He shook hard, and I swore his shaft widened inside me as slick warmth filled me.

  Gasping in surprise, I shifted my hips and pulled off, the sting of pain blessedly gone. I stayed in his arms and on his lap. I felt stretched, hollow even. Wet and sticky.

  Breathless, I whispered, “Did we just…?”

  Panting and face flushed, Kody nodded. His hand trembled as he braced himself on my shoulders. “I love you so much, Max.”

  At those words, the burning heat swelled inside me. Fire and love funneled between us, and I shuddered as I reached between our sweaty bodies and took myself in hand. I wrapped my other arm around his neck to hold on. Our faces were so close we shared each other’s exhales. Kody looked down, eyes lust-drunk as he watched me. In a few glorious heartbeats, I joined him with a cry.

  Still clinging to each other, we struggled to catch our breaths, the cyclical fire moving between us, our bodies throbbing with spent passions. Kody brushed a hand across my cheek, fingers damp. His wide blue eyes roamed all over my face.

  In that moment I felt so special and so loved.

  Then I giggled and dropped my head on his shoulder.

  “Why are you laughing, Max?” Humor colored his voice too.

  “I can’t believe we just did that.”

  “I wasn’t trying to. It just sorta popped in,” Kody said, and then his whole body stiffened. “I’m sorry, are you sure that was okay?”