Reaper Reborn

by Kel Carpenter

  Night enveloped us. From this distance, the center of Farrow’s Square was far away from the cliff that overlooked it. Only the stars in the sky looked down on us as he set me on the back of his car. Not a soul would see us unless they were driving up here for the view.

  No one would hear us, or more accurately, me.

  Still, there was a certain thrill to it. The possibility of being caught out in the open, as unlikely as it was.

  Graves unbuttoned my jeans and dragged the zipper down slowly.

  “You sure about this?” he asked, voice thick with need. He was giving me the option to back out, but there was no way in hell that was happening now.

  I flattened my hands behind me, the metal cool against my palms. I used them to brace my weight as I lifted my hips. He pulled my jeans and panties a quarter way down my thighs. I released my legs on his waist and my ass hit the trunk, but Graves didn’t seem to care. He made quick work of my shoes and tossed my clothes next to me on the car.

  His hands came to rest on my knees. He pulled me forward until I was only just sitting on the edge. My legs dangled over the trunk, and it was only because of the angle I was leaning and the way my hands were braced that kept me on the car entirely.

  Then he dropped to his knees.

  “What are you—” I didn’t get to finish my question as he pulled one of my legs over his shoulder and went down on me.

  His tongue whorled around my clit, giving it the love I really needed.

  My hips jumped. The action bordering on the edge of extreme pleasure and pain.

  A finger pressed against my entrance.

  Slowly. Excruciatingly slow, he slid it inside me.

  My toes curled, and I angled my other leg over his shoulder, then used my heels to press into his back.

  Graves chuckled, the faint brush of his breath setting my skin aflame.

  He licked me again, adding a second finger, and I writhed.

  When his lips clamped around that sensitive bud, I thought release was at last in my grasp. But Graves being the asshole he was, sucked once, only to still his movements and wait till the heat abated enough I didn’t detonate when he did it again.

  “You motherfucker,” I snapped, my upper body shooting up.

  Lips still locked to my core, he reached up with his free hand and pressed it to my stomach, trying to push me back.

  His teeth brushed against me. He sucked again, and my mouth parted. My jaw fell open as a wave of ecstasy washed over me.

  “I’m not leaving you high and dry, as you put it. So chill the fuck out. I just want to hear you scream,” he murmured.

  And with that, a third finger entered me, and he started all over.

  I leaned back, but my body coiled tight. A fine sheen of sweat covered me. My legs shook from being pushed so close to the edge again and again.

  “I’m going to be screaming for a whole different reason if you don’t—” The words left me as he nibbled harder. The brush of his teeth drawing a groan from me. Graves sucked my clit between his lips in long pulls, his fingers moving faster than before. Sweat slicked my back and dotted my temple as I approached that precipice. My hips jolted against him, chasing my peak and yet fighting how close I was.

  Graves crooked his fingers and sucked one more time.

  That was all it took.

  White blinded me. My body contracted as I came violently and blacked out.

  I was still shuddering around his hand when my vision cleared, the stars above that had blurred were coming back into focus as I stared up at them. I peered down my body at Graves to see an arrogant fucking grin on his face.

  “If you don’t fuck me,” I started, breathing heavily.

  “Oh, I’m fucking you,” he assured me, standing up. “You don’t need to worry about that. I just wanted to see you do it.”

  He pulled a condom from his pocket and ripped it open with his teeth.

  “Do what?”

  “Come undone,” he replied, unzipping his jeans and pushing his boxers out of the way. He made quick work of putting the condom on and then knocked my legs aside, moving closer.

  He grasped my hips and thrust once, entering me.

  My body rocked into his. A delicious sigh leaving me. His mouth was good. Very good.

  But I had a feeling round two with him inside me was going to be better.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist as he slowly worked in and out of me. He groaned as my hips moved in tandem with his. The car shook, bouncing with our movements.

  “You’re a brat,” Graves said, panting hard. His eyes glowed brighter than the stars in that moment. “But you’re my brat.”

  I whimpered, chasing my own release once more. I could tell he was pacing himself by the tic in his jaw as he worked me up again. His shaft hardened further as his movements grew erratic. Wild. Devastating.

  If I didn’t know better, I’d say he wanted to wreck me.

  But I did know better.

  He didn’t just want to; he was going to.

  My body was more than happy to comply. Heat filled me once more and my legs went stiff. My head lolled a bit as I arched into him. I was a receptacle of pleasure that had been drawn too tight. It bordered pain, how close I was, and how much I needed him to push me over.

  “Graves,” I moaned.

  He was too far gone, chasing his own release to even flash me a cocky grin. Desire rode him as hard as it did me. Our eyes met, my own shuttered as my eyelids threatened to close. His pupils were blown wide, making the blue in them darker. His expression was fierce, bordering on the edge of uncontrollable. The vein in his temple throbbed.

  “Come for me, Salem,” he growled.

  Graves thrust into me once more, our skin slapped together, and I came.

  This time, it wasn’t the blinding wave of a dam bursting, but instead the rocky waves washing over me. My legs tightened. I pulsed around him.

  An animal-like sound escaped him.

  Several moments passed where we stood there like that.

  Well, he stood, I still half sat on the back of his car even though he was probably supporting more of my weight given how much of my ass he was holding. Sweaty lips pressed against my temple before he moved back, slowly supporting less of me instead of letting me fall off.

  He could be sweet like that. Sometimes.

  “Come on, I need to get you back before Esme gets any ideas about shooting me with a crossbow again.”

  I snickered, falling back against the trunk and stretching my legs out.

  “She doesn’t care that we’re together as long as she doesn’t have dumb grandchildren,” I laughed.

  His lips pressed together, clearly having his own thoughts about that. “I highly doubt they would be dumb. Devious maybe, but not stupid. Besides, it’s a bit far out for that, but I imagine she’ll get over it when we get there.”

  I blinked. Did he just . . .

  Graves, seeming to have realized what he’d said, paled. “I know we haven’t talked about what this is between us with everything going on, but I—”

  “I love you.” The words left me in a rush. “And not just because you have a magic dick, although if I’m being completely honest, I am starting to wonder if you might be related to Tamsin—”

  His lips crashed into mine once more. I wound my arms around his neck, pulling him to me. My heart felt bigger, lighter, than it had in a long while.

  I didn’t need to hear the words to know how he felt back, but that didn’t stop him from saying, “I love you too, Salem.” He gave me one more peck on the lips. “Now get dressed, I meant what I said about Esme. Now that she knows I can’t die, I can’t imagine she won’t exploit the fuck out of that if given the opportunity.”

  I dressed quickly, a stupid, happy smile on my face as we climbed back into the car.

  “Hey, Graves,” I said as he pulled off the cliffside. “We’ll figure it out. When all of this is over . . . we’ll figure out what comes next for us.”

&n
bsp; One corner of his mouth twitched. It was his eyes that smiled back at me as he said, “I want that.”

  So did I, but even with how happy I felt in the moment, it couldn’t stop that dark inkling from creeping in. I wanted to figure out what forever looked like with him, but first, we had to survive long enough to get there.

  14

  Line in the Sand

  Reapers stretched out along the edge of the werewolf’s territory, the seven Council members standing in a small knot just in front of us. The sun was just about to complete its descent, and the sky was a deep orange with hints of purple creeping in.

  Usually I loved this time of day, but all I saw as the sun sank lower in the sky was time running out.

  Gerard had escaped last night. There was no one for the pack to turn over.

  But only Graves and I knew that.

  In the aftermath of Eli’s death, Graves was worried the reapers would hunt Gerard and kill him on sight—and whoever he was with. If that happened, all hell would break loose. So he left that tidbit out when recanting his story of self-defense.

  One dead body was enough to handle. While Gerard wasn’t innocent, maybe things would cool down if he were removed from the situation . . .

  Or so we hoped.

  I let out a heavy sigh.

  Beside me, Graves brushed his fingers against my arm. I knew it was his way of checking to see if I was okay. I offered him a tight smile before my eyes drifted across the smattering of houses and trees in front of me.

  Unlike most supernaturals who predominantly lived scattered throughout the town, the shifters had an innate need to be surrounded by nature. So their entire community was based at the edge of the city limits and overlapping the beginning of the woods. Totally made sense when you factored in the whole shifting and running in the moonlight thing.

  However, instead of being peaceful, this little standoff I was currently a part of was tense as fuck.

  As the last few minutes before the deadline ticked by, more and more of the wolves came outside, standing across from us with expressions that ranged from neutral to outright hostile, and the tiny bit of hope I had slowly dwindled. This wouldn’t work if they came out in a show of force. I’d been hoping with him gone that maybe they’d try to play it off . . .

  Stupid. I shook my head. Of course this wasn’t going to work.

  Things had been bubbling up for a while, like a storm on the horizon. Electricity was in the air, and all we were waiting for was that first drop of rain before the sky opened and we were swept away by the tempest’s fury.

  The sun dipped that last inch, and I swallowed.

  Time was up.

  “Where’s the boy, Hal?” Nocturna demanded.

  “Doesn’t waste any time, does she?” I muttered to Graves.

  The barest shadow of a smile crossed his lips, and he shook his head once.

  The werewolf named Hal took a step closer and lifted his arms in an exaggerated shrug. “Guess he had other plans tonight.”

  “Hal,” the female wolf beside Nocturna said with a warning growl. “Don’t do this.”

  So the werewolf head wasn’t in on it? I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad, given half her faction was lined up and ready to fight.

  “Sorry, Serena. Can’t help you this time.”

  The Council’s female werewolf representative shook her head, her hands curling and uncurling at her sides. “I know he’s your son, but you’re not helping him by trying to hide him. This is your last chance. Turn Gerard over to us, and let us get this over with.”

  “See, that’s going to be a problem. Gerard’s not here.”

  Beside me, Sam cracked his neck and started shaking out his arms like a boxer getting ready for the bell to ring.

  Nerves fluttered low in my stomach.

  Ah hell. I honestly wasn’t sure if our decision not to say anything was fixing to make this better or worse.

  I wanted to say something to stop this. Graves took one look at my face and slowly shook his head. I blew out a frustrated breath, taking the hint.

  “Tsk, tsk,” the noise startled me. I glanced sideways to see Gretel standing there. My eyes widened.

  “What are you doing here?” I hissed.

  “Checking in on you.” She shrugged. “Where’s your sister?”

  “Not here,” I growled under my breath.

  Sam looked over and gave me a funny look, then shrugged and returned his attention to the wolves.

  “Oh? Showing her true colors already?” Gretel asked. “That was faster than expected.”

  “We need to talk, but I’m a little busy right now,” I whispered as quietly as I could manage.

  “You seem a little busy for everyone lately.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s what happens when I can’t go twenty-four hours without shit happening—”

  “Well, if you’re so busy, I’ll make this quick. Death wants to know your answer.”

  “What?” I snapped under my breath.

  “I didn’t stutter,” she said with an attitude, stepping in front of me. Her black eyebrows lifted, and she pursed her red lips.

  “I have a week,” I replied.

  “And? They want to know if you’ve made up your mind.”

  “No.” I glanced past her to see that things were heating up. “I don’t have all the facts, and to get those, I need time. If Death wants me to hurry up, it should pay me a visit itself.”

  She scrunched her nose. “I’ll relay the message. Oh, and Salem?”

  I lifted an eyebrow in answer.

  “They, them; pronouns. It is just plain rude.”

  She vanished in a puff of smoke, and my jaw fell open.

  Did she seriously just—

  Yes, she fucking did.

  I growled under my breath and several reapers looked over and then nodded in approval, clearly misunderstanding given they couldn’t see ghosts. Unfortunately, as much as the impending doom of everyone in Farrow’s Square was important, it was slightly less important compared to the hundred or so supernaturals with firearms currently pointed both ways.

  “I thought you said you had reapers patrolling the area?” Nocturna demanded, her attention currently on Dom.

  Indecision warred on several Council members’ faces as they glanced between the reaper and fae representative, and the she-wolf rep who was currently speaking in harsh whispers with Hal.

  “I did, but that doesn’t mean things don’t sometimes get past,” Dom said through gritted teeth.

  “Get past?” she repeated. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised given he got past you for years.”

  “Nocturna,” Tamsin stepped in. “Are you sure it’s wise to provoke—”

  “Stay out of this, succubus. We all know your kind consort with theirs.” She threw us a scathing look, clearly not a fan of us any more than she was the wolves.

  Tamsin’s eyes glowed a brilliant gold as she called on her power. “Remember who you’re speaking to, Tinkerbell.”

  Nocturna’s face was priceless. It seemed to shrivel in on itself, giving her supermodel features a pinched, sour expression. Given her reaction, Tinkerbell must be the faerie version of a four-letter word. Go Tamsin.

  Before Nocturna could spout off her comeback, Serena shifted, fur enveloping her tanned skin and her body contorting as it stretched and lengthened. She started growling menacingly at Hal, whose response was to do the same.

  The two wolves began snarling and circling each other. Behind them, the distinct sound of dozens of guns being cocked rang out.

  The reapers acted in kind, lifting their weapons and taking aim.

  Shit was about to get really bad. Real fast.

  I had to do something. I couldn’t just stand there and watch all these people start killing each other—even if I could bring them all back after they got it out of their system.

  But what could I do?

  Hal, whose fur was a deep smoky gray, let out one long howl and leapt at Serena. That seemed
to be the sign the others were waiting for.

  Sweat trickled down my back as I watched a female were with bright green eyes start to squeeze the trigger. I didn’t think; I just knew I couldn’t let her take the shot. The world started to leech of color, but before I finished the transition, Tamsin’s voice boomed.

  “Enough!” she shouted. “Everybody just calm the fuck down.”

  I could feel my heartbeat slow, and knew that somehow she’d just used her compulsion on everyone in this clearing.

  “Drop your weapons,” Tamsin ordered in that same powerful voice.

  One by one, guns started to hit the ground.

  Tamsin was turning in a slow circle, pinning everybody with her eyes, which seemed to reinforce the hold she had over us all.

  “Now I know you all have your panties in a bunch, but going all Civil War part two on each other isn’t going to solve a damn thing. So, here’s what we are going to do. Two of our reapers will perform an unarmed sweep of the houses, to verify that Gerard is, in fact, not here. Once that has been confirmed, the Council will formally place a bounty on his head—as is our right according to the laws we all follow. Finally, anyone found having played a role in aiding and abetting his escape will be tried and sentenced according to our laws. Is that clear?”

  I felt as Zen as Randy after his pregaming sessions, but it didn’t dull the sense of pride I had watching my best friend handle this like the badass bitch I’d always known she was. She really did deserve that place on the Council. Not only was she powerful, but she was fair and levelheaded. Mostly.

  The reapers were the first to nod, then the Council—although I could tell from the stiff way most of them were holding themselves that they did not appreciate being on the end of Tam’s mass compulsion.

  Finally, a few of the wolves started to nod.

  “Do not make me force you to do what you know is right,” she warned.

  Power leached from the air and several people sagged.

  I grabbed Graves’ hand and dragged him over to the side, away from everyone else.

  “We’ve got a problem,” I said quietly.

  “I’ll say. As soon as they figure out what actually happened, the Council’s going to come after us,” Graves replied.