Death Wish

by Brooks, Harper A.

  “So, my tan lines are worth it.”

  God, he was infuriating. I shoved him in the shoulder and stood.

  He hissed in pain. “Hey!”

  “What I’m saying is that we need to get out of here now before they come back.”

  “And the herb?” he asked.

  “I know where it is, but I can’t get to it. I’m a reaper again, a spirit.”

  Cole pushed himself to stand, groaning.

  “For a mercenary, you’re quite a crybaby,” I teased.

  He shot me a look, which I ignored.

  Then, I remembered what Marla has said about the healing ingredients she had for his burns.

  “You’re going to have to help yourself because I can’t touch anything anymore on this plane. I’m useless.” Quickly, I told him where Marla had hid the herb and the two things we needed to treat his burns.

  I let him lean on me while he got the things we needed, thanking whatever higher power that I could at least touch him. Five minutes later, we were out the door again, back into the early-morning air and under a lightening sky.

  The drive back to the motel was a slow one. Concern knotted my stomach at every bump we hit in the rundown Jeep and every turn we made. If I could have driven the metal box, I would have, especially because Cole’s evident pain was heart-wrenching to watch. Guilt weighed heavily on me knowing that I had caused him some of that pain, and there was nothing I could do to help him.

  It didn’t matter if he told me over and over that he was okay. I could see the pain on his face.

  The moment we got into the room and shut the door, he pulled off his shirt and collapsed onto the bed.

  “You did quite a number on me,” he said with a small chuckle.

  I hadn’t wanted to use my light power; he had told me to.

  “Why do you think my light affected you more this time than last?” I asked.

  He reached over to the side table, scooped the concoction of aloe and crushed seeds, and began rubbing it on the red marred skin on his arms and chest.

  I tried not to look at his naked torso, all hard lines and sculpted muscles, especially as he spread the shiny, waxy goo all over his skin. But I was failing miserably.

  The parts that had been covered with clothes weren’t too bad, but the backs of his hands, neck, collarbones, and some of his face were severe. As if someone had thrown boiling water on him, and for some reason, it was still steaming.

  Even with all the wounds, he was still a sight to behold.

  I commanded my raging libido to settle down.

  “I’m not sure why it affected me more now,” he began, still smoothing the aloe on. He moaned in relief. Within seconds, the blisters disappeared and the redness to his skin lightened. “It could be because this new power of yours is getting stronger…”

  “Or…” I pressed, noting the wavering in his voice.

  “Or I’m getting more like them.”

  Them meaning the Halflings.

  “I was forced to use my Hellfire at Wyatt’s. Every use pushes me closer toward my demon side now.” He rubbed his forehead in worry. “We need to get the rest of the cure.”

  Agreed.

  “I’ve been getting this terrible pain in my head whenever I use the power, so I think I may need one of your magical guns. Do you have an extra? If things switch back for me and I become alive again, that is.”

  My light was too unpredictable to be using, especially if I could hurt Cole again in the process. As much as he annoyed me, I didn’t want to blast him back to Hell.

  Not yet anyway.

  I might be able to use that as a threat in the future, if he got me mad enough.

  He scoffed and continued lathering on the aloe. “You with a gun? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “And why not?” Annoyance pinched at me, and my gaze dropped to his waist, where his pants rode low on his hips. My throat thickened. The silky aloe glistened across his skin in the dim light of the room, and all I pictured myself doing was running my tongue along every inch of him.

  His sexiness didn’t make him any less of an asshole. I had to remember that.

  “I saw you fighting back there,” he said. “A bit reckless if you ask me.”

  I crossed my arms. “Just because I use my hands to fight and don’t rely on a weapon all the time doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing.”

  “I didn’t say that.” He held up his hands in surrender. “It’s just an…unreliable technique, in my opinion. And not my style.”

  My anger flared. “Oh, you mean shoot first, ask questions later?”

  “Hey, it’s worked well for me this far.” His tone grew sharper.

  “That’s why you were on my assignment list, and I found you unconscious in the alley?” I retorted. “Besides, if I recall, I saved your ass twice. Actually three times. Without me—”

  He let out a quick, skeptical laugh and jumped from the bed. “That’s not what the claw marks across my chest and the burns on my shoulder say.”

  “I don’t need your help, you know. I don’t need to be here.” I whirled on my heel and headed for the door, but my temper swung me back around to face him. “No wonder you’re used to working alone. Who could stand you?”

  He blustered, closing the distance between us with two large strides. “You’re no fairy princess yourself.”

  I had never wanted to strangle someone so badly in my life. Every part of me burned with fury, and at the same time, I couldn’t help noticing how sexy he looked with the muscles tensing across his chest and arms from anger.

  Something sparked in his stare, intensifying the normally cool blue to a more vivid cobalt. Was the demon part of him coming out again, or did he normally look this intimidating and breath-takingly hot when he argued with someone?

  I should be scared of this man. Who knew how close he really was to turning into one of the hellion things and dragging me into a pit?

  The conflict raging inside me only heightened my frustration, but I met his gaze straight on, determined to show him that I was not the type of woman who backed down.

  I pronounced every next word out of my mouth with gusto. “Go to Hell.”

  The moment those three words left my mouth, he pulled me into his arms and silenced me with a kiss.

  The rage died the moment Cole’s lips claimed mine, his aggression transforming the kiss into something wild and mind-blowing. It was unlike anything I had experienced before—at least that I could remember.

  As his tongue danced with mine, every hormone in my body ignited white hot. It had been so long since I had been touched like this, alive or not. The way the heat of him radiated off his skin warmed me to the bone. I was burning all over.

  It made me feel…alive. But not like before when I had been given only a taste of life again. Something much more than that.

  Heart drumming, breath heaving, skin tingling. The feeling of his body pressed against mine. It was a new but familiar sensation at the same time, but somehow amplified.

  My head whirled from it all.

  All I knew for sure was that suddenly I wanted nothing more than for him to devour every inch of me with his hands and mouth, all while stripping each other naked and doing my share to make him beg for mercy.

  Wow, he had gotten my libido to go from zero to a hundred quick. But I didn’t care. I wanted him.

  All of him.

  “You’re infuriating.” I unbuttoned his fly and slid his zipper down so I could touch him. His cock all but burst out of his jeans as if the tight denim couldn’t contain it anymore. When I took hold of him, I was shocked to find that he wasn’t only rock hard and ready, he was more than a handful.

  Glancing down, I saw how big he really was and bit my lip.

  Oh, this was going to be fun.

  He growled when I started stroking him—actually growled—an animalistic, guttural sound that made the hairs on my arms rise. Like the Halfling demon creatures we had just fought. But at the sa
me time, it lit something else inside me, a heavy need clutching at my core.

  As he buried his face in my neck and ran his tongue along the curve of my collarbone, I shuddered all over.

  Should I be concerned a half demon had such an effect on me? Probably.

  Did I care at the moment? Absolutely not.

  I’d worry about that later. Along with all the other shit I had hovering over me.

  He undid my jeans swiftly, and when he pushed his hand inside to touch the most private part of me, I moaned. I rose onto my tiptoes so he could slide a finger deep inside, and his palm rubbed my clit.

  His skin was fiery hot, warming me with every stroke. Fireworks exploded behind my closed eyelids as the heat spread through me. My body wanted him inside me, but the last ounce of sanity screamed that was a bad idea. Everyone knew you never merged work with pleasure. You never got involved with a coworker. It would only make things complicated and slow us down. Kay didn’t have time to waste.

  Before I could shove him away, Cole grabbed my thighs and moved us both across the small room. He dropped me on the dresser, knocking me back into the lamp in his haste. When it hit the ground, the bulb popped, cloaking the room in darkness.

  Fuck it. It wasn’t important anyway. Not when my body was shaking with desire.

  Cole didn’t seem to notice either. His kisses became harder as he grabbed the top of my jeans and yanked them down. They didn’t even make it all the way off before he was spreading my legs and pushing himself in between them.

  Shit. His aggression was hot as Hell.

  Who didn’t like it rough once in a while?

  His hands were everywhere. All over me. Tangled in my hair, squeezing my breasts, running along my waist. Eventually, both hands ended up on my ass, his fingers digging in enough to bruise.

  “Fuck.” His husky voice vibrated against my neck. “You feel so good.”

  “What about your wounds?” I asked him.

  “That aloe stuff really helped.”

  I somehow doubted that, but when his kisses travelled along my shoulder, I realized I didn’t care. I was tired of waiting. “Well, shut up and get on with it already.”

  He was part savage beast, and it made me wonder what it would be like to have him deep inside me.

  I didn’t have to wonder long it seemed, because suddenly, Cole was jerking my body onto the edge of the dresser and sliding himself into me, filling me to the brim. We groaned in unison.

  Gripping his hips, I encouraged him to move faster, and he did, not really needing my instruction. He slammed into me, withdrawing almost completely before driving himself back in. I wrapped my legs around his middle and locked them in place. Every thrust hurt at first but then added to a wave of pleasure that was growing bigger and bigger until it became too much to handle and I was riding the orgasm high and fast.

  “Oh yeah…” A low rumble came from the bottom of his throat, but Cole didn’t slow.

  The sound of our bodies pounding against each other was enough to make my head fog. The dresser underneath me crashed against the wall in time with every thrust, and it wasn’t long before my body was climbing again toward another climax.

  Faster. Faster. Faster.

  He was relentless.

  This time, when I came undone, he did along with me.

  We stayed like that for a while, his face buried in my neck as I clung to him, both of us breathing hard.

  After a few moments passed, he whispered, “You make me feel so…human.” His breath tickled my skin. “How stupid is that?”

  It didn’t sound stupid at all, because in all honesty, I was thinking the same thing.

  My heart was pounding against my rib cage. Sweat dripped down my spine. Everything tingled, and there was a deep ache between my legs that I loved. But I was the farthest thing from human. I wasn’t even alive.

  And he was half demon, forever inching closer to the corrupted blood taking over fully.

  Okay, maybe it did sound silly when I thought about it, but the fact that Cole could not only see me, but we could touch each other, even in my spirit state, gave me a piece of life I felt like I was missing for so long.

  “I’d settle for ironic instead of stupid,” I said.

  He snorted a laugh as he pulled away from me, rebuttoning his pants.

  “That’s a nicer way to put it.” Red kissed his cheeks, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was from the sex or if he was a bit embarrassed by what he’d revealed to me. Cole wasn’t exactly an emotional guy.

  He ran his fingers through his blond hair, an attempt to regain his typical blasé front. “I’m sorry about the lack of foreplay. It’s not really my style.”

  I slid off the dresser and fixed my clothes. “I’m not complaining, am I?”

  And if I was being honest with myself, I didn’t care—not in the least. When I glanced at him again and saw how he was looking me over hungrily, desire reignited in my chest. Heat spread across my skin.

  “Maybe next time,” I teased.

  “You got it.” He gave me a wolfish grin. “For you, I’ll make an exception.”

  That was a promise I was looking forward to.

  Cole plopped onto the bed, settling against the pillows, and placed his hands behind his head. His muscled chest glistened with sweat and aloe, and it took everything in me not to join him on the bed and try for a round two.

  Readjusting my tank top, I moved toward the room’s small mirror. When nothing appeared in the reflection, I frowned. All the giddiness I’d been feeling drained out my toes, leaving me empty.

  Spirits didn’t cast shadows or reflections.

  The reality of what I really was smacked me across the face. No matter how Cole had made me feel in the moment, the truth was that I was still dead. I could never have a relationship of any kind. Once this mission was over and Kay was safe, I had to return to the afterlife and my job at Styx.

  And if this cure worked for Cole… Well, he would want to live his new life as normally as possible.

  When I turned around, I found Cole fast asleep in the same position, mouth slightly open and a soft snore rolling past his lips. So peaceful.

  So alive.

  My heart tugged in my chest. As much as I might have wanted to be, I knew I couldn’t be a part of this world the way I wanted. Only a passing phantom. That’s all I was. It’d be foolish to think anything else was possible.

  Suddenly feeling too confined in the small space, I walked through the motel room’s door and left Cole alone with his dreams.

  Hopefully they were ones that didn’t include me in them.

  Not knowing where else to go, I headed toward the oldest part of Fairport, to the cemetery. It had started as a small space of land, occupied by the graves of some of the first settlers. Some were as old as the eighteenth century. As the colonist town grew over the decades to the city it was now, the cemetery gained more and more land, expanding to over a mile in every direction. Most of the first graves were decimated by time and nature, but some stone markers still stood, a stark contrast to the new, shinier marble tombstones on the opposite side that sat on top of fresher bodies.

  With days until the solstice and me as a spirit now, I knew I couldn’t collect the Holiest earth tonight, but the least I could do was find the grave with the oldest marker and hope that was the one that was going to save Kay and help Cole. That way, on the solstice, we could return and scoop it up without a problem.

  As I approached the cemetery’s iron-gated entrance, I was halted by what was before me. The ground on the other side seemed to shimmer with a range of different colors. Reds, blues, greens, and golds hovered just above the grass, like wisps of rainbow smoke.

  Not spirits. I would be able to see them if they were souls. But waves of pure energy that were collecting on this Holy ground. I had seen this before but only on the solstice, when the living and non-living planes were at their closest. The fact that the solstice was still days out and the veil was thin enough for
this to happen was very concerning.

  Not good. Not good at all.

  “It’s true.”

  A male’s voice had me spinning around, fists out, ready for a fight.

  There stood a stranger with a long face, pointed nose, and dark hair in a ponytail. He was unknown to me, but he smiled as if he knew me, making apprehension slither up my spine.

  He wore a finely tailored plum-colored suit and polished shoes, looking very important and equally expensive, giving him the appearance of a socialite or important businessman. Both felt out of place here in front of a cemetery, even though it was creeping closer to midday.

  He held his hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry for startling you,” he said, his voice as smooth as silk. “When I heard we may have had an actual A-lister on the main floor, I had to come see myself.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about, but if he could see me, that meant one of three things. He was either dead, part or whole demon, like Cole, or a Medium, like Kay.

  Not one of those options were good for me.

  “Who are you?” I asked, unclenching my one hand just in case I had to unleash my light. “More importantly, what do you want?”

  His eyes flashed a brilliant, unnatural red.

  A demon. A full-blood.

  “Xaver?” I stepped back, every muscle rigid.

  The demon in the human’s body rolled his eyes. “You insult me. Of all my brothers, you pick the most uncivilized one to assume I am.”

  “I don’t know many of you, and the ones I have met don’t exactly have the best manners.”

  His smile was slow and deliberate. “Well, I’m not quite like the others,” he said. “Let me introduce myself. I prefer to be called Monnie, but the proper name for me is Mammon. Have you heard of me?”

  “Can’t say I have.”

  Was he trying to be my friend? What a bizarre introduction. Definitely not like the one I had with Xaver. But despite his heavily spread charm, the tension in my body didn’t ease.

  “How about the Seven Deadly Sins? Greed?” He held his hands out to the sides, as if welcoming me to marvel at him. “Here I am.”

  A prickle of warning zoomed up my neck. I didn’t know much about demons, but everyone knew the stories of the Seven Deadly Sins. What I didn’t know was that the sins were actually demons.