Dark Kiss Of The Reaper (10 page)

He stepped through, shedding his human form like a discarded chrysalis. Her calm leaked away.

Gone was the man she knew. In his place stood a wraith of shadows and fog. His robe lost shape past the shoulders, dissolving into shards of mist and twilight. Beneath the hood two fiery blue eyes bored into her from a fathomless blackness.

“Azrael?” In this state, did he still know who she was? She felt behind her for the railing, moving back a step.

He glided toward her, one tendril of mist lifting, reaching...

She exhaled a shuddering breath, racking her brain for something to say or do. He came closer. Another tendril drifted in her direction.

With nothing to lose, she let go of the railing and stepped toward him.

His forward movement slowed.

“I’m not afraid you,” she lied, searching for bravado she wasn’t sure she had.

“So what if you have this other side.” She shrugged to keep from shivering. “You should see me first thing in the morning. It’s not pretty, believe me.”

The reaching strands of fog dissolved.

New resolve empowered her. “It doesn’t change the way I feel about Azrael the man and Azrael the Reaper, either. I like those aspects of you very much.”

Misty threads twisted together. A faint outline of his robe emerged from the shadows.

She edged closer. “If this is your attempt to scare me away because you think I should be with a mortal man, it’s not going to work.” She rolled her eyes. “Been there, done that, have the divorce papers to prove it.”

Translucent feathers covered his wings, solidifying as they spread.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head trying to look nonchalant, even though her heart’s thumping filled her ears. “And as far as I’m concerned, you’d better snap out of it because you still owe me dessert.”

The cobalt glow in his eyes dimmed and the remaining mist disappeared like a vacuum had sucked it up. Azrael, in Reaper form, stood before her.

He pushed the hood of his robe back. The only blue in his eyes was the familiar edge around his irises. He stayed silent, his gaze fixed on the ground, the muscles in his jaw flexing.

At last, he lifted his head and looked at her.

“You amaze me, Sara Donovan. How is it that you are braver than my brothers who back down at only a hint of what you saw?” He shook his head.

“I get like that when I haven’t had chocolate.”

A welcome smile shattered his solemn expression. “You can have all the chocolate you want.” He laughed softly. “You can have anything it is in my power to give you.”

She smiled back. “Are you going to provide me with a list, or should I just start guessing?”

He spanned the space between them in one step, sending a rush of heat through her. “It would take ages to tell you everything.”

“Then there better be a second date,” she whispered as his arms went around her.

He lifted her hand to his mouth and feathered tiny kisses over the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. “That’s definitely within my power.”

She leaned against him, relieved to have him back. “I’m not letting you off the hook about the chocolate, you know.”

Nibbling his way toward the crook of her elbow, he paused to answer. “I didn’t expect you would.”

A breathless sigh escaped her lips as his kisses moved to just below her ear. “That’s kind of...my...
oh
...weak spot.”

“Then I shouldn’t stop.” He put an inch of space between them. “But I have to tell you how much your willingness to sacrifice yourself means to me.”

“My willingness to what?” The fog of pleasure lifted.

“Your willingness to sacrifice your life. When you stood up to me in my visceral form.”

“Sacrifice my life?” She swallowed.

He looked at her with sudden understanding. “You didn’t know, did you?”

She shifted out of his arms a little. “What are you talking about?”

His face went gray. “If you had touched me...or I had touched you...” He shook his head, going silent.

“What? What?” Maybe she didn’t want to know.

“You would have become a Shade.”

“A shade of what?”

“No, a Shade. A soulless, bodiless being.”

“In other words, I’d be dead.” Dying wasn’t good. Not at all. Of course, since Azrael was a Reaper, she’d probably still get to be with him. And his existence didn’t seem so bad.

“Yes, but—”

“We could spend more time together.” The thought brighten the near death experience greatly.

“Not in the way you think.” He stroked her cheek. “Shades have no contact, no communication, no comfort. They wander the Underworld, lost and alone. At best, you’d be able to see me. Maybe.”

He sighed. “And one Shade is pretty much indistinguishable from the next. I’d have no way of knowing which one you were.”

She shivered, and he pulled her close. “That’s not going to happen, so don’t even think of it.” He touched his mouth to hers and she took some comfort in the brief kiss.

“Now,” he said, “It’s time to take you home.”

* * *

Azrael watched Sara drive away, her kiss still warm on his lips. Amazing. A mortal woman had seen him in his visceral form and stood her ground. Even if she hadn’t fully understood the consequences, it was impressive.

The ache in his heart was unfamiliar, but he recognized it anyway. Love. In one evening, he’d fallen for her completely. How could he not?

She knew who he was—what he was, and didn’t shy away. She’d been at his side while he’d reaped souls and hadn’t run. She was beautiful on the outside, yes, but the beauty within her was what drew him. He wanted her so badly he hurt.

Whatever it took, he would find a way to make her fall in love with him too.

He turned and walked into the alley where Pallidus waited, knowing full well the ridiculousness of his thoughts. No one could make a mortal do anything. They were creatures of free will.

Sara was not a woman who could be coerced. This evening had proven that.

A narrow grin lifted his mouth as he retook his Reaper form and mounted Pallidus for the journey home. She’d faced down his visceral form and given it no fear to feed on. She’d control the Darkness better than he’d ever been able to.

He sighed as Pallidus took to the skies. How would she react if he told her how he really felt? And what was the point? He couldn’t offer her the kind of life a mortal woman expected.

Could he live half his time in the mortal world and half his time in his own and still fulfill his obligations as Reaper? He would have to find a way. No other option suited the situation. At least until...he shook his head. He would wait for her to cross over if that’s what it took to be with her.

What if he told her the truth of his feelings and she wanted to join him sooner? He shuddered to think what she might do, as fierce as she was. When the time came, he would find a way to reap her soul himself, but not
until
her time came.

So for now, he would find a way to make this work. He would love her. He just wouldn’t tell her.

Chapter Nine

The headache that woke Sara gave pain a new definition. She stumbled across the room to yank her shades down and block the light scraping her eyes like sandpaper.

The late night and red wine had cranked the vise at her temples tighter than ever. She downed some painkillers without water, then crawled back under the covers and tugged them over her to find total darkness. No run today. Maybe no shift at Grounded, either.

She curled up in a fetal position and tried to focus on more pleasant thoughts. Like Azrael’s kiss. His hands. Dinner in Paris.

Headache or not, she smiled. How could she not? Last night had been unbelievable, even with the fact that she’d almost unknowingly done herself in.

Her fingers sought out the necklace he’d given her. She traced the curve of the wings, the tiny etched lines. Men didn’t usually give jewelry casually.

Despite the pain in her head, she laughed softly. Did that mean the Angel of Death was her boyfriend? She was falling for him. Fast.

Good thing she was seeing him again tonight.

She groaned, remembering he was coming here. Why had she agreed to cook for him? That wasn’t one of her best skills. She needed to figure out what to make, buy the ingredients, and clean the apartment.

None of that was going to happen with the kind of pain bouncing around in her skull at the moment. She’d be lucky if she made it in to the hospital. Groaning, she rose up on one elbow and reached for her day planner. She paged through to the day’s date and checked her schedule.

Good. No shift at Grounded today. She shoved the book back onto her nightstand, pulled the covers back up and willed the headache away.

* * *

Sara peeked into her supervisor’s office and knocked on the doorframe. “Brenda, you have a minute?”

“Sure, come on in.” The older woman closed the file in front of her. “What can I do for you?”

“I was wondering...you know, I work a lot of hours, and I don’t mind that, but...just for today, maybe I could leave early?”

“How early?”

“Four. Or four thirty. I won’t take any lunch.”

Brenda smiled. “You haven’t taken time off in a long while, have you?”

“I took a half day last week when I cut my hand.” She held up the fading scar.

“You’re one of our most reliable employees. I think a half day now and then won’t cause any irreparable damage.” She wrote something down on a notepad. “Consider yourself off the clock at four.”

Sara almost jogged back to the nurses’ station. It would be close, but she should have all the time she needed to get her errands run. Provided her grocery list had something written on it. The dinner menu remained a mystery.

Steak was always a good bet, but the good stuff was expensive and she didn’t own a grill. Fish? So many opportunities for that to go wrong. Pork? One letter away from porn and not all that romantic a meat to begin with. Lobster wasn’t even close to affordable. Poultry was boring. Unless it was duck and you were eating at a sidewalk table in the most romantic city in the world. Maybe pasta. An old standby, but reliable and nearly foolproof.

And what if he was allergic? She laughed out loud. Chances were good “Angel of Death” and “food allergies” didn’t usually end up in the same sentence.

“What’s so funny?” Dane asked, tossing a paper cup in the trash. Dane was the only male nurse on the floor and the subject of many a batted eyelash. His surfer boy looks didn’t make waves with her.

“Nothing, really.” She sighed and tapped her pencil. “I’m trying to figure out a relatively easy meal that won’t break my bank account. It also needs to have some seduction value.”

“Seduction value?” He grinned. “What time should I be there?”

Dane dated anything with two X chromosomes. “Sorry, the position of dinner guest has already been filled.”

He clutched his chest. “You’re breaking my heart.” He winked and leaned on the counter. “So who’s the lucky guy? Somebody here?”

“No way. I’m done with doctors.” She paused. How to explain Azrael. “He’s just a nice guy.”

“Nice?” Dane winced. “So this is your first and last date, then?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Nice is the kiss of death, every man knows that.”

She bit her tongue to keep from laughing. Kiss of death indeed. She could go for some of that right now. “Okay, he’s not that nice.”

Shandra, another day shift nurse walked up. “Who’s not that nice?”

Dane grinned. “Sara has a date.”

“You do? With who?” Shandra asked.

Great. The entire hospital would know in about three minutes. “No one, just a guy.”

“A
nice
guy,” Dane added.

Shandra made sad eyes and clucked her tongue. “That’s too bad.”

“It’s not too bad, and he’s not a ‘nice’ guy. He could kill you just by looking at you,” Sara growled.

Shandra and Dane exchanged a look and stepped back in unison.

“Well, not really. I don’t think. Look, he’s a great guy.” Why she was getting upset, she didn’t know. She didn’t really care what they thought of him. Wasn’t like they were ever going to meet him.

She raised her hands. “All right, calm down the two of you. I don’t need every employee in this hospital thinking I’m dating a serial killer.”

Dane arched a single brow. “So he’s just killed the one time then?” His teasing tone relieved her. Crisis averted, it seemed.

“Oh no,” she answered, keeping her voice light to hide the truth. “He’s done in more people in than Jesse James.”

“Ooo,” Shandra cooed. “I love cowboys.” She rested her forearms on the counter and leaned in. “You bringing him to the Halloween party?”